Muirfield golf club

It's disgraceful. I wonder what the wives of all these men think. The women's game is just as successful, prestigious and lucrative, and has wide appeal on TV. I think that they have shot themselves in the foot.

It would send a clear message to the club if the men who voted to have women members left. It would affect them financially and then they would swiftly change their rules!

Muirfield must be the last bastion..... apart from the Garrick Club in London, of course.

According to Peter Alliss this afternoon, the wives don't mind as they can use the facilities without having to pay but if they had to be members it would cost them high hundreds to join. There are a lot of clubs/courses in that area.

Out of curiosity are men allowed to join The WI? Never been something that appeals to me but just wondered if they are lol.

I remember going with my then new DH (so about 1981) and my father to a local snooker club.
On reaching the front door we were informed no Ladies allowed.
So we all left.
Never to darken the door again.

In the 21st Century it is unacceptable in Sport

However. I do think that it is ok for male and females to have their own venues.
Such as the WI
The lions or Round Table

Muirhead will now not be able to host prestigious games ( good!)

Can we get GNHQ to change the heading to Muirfield? I couldn't think why TWO golf clubs could have turned down lady members on the same day.

They will be hard hit financially as the R&A has said that they will no longer be allowed to hold the Open.

So are we saying that it should be illegal for private single gender clubs to exist?

If it's a private club receiving no public funding, why shouldn't the members vote to keep it for men only.

#Devil'sAdvocate

The following is a post from Digital Spy forum...would be hilarious if it wasn't so offensive to women.

"I think it's fair enough to exclude women if they want. Some men just want to go to a golf club to play golf, and do it in a 'safe' environment with other like-minded men. They don't want to be judged on what they're wearing or what they're doing wrong, or to be leered at or hit on."

HE SHOULD BE SO LUCKY!

I agree about them not being able to host the Open, but I'm not sure I agree that single sex private clubs should be banned or shamed. There are women only clubs.

I read that as 'private sex clubs' thatbags

I've emailed HQ about correcting the name in the title.

I lived in Muirhead for a while. It's to the west of Dundee. Muirfield is in East Lothian.

A lot of golf clubs used to be like Muirfield - they are living in the past. Personally I can think of nothing worse than joining Muirfield as a female and having to play golf and socialise with men like that! There are hundreds of great golf clubs all over the country which treat men and women equally.

I am sure I have read that golf is struggling to attract the young. Well, there's a surprise! While the members of Muirfield have the right to choose to be men only, they cannot expect to be part of the high profile face of golf, e.g. hosting the Open or the Ryder Cup, if they set themselves against half the population and carry on in this ante-deluvian manner.

In 1964 I voted to admit women to my university drama society, and refused to even contemplate joining a club for which I was eligible until it admitted women on equal terms (a great deal more recently!). But then I wasn't one of the Edinburgh professional mafia.

When I was in the WI in the 70s we always recruited men from the village for our pantomime and I have eaten at the Festive Board in a Masonic Lodge as an honorary man.

That sounds similar to the arrangement that the wives of Muirfield golfers are purported to have (and to likebecause it's free), deedaa.

It was after nine o'clock when I sent HQ the thread url so I guess they'd shut up shop by then. Hopefully someone will correct the name today.

Devilish advocacy again. I do this because I think it's important to understand "the other side's argument".

'Curves'. Women only gyms.

WI. Women only 'club'.

Girl Guides. Girls only and only female leaders.

Equality should mean men can (still) have men only clubs too if they want, shouldn't it?

In principle, why not? Why should all clubs be for both men and women?

No need for ALL clubs to be mixed, indeed. World level competitions in sports where women can and do play as equals to men ought to be mixed, though, so it is fitting that the Open should not be played at a venue where women are not equal members.

Agreed. And The Royal and Ancient was very quick to clarify that the Open will not be held at Muirfield.

End of 'problem'.

And an easy solution for the members at Muirfield should they wish their pitch (what's a golf playing area called if it's not links?) to be considered for hosting the Open or other golf tournaments that are open to women as well as men.

Not for poor old East Lothian. The community there is likely to lose £40million in lost revenue due to the removal of the Open. Scotland as a whole are due to lose £100million as a direct result. How proud those 16 voters who led to the result must feel. (64% of members voted yes but 66% was needed to make the change. This came down to a difference of 16 votes)

Aha! I see now why there's all the fuss: because people will lose business. It's always about money. I was wondering why people weren't simply ignoring the silly buggers. Now I understand.

But the principle remains: it's not actually wrong to have men only or women only clubs, golf or otherwise. Most of the comments in thr media about Muirfield seem to be saying that it is wrong. The same people would probably defend women only clubs of various kinds.

Equality is equality: if women only clubs are allowed, then so are men only clubs.

Sonce it's down to money, the club will change its rule sooner or later, perhaps when 2% of its current members die off.