Muirfield vote to keep doors closed to female members

It has been a year of excitement in female golfing so far. In February, the Ladies Golf Union told journalists that it would be merging with the R&A in order to offer increased opportunities for female golfers. In May there was the announcement that women's golf would be played on the same course as men at the Lalla Meryum, and of course in August golf will return to the Olympics for the first time since 1904. Despite this, it is saddening to see that there is still a segment of golf that holds onto its archaic prejudices.

In May, Muirfield Golf Course in East Lothian voted to maintain its stance of not allowing women to become members. Once again a board of prestigious club owners and members have decided to close its doors to the patronage of women's golf and the opportunities and equality that come with it.

Thought it is unfortunately not unusual for this kind of rule to exist, especially in older clubs where the restrictions have not been updated in years, it seems backwards of a reputable club to actively continue this precedent after considering the current golfing climate - and the growing popularity of the women's golf industry. It is even more astonishing given that a number of other golf courses, such as the Augusta National, have updated their restrictions in recent years to open their doors to the other 50% of the world's population.

In light of this however, there has been a backlash from the R&A, who released a statement from chief executive Martin Slumbers stating: “The Open is one of the world's great sporting events and going forward we will not stage the Championship at a venue that does not admit women as members.”

The actions of the club have also received disdain from Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who stated that the decision was “simply indefensible”, whilst Prime Minister David Cameron declared it “outdated”.

Though the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, who control the golf club, attempted to defend the decision stating that they were simply abiding by the opinions of current members. A number of letters from members were revealed to the Scotsman, highlighting excuses including “foursomes play, our match system, the uncompromising challenge our fine links present, our lunch arrangements.”

Though this egregious decision is one which continues to highlight the underlying gender bias that is still prevalent in golf, the responses from figures in and outside of the industry are something to take heart from.

Meanwhile, golf clubs who have yet to update their rules must deal with negative ramifications, like being excluded from tournament play - in a world where golf memberships are down 14%. 

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