Women come to the Fore! at the R&A

Key quote

"If I was a top woman golfer and I was arriving in St Andrews for the Weetabix, where do I want to get changed? It's obvious - I want to be in that clubhouse." Lesley Burn, chief executive of the LGU

Story in full

IT IS enough to send the golfing traditionalists spluttering into their gin and tonics.

For the first time since the foundation stone of the Royal and Ancient clubhouse in St Andrews was laid on 13 July, 1853, its male members will find themselves barred from the locker room - by women.

In a major break with tradition, the R&A will allow those taking part in the Weetabix Women's British Open to have free run of the famous clubhouse that overlooks the 18th green of the Old Course.

The move means that, for one week in August, any R&A members who want to play on the other links in St Andrews will have to get changed in the club's snooker room while the elite champions of the women's game - such as Michelle Wie, Annika Sorenstam, Cristie Kerr and Natalie Gulbis - use the most famous locker room in golf.

Although Scottish Ladies Amateur Championships have been held at the Old Course in the past, the Women's British Open marks the first time the R&A clubhouse has been used for a women's event. The change, although temporary, is a minor victory for those fighting for equality in golf.

A survey undertaken by the Ladies Golf Union (LGU) last year revealed widespread opposition among female golfers to holding the Women's British Open at single-sex clubs such as Muirfield, Royal Troon and Royal St George's, which regularly hold the Open championship.

The same poll reported that 66 per cent of women golfers across the British Isles believe both men-only and women-only clubs attach a negative stigma to the game.

Lesley Burn, chief executive of the LGU, said: "Yes, the players are going to change in what is normally a men-only clubhouse. If we were going to stand rigidly by our principles, then we wouldn't possibly ever go there.

"But we felt a door was being opened when the invitation was made by the R&A.

"Of course, we have to respect the principles [of equality] we're working towards. But if we also want to raise the profile of ladies' golf and increase the commercial appeal of our championship, then we can't turn away from somewhere like St Andrews.

"If I was a top woman golfer and I was arriving in St Andrews for the Weetabix, where do I want to get changed? It's obvious - I want to be in that clubhouse."

The Old Course is a public links, run by the St Andrews Links Trust, which is open to players of both sexes. The R&A clubhouse, on the other hand, is a private-members, men-only facility. Members' wives are often made welcome on social occasions, but on a day-to-day basis, the clubhouse is used by men, while female guests are accommodated in nearby Forgan House.

On a practical level, the alternative, the St Andrews Links clubhouse, would not be big enough to accommodate the 150 golfers who are expected to tee up in the £1 million Women's British Open.

Ms Burn, who succeeded Andy Salmon as chief executive of the LGU last year, also believes special circumstances surrounding golf in St Andrews, where there are five single-sex clubs, was a factor in accepting the R&A's invitation.

"We appreciate the challenges posed by this situation," she said. "We've been working hand-in-hand with the Links Trust to put on our event at the Old Course, which is a public course.

"The way golf is set up in St Andrews means that there are five clubs using the links, two of them ladies only and three of them all men."

Ms Burn was more hesitant about the possibility of a merger in the near future between the LGU and the R&A's rules and governance body. "This is a question that's been raised before," she said. "In some respects, the possibility of one governing body for golf would be fabulous. But we have to be aware of the private members' aspect of the R&A, which is still an all-male club. Right now, I don't think we're there yet.

"What I want to add, though, is that I could not have been welcomed more warmly to my new post than I have been by the R&A. On a professional basis, our people are working hand-in-hand in a number of areas with the team at the R&A."

Asked if it was possible the LGU might consider staging championships at single-sex clubs such as Muirfield in the future, Ms Burn replied: "I'm not qualified to answer that question and would need to take counsel on that."

LONG FIGHT FOR EQUALITY ON GREEN AND IN

CLUBHOUSE
GOLF has traditionally been dominated

by men. But over the past 15 years, the fight for equality on the green and in the clubhouse has grown.

While many clubs allow female members, there have often been restrictions on tee-times and access to facilities.

The unequal treatment is particularly stark in the clubhouses, where women are sometimes kept away from the main bar and often allowed in only when they are accompanied by a male chaperone.

A new generation of female professionals, such as Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie, is challenging the status quo and has even gained the right to qualify for previously male-only tournaments, including the Open.

Lawmakers are also beginning to take notice. Last year, the EU made it illegal for mixed clubs to discriminate against members on the basis of gender.