Ginni Rometty: Will she be wearing a green jacket by this time next year?
A special guest, who has artfully dodged the press, was sitting behind the 18th green on Sunday at the Masters. Her green chair — at Augusta National “patrons” must buy or bring a specific Masters chair if they want a seat on the grass — was in the second row, where she spent the late afternoon watching the last groups, including Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen make pars on the last hole in regulation to force a sudden-death playoff.
Wearing a pink jacket and a pink pin-striped blouse, Ginni didn’t budge when the duo returned to the 18th tee for the first hole in sudden death. She gave a standing ovation when she heard Bubba had outlasted Louis on the second playoff hole. She looked nothing short of professional and composed — just like you’d picture her. Would it really be so bad to follow the club’s “tradition” and let her in already? She’s been put in a difficult position and she’s not speaking to the press, but can you really blame her? There’s something about this club that instills the fear of God in everyone to the point where people are readily brushing the unpalatable under the rug and walking on eggshells.
Starting on Friday’s second round at the Masters, the was chatter Virginia “Ginni” Rometty, the newly-anointed CEO of IBM, one of the three sponsors of the prestigious, archaic golf tournament, was on the grounds entertaining clients. Thing is, with the controversy making its way all the way up to Washington, where President Barack Obama and Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney both publicly stated they believe the all-male exclusive Augusta National Golf Club should include women as members, Rometty was likely to make herself scarce.
Now I haven’t read too much about her, but enough to realize she’s a bright, very capable and strong woman, who worked her way up the ranks in the business world to the top of the food chain at a well-respected and omnipresent company. Since the last four CEOs of IBM have been fitted for Green Jackets as a tradition as a quid pro quo kind of deal with the company’s sponsorship of the Masters, according to Bloomberg’s report several weeks ago.
Ginni has earned an invitational to become a member based on her hard work and accomplishments in business and leadership. If the past four CEOs were granted the honor of a green jacket, then the tradition should be passed along to Ginni, the successor of the previous chief exec.
I mean, c’mon, how is this even a controversy? She’s earned the privilege, thanks to her accomplishments in the business world. Oh, and just to set this straight — being a “serious” golfer isn’t a requirement to become a member, but I’m told Ginny enjoys the game.
ANGC has backed itself in a corner with strong criticisms of their membership policy. It’s not just the so-called crusaders and feminists any longer; it’s politicians, golfers, business owners, male journalists and just about everyone who realizes the year is 2012.
I loved Jason Gay’s column on the issue:
Of course, all that whispery reverence becomes pretty silly. The Masters can feel stoned on mysticism and prestige, to the point where Augusta National becomes a reality distortion field, detached from the outside world. This is not heaven. If it’s heaven, it’s heaven with a Hooters around the corner, and a brand new champion named Bubba.
But reality takes its time pushing through the gates here, which is why Augusta National is again confronted with a question that gets elevated as a “cultural moment” but really just sounds absurd in 2012: Why aren’t there any women members?
….
It’s time to take off those stylish green tin foil hats, turn down the reality distortion field, and acknowledge the obvious: Absence of a female member at golf’s most prominent club—not just a folksy conclave in the woods, but the sport’s best-known stage, a citadel of corporate power, happily monetizing and broadcasting its event to millions—is woefully out-of-date and should embarrass anyone invested in this event.
Gay goes on to say that it sounds ridiculous to refer to the issue as a “debate.” Exactly. It is farcical. That’s why I’m not up in arms or ready to lead protests. Those types of combative demonstrations only set things back. Augusta National is known to do things in their own time, to appear as if they weren’t pressured by outside influences. Eight months from now, don’t be surprised if Ginni Rometty suddenly appears in a Green Jacket, which she was fitted for long ago.
IBM has declined to comment, according to the AP. USA Today columnist Christine Brennan crossed paths with Rometty at Northwestern University. Understandably, Rometty didn’t return either of Brennan’s emails.
As we were reminded about a dozen times on Wednesday during Chairman Billy Payne’s State of the Masters press conference, the club’s membership decisions are private and they do not discuss them. What is this? Skull and Bones? Actually, Yale’s most famous secret society wasn’t even nearly as secretive. And they started admitting women years ago.
A possibility that continues to be thrown around as a possibility is that ANGC has already extended an invitation to Rometty to become the first woman member at the club.
As Gay mentions in his column, “The shame is that it’s preventing it from being a better, more inclusive one. If Augusta can handle a Bubba in a green blazer, it can handle the 21st century. And the 20th.”
You’d think so, wouldn’t you? It’s rather straightforward. I mean, if Bubba can Bagdad, who has the social graces of a sixth-grader with ADD, can done the Green Jacket, then why not women? Maybe it’s just me, but I’d prefer to have Ginni as a representative of the club rather than Bubba.
I remain optimistic yet cautiously skeptical that the club will announce it has changed its membership policy in the near future, but interestingly enough, it’s my male colleagues that are convinced it’s going to happen sooner rather than later.
*Update: OK, I wrote in the comments thread earlier that I’d provide a lengthier response to some points I missed when i wrote this at 3am (I mean, I’m surprised I formed somewhat coherent sentences), but I replied to more than I originally planned. Here’s the deal: Chairman Billy Payne backed himself in the corner when he talked about “doing better” and “growing the game, championing junior golf. Karen Crouse penned an excellent column about the awkward atmosphere at the Chairman’s presser:
Before opening the floor for questions, Payne delivered an opening statement, from notes, in which he acknowledged that the sport’s stagnant growth is a major concern.
To make golf more attractive to a younger demographic, the club already has established a program in which juniors gain free admission to the tournament and participated in the creation of a golf video game.
“Impressive efforts, I hope, but not enough,” Payne said. “We can do better.”
At that moment, Payne’s next breath seemed pregnant with possibilities. Was he about to disclose that Rometty was a candidate for membership? That Condoleezza Rice has been a member for several years — or Louise Suggs, one of the L.P.G.A. founders and a friend and occasional golf partner of Bobby Jones?
Wishful thinking, as it turned out.
“We can be a better partner with the established golf organizations as they address these critical issues,” Payne said. “To that end, we have appointed a very smart and motivated team of members who have been given the charge of determining what more we can do.”
A few minutes into the question-and-answer portion of the news conference, a reporter had an idea about what the club could do. Payne had already answered two questions about the all-male membership, including one about Rometty in which he referred to her as “a named candidate,” which was more revealing than perhaps Payne intended.
“I note your concerns about the growth of golf around the world, and I also note that Augusta National is a very famous club,” Lawrence Donegan of The Guardian said. “Don’t you think it would send a wonderful message to young girls around the world if they knew that one day they could join this very famous golf club?”
Payne’s stock response to membership questions is that such issues are and have historically been a private matter.
“That is a membership issue,” he began, at which point another reporter interjected: “Seems like a mixed message, Billy, is what he’s saying. You’re throwing a lot of money into growing the game and yet there’s still a perception that certain people are excluded.”
A stricken expression crossed Payne’s face. He looked as if he had been struck by the point of a bayonet. He stammered and finally drowned out the reporter’s voice by saying, “Thank you.”
The debate about Augusta National’s membership practices is often framed in simplistic screeds. This is not about breaking up the Boy Scouts or infiltrating anybody’s sewing circles, to use a favorite example from Payne’s predecessor, Hootie Johnson. Of course men and women have the right to gather amongst themselves. There are a couple dozen all-male golf clubs in the U.S.; keeping women out of them is retrograde and a bit silly, but it’s not a battle worth fighting because these clubs truly are private refuges for the enjoyment of their members. Augusta National is a completely different case because it holds such a public place in an international sport.
The World Ranking affects the career of every pro golfer, and any tweaks to the formula can have a profound effect on a player’s fortunes. Augusta National helps make these decisions. The First Tee impacts the lives of millions of kids, and Augusta National’s Jim Armstrong sets policy on their experience as a member of the The First Tee’s board of directors. Payne knows better than anyone else that the chairman of Augusta National is, by definition, one of the most powerful people in golf, essentially a third-party commissioner of the sport. Years ago Hootie floated the idea of a throttled back “Masters ball,” a way to rein in distance gains since the USGA and the R&A seem incapable of doing the job. Such an experiment could be unilaterally instituted by the Masters and have a massive impact on the sport as well as the multi-billion dollar equipment industry. Given the many ways Augusta National members are shaping golf, at the professional and grassroots level, shouldn’t women have a voice, too? This can only happen if they are invited into the club.
I haven’t commented publicly on the issue very much for several reasons — 1.) I had more pressing things to do than read through the usual banal and pointless arguments — Curves! Private club! — and I didn’t feel like being called names; 2.) Enough of my male colleagues were already doing it; 3.) Payne backed himself in the corner in the press conference; 4.) Esteemed politicians are publicly mocking or speaking against ANGC’s archaic practices; 4.) The “controversy” has been so played out UNTIL Ginni Rometty became the CEO of IBM and it’s the club’s “tradition” to extend membership to the person who holds this esteemed position (the past four IBM CEOS are members). Well, Augusta would be breaking its own tradition by not providing Ms. Rometty with a green jacket. As I’ve said, it may have already happened, but ANGC’s control-freak culture won’t break from their message that they call the shots — they command, we obey.
I’d like to again quote Jason Gay’s ace of a column to wrap this up:
This controversy is unlikely to stop the Masters from being a significant event. The shame is that it’s preventing it from being a better, more inclusive one. If Augusta can handle a Bubba in a green blazer, it can handle the 21st century. And the 20th.
Watson is a
likeable, unpretentiouschampion—”It’s just me. I’m just Bubba,” he said when it was over—and Virginia Rometty is not an inconvenience for Augusta National. She’s a gift. A female power broker, a golfer, atop one of the world’s most prominent companies, where a green jacket has customarily come with the job. It doesn’t matter if Ms. Rometty wants to press her case. All the public relations gurus and crisis managers on earth couldn’t have given this anachronistic club a better opportunity.It should be so simple. It’s sad that it’s not.
All that said, what a tournament! — how about that crazy finish?
(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
I read somewhere that their periods attract bears.
That is the most awful funniest comment I’ve ever read in my life. Trrrrrible.
Billy and the Boys are Becoming Boring… almost laughable as throwbacks now.
They have become laughable. When you have Newt and Calista Gingrich MOCKING Augusta on Twitter, well, that’s embarrassing.
Milking this issue for all it’s worth I see.
Stef — Your best point is your statement that eight months from now there’s a good shot that we’ll see Ginni with a green jacket that she was fitted months ago.
The last thing that ANGC likes to do is give the impression that they’re being pressured into any decision. Once this furor has died down, she’ll show up somewhere in a green jacket. Heck, she may have already been admitted.
What’s Billy Payne supposed to do? On Thursday morning say, “Welcome to the 2012 Masters. Before Arnie tees off, I want to introduce not one, but three female members admitted in a special membership meeting last night. I want to introduce, Ginny, Condoleeza, and Annika. We want to thank the media and all the non-members for their constructive criticism and hope that next time they see something wrong with our club to point it out and we’ll make the change quickly. Now, here’s Arnie.”
It’s human nature to not want to appear to cave into pressure, but ANGC takes it to the next level.
My take is that ANGC has a right to admit whoever it wants to be a member, but we all have our right to an opinion. I hope that they admit a female soon.
I’d say that there’s a better than 50/50 chance that they’ll have a female member by the next Masters. And it will be done quietly.
Gannon, Your argument might hold some water if we hadn’t been through this charade for the last couple of decades. They don’t want women members at Augusta National, period. They may be forced into it, but they won’t like it.
As the WSJ’s Jason Gay writes in his column, Ginni Rometty handed ANGC a TAP-IN.
It’s human nature for 10-year-olds to refuse to cave into pressure. Billy Payne and his buds are adult men representing the most famous country club in America. They should be mature enough to recognize when a good idea has been handed to them.
AGNC has become a joke. It’s one thing to honor tradition. It’s another to be stuck in the 19th century with bigoted, exclusionary policies.
The Club would have gained a lot of favor with most people in America if Payne had taken the opportunity at the pre-Masters press conference to announce that the membership policies had been changed. He wouldn’t have had to name names of new members, just say that AGNC recognizes that it’s 2012 not 1812.
The current BofA CEO is not a member and previous CEO’s were, and it is a man. I doubt certain job titles equate to earning a membership.
Phil had a great comment when asked about Romnetty and how it relates to his daughters. “Where she does or doesn’t play her golf doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is that her brilliance has been rewarded in the workplace.”
I think that they should offer Yani Tseng a spot in the field next year if she continues her dominance, Ryo has had his two free passes.
Private clubs, by definition, exclude people — ANGC can exclude who they want like other clubs.
CHP – Nobody is questioning if is ANGC’s choice on who they allow. It is their choice but that does not change that woman should be members. It in no way hurts the club by admitting woman.
It’s time for ANGC to step into the future.
chp, you missed the point a bit with Phil’s quote, via NYT’s Karen Crouse…http://onpar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/players-sidestep-question-of-augusta-membership-practices/
“Outside the media center after his news conference, Mickelson was asked what he would tell his daughters if they asked why Augusta National does not let women become members.
“What I care about,” he said, “is a woman like Ginni Rometty, whom I’ve never met, works her way up at I.B.M. for 30 years and now is the C.E.O. That’s inspirational because decades ago, that probably would not have been the case. And it’s an inspiration as a parent to be able to share that with my kids to show them. …” His voice trailed off.
In terms of teachable moments for his children, Mickelson added: “Where she does or doesn’t play her golf doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is that brilliance has been rewarded in the workplace.”
My interpretation was it was a politically correct, roundabout way of saying, women should be admitted as members…and Ginni Rometty has earned her way in…
My interpretation was different: Where she plays golf isn’t the important thing, what is important is that her brilliance in the workplace was rewarded.
Do you really expect Phil Mickelson, owner of three green jackets and about to start his run for a fourth, to question the policies of the hallowed ANGC, the club that brought him a large measure of his fame and fortune?
Of course not.
Randy. I think it would be great if they had women in their membership. But the fact that they don’t doesn’t bother me one way or the other as it is perfectly legal and well within their rights.
If roles were reversed and if a bunch of old, rich, snooty women ran the best golf tournament in the world, I wouldn’t have a problem if they excluded men from membership.
The only reason it bothers me is because ANGC is so supposed to represent the best in golf from a venue standpoint (course, club, traditions, players, and fans).
The game is universal. The game does not care what your race, religion, color, nationality, sexual preference or gender is. A par is a par. ANGC has worked hard to promote and cultivate the concept that they are what the game of golf is about. The game does not belong to bunch of old rich men. It belongs to all of us and if they are going to put themselves on the pedestal they need to transparent and inclusive of all.
Randy, the game is most certainly NOT universal. If the game were universal, courses wouldn’t have at least three different sets of tees. Even at the professional level, the courses the LPGA and Champions Tour play are usually far shorter than those on the PGA TOUR. No matter what you try to tell yourself, the game does care what your gender is, and sometimes your age too.
bj – I am having difficulty following what you are saying. You say the game is not universal yet bring up the courses have different tees which would suggest the game is in fact universal. Yes the courses are adjusted for player abilities so everyone can play.
How does different tees suggest woman or the elderly couldn’t/shouldn’t/wouldn’t enjoy ANGC? The course shoots par everyday no matter where you tee off from. From what I can tell woman can enjoy a golf course just the same as a man.
What is wrong with all male membership at a golf club? Open an all female club if you want, I don’t think any males will really care, at least not any I would like to play golf with. I have daughters and a wife and they all agree.
I have some points to add and responses to the comments but currently driving to Savannah / Hilton Head, but bottom line is I don’t have a problem with all-male clubs like Burning Tree, Adios, Butler National, just to name a few. They are private clubs and if the men want their treehouses, then great (at same time not a fan but it is what it is.) ANGC is different because of their public presence, especially since they have a seat and vote on the World Golf Ranking — a governing body that impacts every pro golfer internationally. You can’t be “private” if you serve as what’s analogous to a “public official”….not sure if that’s worded as eloquently as I’d like. Like I said, I’ll respond properly when I arrive in Savannah/Hilton Head.
Carry on
Don’t the official world rankings (OFWGR) only apply to men? I think the LPGA has their own system administered by Rolex.
I look at it as a private club running an invitation golf tournament and inviting the public to watch. They just do it exceptionally well, and a lot of people pay attention.
No one is forced to associate with the club. The players, sponsors, patrons, viewers, etc. all participate because they want to. The media covers it because their customers want them to, clearly some do not enjoy it- Crouse. I bet the World Golf Ranking came to ANGC not the other way around.
A private club that creates an nice event, that everyone wants to be associated with, is still a private club.
I think Peggy Kirk Bell would make a fine member, but it is not my decision, it is theirs.
If men want there treehouses? And you dont have a problem with it? Of course not…
You realize, that while you attempt to slam on those all-male clubs, there are women-only clubs out there, right? Or do you somehow just casually ignore this. In all your milking of this topic, not once did i hear you spill a word for equality in an women-only club.
As to the regards of IMG´s World Golf Rankings – what has this to do with this issue on hand? They can vote for something that doesnt concern the ladies AT ALL since they have their own rankings. You really desperatly try every argument you can find to push your agend, or? But didnt you learn anything from the Burke incident? The harder you try to push, the more likely they will fight you.
Iron my shirt, Wei.
Curves…where there are “no mirrors, no makeup and no men”.
But, that is ok.
Sigh. The women’s health club defense is hilarious because that’s so missing the point…
Like I said, have your all-men clubs, your all-women clubs, whatever.
The whole thing is so farcical, which is why it took me so long to really address it.
For the about billionth time, Augusta and Curves are an apples and oranges comparison. You will note that Stephanie specifically said Butler, Pine Valley etc were ok. Those golf clubs are comparable to curves.
The issue with ANGC being discriminatory is that they host a PGA Tour event, and they sit on regulatory boards, very public, non-private things.
The thing is Augusta is held up as a model for whats right with golf, especially with the masters. And then here it is discriminating against women etc. It makes golf look bad, plays into all the stereo-types etc. You think Tiger disrespects the game? Tiger in the end only reflects on himself, Augusta reflects on the game s a whole.
Augusta hosts a major, just like Troon, Royal St. George’s and Muirfield. Why is it an issue for one and not the others?
Fair point Al. I think they should change but those are European courses. Also ANGC has such an ugly history of racism they put the target on their own back.
The difference is the “Chairman” of those clubs don’t go around making “State of the Game” speeches and talk about “growing the game, doing better,” etc. Nor do he stand up and call out Tiger and say he’s disappointed in him as a role model.
Those clubs also don’t have a vote on the World Ranking or a public presence, like ANGC does.
It’s an Open Championship that is held at a different course every year (though St. Andrews is on a five-year rotation). It’s not ideal, but like I said, they’re not giving grand speeches and the tournament is not run by the club members.
Agree with Stephanie on the differences between ANGC and the Open championship courses.
But also where did anyone here say what the R&A does with the open is right? In fact pretty sure I have ranted against them a couple times.
I think the R&A should institute the same policy as the USGA.
Stephanie, it seems like splitting hairs. You say that gender exclusive clubs are okay until they reach an arbitrary level of influence, criteria that fits only one club. You’re entitled to your opinion, of course, but saying that you don’t have an issue with it at any club except for Augusta doesn’t seem like a very defensible position.
I disagree. ANGC has made a specific point to push their influence into the game and has done so for a very long time.
ANGC makes a point to be the “authority figure” in golf and if you want that responsibility they need accept everything that comes with that position.
If the problem is that the club itself has too much influence on the game, then take it away. Since they help dictate and run the official rankings, take away their seat at the table. If they have input on the Rules of Golf, exclude them there too. If they have a seat on the boards of the USGA, PGA TOUR or the R&A, kick ‘em off. People are whining that ANGC shouldn’t be exclusionary because of their influence. Take away the influence and then what do you have? Just complaints.
The Masters is Augusta National’s own tournament, so they can do whatever they want with their club or the tournament and nobody can say or do anything about it. Even if the PGA TOUR stopped granting FedEx Cup points to the winner, giving the winner a 5-year exemption, and counting the prize money as official, the Masters has too much inertia. Even at risk of personal sanctions, pros will continue to trek to ANGC every April if only for the chance to win a green jacket, whether or not ANGC has a locker room for female members.
Your second paragraph contradicts your first paragraph. You say that influence should be taken away and then you say that it can’t, that the Masters at AGNC has too much inertia.
Obviously AGNC can do what it wants with its membership rules. If it were a public organization we wouldn’t be having this discussion. That is not the point.
The point is whether as a club with such a prominent role in the world of golf, it should be voluntarily sticking to its archaic exclusionary policies. These policies hurt golf and ultimately hurt AGNC.
I really don’t know what the big deal is about admitting women members. What are the good old boys in Georgia afraid of? That the girls will laugh at the silly club rituals? That the girls will play better golf than them?
Women don’t care enough about the game to build their own awesome golf course, so they want to glom on to Augusta.
Pitiful.
How would a woman’s membership negatively impact Augusta in any way?
@Shoshanna, I agree that Curves is not apples to apples. But I would say that ANGC is comparable to Delta Delta Delta, or Sigma Kappa or any Sorority. (And membership in these continues for life, not just in college). They (the college chapters) host events, have fund raisers for charity and such. Are these events somehow immoral or damanged by the fact that their sponsoring clubs are single sex ? Obviously the members at Augusta believe that the institution that they own would be materially damaged or diminished if women members were allowed. And nobody is being harmed by this decision.
As far as hosting of a tournament, be it a major or a nationwide event, to what extent are the players, spectators (patrons) TV viewers, or the world at large – women included in all of those groups – in the least big treated unfairly by Augusta National or the hosting club? The are afforded exactly the same experience as a paying male customer or patron or whatever. If Yani Tseng met one of the criteria for invitation to the Masters, then I have 0 doubt she would be invited just like anyone else.
Btw, I have a wife and a daughter who is an aspiring golfer, and as far as my daughter, I would fight (figuratively) anyone who tried to restrict her or limit her future. But the ability to join a particular private club, no matter how nice a golf course it owns, does not qualify as a worry for me.
Sororities = Fraternities, not one of the public faces of a co-ed sport. And oh dear God, when did anyone bring up fraternities or sororities or say anything defending them.
Here’s the reality ANGC is one of the biggest power players in golf. They have a voice at the table in tournament creation, how the owgr is calculated & what events are sanctioned etc. There is also no way your daughter can become a member (as it currently stands) no matter what she accomplishes in life, because of her gender. ANGC was instrumental in creating the Asian Am, btw there was no corresponding women’s tourn created.
If you’re ok with that…
Why would I want my daughter to join a men’s club? Just to prove a point ? And to destroy their chosen culture ? I’m sure she can get along in the world just fine without the so called “networking” from club membership at Augusta National. There are a multitude of high and low brow golf clubs with other opportunities for that if that is what she desires to do in her life. I promise you, even if she makes millions, not being able to join ANGC will not impact her life negatively one iota.
If Augusta National does not allow women in as members I don’t want to hear any more B S from Billy Payne about the importance of “growing the game.” Have your private men’s club, Billy, but don’t pretend you give a damn about the future of the game of golf.
At his press conference he made such a big point about “being good is not good enough” when it comes to protecting the future of the game. However, when he was asked for hius own personal thoughts of ways to grow the game he could not come up with one idea. He inartfully dodged the question. He has no interest in the future of the game unless the game is played by a select few men at Augusta National.
Billy, your act is wearing thin.
This issue is so much deeper than just should women be allowed as members at ANGC.
The decision is not up to Payne alone although he takes all the publicity. Think about all the members who have joined who have a vote on the issue. This matter is in their bylaws of club membership. How do you tackle that issue with all the members who make the ultimate decision?
If you don’t like the rules they are the ones who can change it not Payne alone.
It may suck for the women but there are a lot of men voters hiding behind the curtain of ANGC and Payne who takes all the bullets.
Personally I don’t really care what ANGC does but on a side note, at my club women’s day on the course is a 6 hour round while men’s day is only 4.5! This is a much more pressing issue in my book.
Best
There is strong allegiance to hierarchy at Augusta National Golf Club. Billy Payne sets the tone and the membership follows. The theory that Billy Payne secretly wants to admit women but his membership isn’t going along with him is laughable.
Hopefully someone who has no fear of retribution will thoroughly investigate ANGC and all the hidden public benefits it gets from tax exemptions, public road access, EPA waivers, zoning privileges, labor laws, extra security you or my club would not get unless part of the ancient Southern Aristocracy & maybe even “no fly zones” – whatever.
ANGC’s reputation should really be in the same category as JimCrow, Poll Taxes & of course segregated public facilities like restaurants, hotels, lodges, drinking fountains, swimming pools etc. Unlike Fraternities & Sororities they can’t argue “Separate but equal”. There is nothing for women like ANGC and the networking the Power Elite is able to accomplish there.
You make an excellent point about the public subsidies this “private” club likely receives.
I don’t know if anybody has mentioned it yet, but unlike many male only clubs ANGC does allow women to play there. That doesn’t happen everywhere. There’s the famous story of Barbara Nicklaus waiting outside the property of Pine Valley while Jack played. I also remember an article about British open courses and one of them had a sign on the clubhouse that said “no dogs or women allowed in clubhouse”!!
The “ANGC is different” argrument is pretty lame. They have World Ranking points and lots of sway? That is the whole argument? It is a huge stretch. Why not just respect the simple fact that single gender clubs are perfectly acceptable?
Pressing this issue makes women look bad. Why do they really really care if Augusta is all male? Why not make an all female club with equal prestige and equal power and an equal level of excellence?
This is why respect for women reaches a plateau and stops rising. The message women are sending here is men have something we want and cannot get for ourselves.
That’s right Jeff. Why don’t women simply establish a club with a 75-year-history of hosting the most watched golf tournament in the world? How hard can that be?
While women are allowed to have female only gyms other organisations should be similarly allowed to restrict their membership.
What part of this discussion did you fail to follow, Mike?
No one is arguing whether private organizations should be allowed to restrict membership.
I believe women should be admitted, but I would settle just for them letting me place once. However Stephanie I think you were a bit condescending in your portrayal of Bubba. He might not be Judith Martin and he once had a temper problem but I did not see him kicking clubs after a bad shot either.
Why are we still discussing this? Augusta National is going to do what it wants, and that’s final! Pressure from the public or the media is not going to make them change their policies. They would rather cancel the Masters then give in to the public and media rants! Then we all lose!
The Masters makes Augusta National. They wouldn’t let that go for anything. Plus all the money it generates for the course keeps the dues down.
They will invite her to join without fanfair or announcement. That’s way they do things and that’s the way they will continue to do things.
Chris, for 20 years we’ve been hearing that. The way they do things is “gentlemen only”
Again, I hope that ANGC will let in females, but women are not excluded from playing the course; many rounds per year are played by women.
My take.. ANGC great Club.. If I’m a female much better places to join almost if not as prestigious. Likely, Augusta has extended female membership in the past only to be turned down.
Not everyone is desperate to get into this Club as one might think. For West Coast People.. I’d take L.A. Country Club or Cypress over dreary Old Augusta
Unlikely.
Ms. Wei:
I’m just wondering why you felt the need to trash Bubba? Was that needed to make your point?
“I mean, if Bubba can Bagdad, who has the social graces of a sixth-grader with ADD, can done the Green Jacket, then why not women? Maybe it’s just me, but I’d prefer to have Ginni as a representative of the club rather than Bubba.”
I would suggest that your social graces are the ones that may be lacking and I make that statement as someone who actually agrees with your premise.
Has this horse not been beaten to a pulp yet?
ANGC would do a lot for the sport if it allowed women to join as members. If growing the game of golf is one of the Club’s priorities as aligned with the allied associations, then they should take note that ladies golf is growing and also has the most potential. I’m all for a co-ed membership at AGNG…it would also help put some of golf’s ugly stereotypes behind us.
Yawn. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter what Stephanie thinks.
I have no problem with people ripping ANGC for the membership policy, but I really have an issue with them talking about “unfair benefits” from the municipality. That club does so much good for the city of Augusta that it is incredible (and these are actual numbers and not wild speculations about potential “benefits”).
Ask people in Augusta what they think of ANGC and the Masters Tournament and you will realize that it is overwhelmingly positive. The club donates millions of dollars per year and makes a specific point to have a large portion of the money go to local charities.
Now please feel free to arguing about the policies of a club that none of us would ever be asked to join. I am a 35 year old male golfer that would love to be a member, but I am discriminated against for influence and wealth reasons….
Grade – F
In the 90′s I proposed a woman for membership at an “old south” country club older than ANGC. Not because of tokenism, not because of media pressure, not because the club “needed” a minority member for appearances. No I proposed her because she was a friend who was also a friend of other members and thought it would be a good place for her kids to play golf, tennis, swim, etc. She went through the process, was accepted and is still a member today. Had she not been accepted, I may have dropped out, don’t know, it never came to that.
That said, I fully support ANGC’s right to use their own criteria to select members.
Lots of private organizations conduct public events that help fund their existence. Lot’s of private clubs have influence in the community. ANGC just does it on a different scale. Who gets to draw the line and say you have been so successful that you no longer have the right afforded other private clubs to pick members according to your own criteria.
I can think of women who should be fine candidates for membership several mentioned above. But it is their call.
I don’t understand the comparison in the article about “Bubba from Baghdad” getting a green jacket, but the CEO of IBM not getting one. Well, Bubba won the freaking Master’s… the actual golf tournament. This woman has not and is a business leader. I understand the main focus of this topic, but didn’t think it was necessary to knock an actual pro golfer who just won the most prestigious event in golf. Bubba may not be the most cultured of the bunch, but he’s earned his standing. Maybe you don’t like Bubba and his “sixth grade social graces”, but he is the master’s champ and deserves that green jacket as much as Jack, Arnie, Gary, Phil, Tiger and the like. So, maybe you should focus on the real topic at hand and drop your hysterics over Bubba being a major champion.
The fact that Bubba’s working class home town is fodder for humor shows just how much golf is still an elite sport played by wealthy and privileged people.
Perhaps Ginni Rometty was asked to be a member of ANGC and she turned down the invitation. Perhaps she doesn’t want to be the token woman at a good-ole-boys club.
Golf is only important to golfers — a declining group in the USA. Many outside the game of golf see golf as elitist. ANGC’s policies only reinforce that point of view. When a major player in the world of golf makes it very clear that woman are unwelcome, then I have enough pride as a woman to say, “keep your little sign that says ‘girls not allowed’ on your treehouse door, I’ll play elsewhere.” And I’d probably choose not to play the game that is excluding me — but something entirely different. Perhaps soccer or tennis… there are plenty of sports welcoming the females to their playing fields. There’s no need to play where we’re not wanted.
FYI, just because you win a Green Jacket as a Masters Champion, that does not mean that you are a member of Augusta National. Past Champs do get some additional privledges as far a playing the course, ect, but they are not invited to members only events. So comparing Bubba and Ginni Rometty is not a valid comparison.
Here’s my litmus test: insert any other descriptor (black, Asian, Jewish, etc.) into the phrase, “ANGC excludes from membership” and the PGA would have a difficult time sanctioning a tourney, even one as prestigious as the Masters.
“This is why respect for women reaches a plateau and stops rising.”
Really, Jeff?
Reading through this and I’m struck at the similarity of arguments between this and Tiger’s behavior. And how some people here agree with one, but not the other…
Augusta is a leader, just like Tiger is the face of golf. They get held to higher standards. So yes, we’re not upset that Craig Stadler swears on the course; Tiger, though, booting his club across a tee box? If he’s the face of golf, he needs to live up to it.
Similarly, if Augusta continues to want to be the head of golf, the ideal, the magical paradise of the game, they need to get held to a higher standard. That would include allowing women as members, and not being so stuck in 1955 ways. To argue that other places do it is beside the point.
This is Augusta and Tiger Woods we’re talking about. Live up to your names!
Max I must say those are well constructed points. In that sense I agree with you Tiger needs to step it up. The only reason I tend to give him a pass on that stuff is because it is in the heat of competition and not outside the ropes.
@hmc, that’s my point, the women are just interested because Augusta is rich and powerful, they don’t have an underlying principle. So it is just nagging and pestering instead of accepting was has been established as fair.
The Masters is not a PGA Tour event.
Travelers was a long time Masters sponsor. Consecutive CEOs were selected as members. But the last two have not been.
Disavow yourselves of the notion that there is any connection between Masters sponsorship and membership — there is none.
If you want to get pissed off at someone it should be Rometty, why not compel her to cancel the IBM sponsorship?
Before we leave this issue, let’s consider a couple of what if’s:
The first will be funny to some: What if ANGC offered a token membership to someone like, say Sarah Palin? How would the NYT, Crouse Brennan and others react, would they applaud the club or bash it for admitting the wrong woman?
The second is improbable but slightly possible: What if Bobby Jones told Clifford before he died that he wanted ANGC to remain a national men’s club? He could have said that this is not a local country club with pools and tennis, it is a national men’s golf club. AGNC will always treat women with respect and give member’s wives and their guests full access to the facilities, but it is to remain a national men’s club after I die? If that was the case, what choice does the chairman have?
As much as I don’t like it, it seems to me that sooner or later they will be faced with a choice – admit women or see the Masters Tournament be either ended or marginalized or at least significantly changed. For example if the PGA Tour decided it could no longer give it points, count the winner as a tour winner or whatever. In essence, it would be “independent”. Maybe that would work, maybe not, I don’t know. But if it happens, @chp, they may have to decide whether to follow the past (even to your theoretical supposition of the direct wishes of Bobby Jones) or to change going forward into the future. That decisions will lay with the membership, not Billy Payne or whoever is chairman.
@Brian It started as an “independent” invitational. Who would stop coming if the Tour quit giving points or counting official money? They could go pay per view, jack up the price of pimento cheese sandwiches and pay the players twice what they do today, so the players won’t stop coming.
Truly, I think they will let a woman in, however it will be on their terms and timeframe. Rometty has no chance of being first, due to the media focus on her.
Unfortunately, I really don’t see what Brian expecting “sooner or later” to ever happen. Me, I agree, and I think it would be great if it did happen–someone on tour saying, “please change or we’ll marginalize your influence.”
But it’s pretty much flipped: the fact that Augusta does hold such power over the tour, fans, players, etc. means that they probably don’t think they need to change, and won’t. Maybe sometime in the near future they’ll be ready to, and that’s really all we can realistically hope for.
Still doesn’t hurt to nag them about it though!
So after all this time, did Augusta offer a membership to Ms. Rometty?