Agusta Golf Club......should women be allowed?

[Tmy]

(war break)


The high profile Masters PGA golf tournemnt will once agian be held at the Augusta Golf Culb. A Private club that does not allow women members. This year there will be protestors of all sorts because of the media attention brought to the no women policy.

Basically, NOW is pressuring the club to allow women. The club president (Hootie) has stood his ground and refuses to change the policy.

What do ya'll think??

For em I see gender discrimination in a different light than I do racial discrimination.. There are lots of clubs that have gender requirements.

I would love to belongto a men only Golf Club........it'd be a perfect excuse to not invite the wives.

[PygmyPlaidGiraffe]

Originally posted by Tmy
(war break)


The high profile Masters PGA golf tournemnt will once agian be held at the Augusta Golf Culb. A Private club that does not allow women members. This year there will be protestors of all sorts because of the media attention brought to the no women policy.

Basically, NOW is pressuring the club to allow women. The club president (Hootie) has stood his ground and refuses to change the policy.

What do ya'll think??

For em I see gender discrimination in a different light than I do racial discrimination.. There are lots of clubs that have gender requirements.

I would love to belongto a men only Golf Club........it'd be a perfect excuse to not invite the wives.

I have a solution, and I am not the 1st to sugget it...

I am in agreement with George Carlin...

Solve this petty crap by re-zoning all the Golf courses in North America into affordable Housing projects or homes for the multitudes of homeless, and or working poor, and those recently maginalized by corrupt corperations that bilked people out of savings and pensions.

I would love to see it! Just to not ever see grown men complaining about the rising cost of playing the game and whining that their new expensive clubs are not helping their game.

[LTC8K6]

I always wondered about the tournaments and how the differences in courses would be dealt with.

[PygmyPlaidGiraffe]

You know what women really want?

They want to be recognized as productive members of society even if they choose to raise children and put there careers on hold.

Women want the best health care for their children and grand children.

The best education.

I am sure there are many other things women want so that they can choose what they want to do with dignity and women have more than earned their place as equals to men in my view.

Many women do not care whether they can be permitted on Americas most "prestigious" golf courses. It might be the glaze on the cake for some, but it is not what will define them when all is said done.

unfortunately This little rant is limited in scope.

[Bearguin]

I think they should be allowed the right to make that determination. I don't want to see laws forcing them to do otherwise.

Now, based on the decision they have made, I won't watch it, won't knowlingly support their advertisers and will rant about it at any opportunity.

[Troll]

It's a private club. That's what matters. They get to decide membership. I have nothing against anyone, well except for whiners crying about fair deals and what should be fair. Should all private clubs open their membership? Should "girls night out" include the men? To be honest I doubt I'd ever have the chance or desire to be a member there, and I don't much care. But I look at the precedant of things. Are we not free to have our own little havens? Can't people of similar interests hang with others without having to be open to everyone? So a bunch of guys that have a lot of money and like golf got together and decided to relive their childhood days of wanting little clubs they pretended to have in their youth after watching countless episodes of Little Rascals, what harm are they doing other than pissing off some people that find them to be "unfair" for wanting a quiet place for them and others with similar lives and interests to hang out?

[Ladyhawk]

NOW should back off; they've got more important things to attend to on their agenda. (No wonder the right- to -choice is fighting to survive....they're worried about private golf clubs.) So, Augusta doesn't allow women....so what??? There are plenty of 'prestigious' clubs that do admit women. When you think about it, it's their loss. They'll come around eventually. They'll figure out that it's more profitable to be open to admitting women rather than denying them. Time will take care of this one...and even if it doesn't, I see nothing wrong with any club that restricts membership based on gender. I see health clubs for 'women only' and 'men only' all the time. No one protests that :confused:

[ZeeGerman]

Originally posted by Troll
It's a private club. That's what matters. They get to decide membership. I have nothing against anyone, well except for whiners crying about fair deals and what should be fair. Should all private clubs open their membership? Should "girls night out" include the men? To be honest I doubt I'd ever have the chance or desire to be a member there, and I don't much care. But I look at the precedant of things. Are we not free to have our own little havens? Can't people of similar interests hang with others without having to be open to everyone? So a bunch of guys that have a lot of money and like golf got together and decided to relive their childhood days of wanting little clubs they pretended to have in their youth after watching countless episodes of Little Rascals, what harm are they doing other than pissing off some people that find them to be "unfair" for wanting a quiet place for them and others with similar lives and interests to hang out?
Is say this is one of the occasions I completely agree with you ;)

Zee

[Tmy]

In defense of NOW, I thin there big beef is all the attention and corporate support the Masters generates for Agusta. Funny thing is that many of the Agusta members are CEO's of big national compaines. These compainies dont want to be associated wh anything thats considered discrimination. Same goes for they tour sponsers.

What bugged me was the call for Tiger Woods to boycott. Why should he have to champion there cause? Cause he's black hes expeted to be Mr. Civil Rights activist?

[ZeeGerman]

Originally posted by Tmy
In defense of NOW, I thin there big beef is all the attention and corporate support the Masters generates for Agusta. Funny thing is that many of the Agusta members are CEO's of big national compaines. These compainies dont want to be associated wh anything thats considered discrimination. Same goes for they tour sponsers.

What bugged me was the call for Tiger Woods to boycott. Why should he have to champion there cause? Cause he's black hes expeted to be Mr. Civil Rights activist?

Maybe, because if he did, people might think he did it because he felt discriminated as a black and so paint the club members with a racist brush as well as the gender discriminating.

Zee

[WildCat]

Originally posted by Tmy
Basically, NOW is pressuring the club to allow women. The club president (Hootie) has stood his ground and refuses to change the policy.
But what do the Blowfish think?:D

[Bearguin]

Originally posted by Gods Advocate
I think they should be allowed the right to make that determination. I don't want to see laws forcing them to do otherwise.

Now, based on the decision they have made, I won't watch it, won't knowlingly support their advertisers and will rant about it at any opportunity.

Well. I'm a liar.

Hearing that Mike Weir was in contention, and knowing that Agusta was not paying any advertisers, I watched all 4 1/2 hours of it, loudly cheering on a fellow Canadian all the time.

There go my morals.......

[aerocontrols]

Augusta should be allowed to be a men-only club, but the PGA can be (and should be) criticized for holding its tournament there.

MattJ

Edit because I always typo on possessives.

[DrBenway]

In my opinion, so long as tax dollars don't support the golf course or the event in question, the people running the place have the right to discriminate as they see fit. They can keep out women, blacks, gays, the disabled, non-Christians, people with bad taste in shoes --anyone they please.

But they will have to deal with the unhappiness of those who feel excluded also. They'll have to listen to NOW and other women's groups b*tch. C'est la vie.

[headscratcher4]

I had a moment of clarity about the whole debate while watching the tournament. No, not that a private club must bow to pressure...merely of the wrongness and stupidity of the rule...a rule that they can have.

One of the golf commentators was talking about the tournament leaders. He was talking about how during one of the practice rounds last week, the golfer made his tee shot, than invited his dad who was walking the round with him, up onto the tee to strike a drive. The commentator thought it was a great father/son moment. He noted that it must have been a real thrill for the father.

However, I kept thinking, yes that is nice, but at this stupid club with this silly rule, the same moment could not be shared between this golfer and his daughter or mother. And in realizing that, I was actully quite sad for Hootie and the Blow-hards, 'cause in their effort to salvage their pride and their perogative, they are making their world that much smaller.

[Richard G]

Freedom of association. There is no Constitutional right that says a private group has to like you, and associate with you.

Freemasonry excludes women. Many of the millionare clubs in California and Florida exclude Jews.

KKK excludes blacks. Thats a real problem.

[Skeptic]

The issue, unfortunately, is not so much whether the Augusta club SHOULD admit women (I think it should) but whether it must be FORCED to admit women (it shouldn't).

It's a private club. The owners of the club, if they so wish, can limit membership to white protestant males--which is in effect the case. They can also limit the club membership to Swahili-speaking Chinese women, or to people who are over six feet tall, if they so wish.

This distinction between what people have the RIGHT to do and what they SHOULD do is critical, and all too often lost here.

[Skeptic]

Have the right to discriminate as they see fit. They can keep out women, blacks, gays, the disabled, non-Christians, people with bad taste in shoes--anyone they please.

The last one might be a bit of a problem, this being a golf club.

[corplinx]

Women play at augusta all the time. There just no female club members. Augusta's membership isn't open period. You can't just walk up and apply. You have to be invited to join.


Because of the fascis- errrr feminists who want to tell them how to run their club and threatening to pile on the sponsors until the sponsors stop advertising. Augusta's solution? No more commercials during the masters. They have enough money where they don't need commercials anyway.

In short, we as reasoned, thinking people should be applauding Augusta for one upping the fascis- errr feminists.

Today they are telling you who you have to let join your club, tomorrow they are telling you who you can or cannot sleep with. When you allow one form of fascism, other forms gain leverage.


Smoking ban anyone?

[corplinx]

Originally posted by headscratcher4
However, I kept thinking, yes that is nice, but at this stupid club with this silly rule, the same moment could not be shared between this golfer and his daughter or mother.


Wrong. Women get to play Augusta and play there frequently. Women are just not allowed to become members. There is a big difference.

[Richard G]

Don't you think this rule is in place so dad can get the hell away from mom and daughter for awhile? Hell yeah, and I'm all for it.

[Suddenly]

Some semi-ironic background on the demonized Hootie and the Augusta situation:

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20021104-12599427.htm

In short, Hootie has a long history of promoting gender equality, and most likely was working behind the scenes to convince the less liberal members that a female member would be a good idea until Martha Burk swooped in and attempted to force the issue.

[rustypouch]

I see nithing wrong with this. It is a private club and they can let it whomever they wish. I know there are some places I will nver be let into, such as the Mormon temple in SLC or any freemason's hall, simply because of my beliefs (or lack of). Does this mean I will complain about it? Probably not.

[headscratcher4]

Originally posted by corplinx



Wrong. Women get to play Augusta and play there frequently. Women are just not allowed to become members. There is a big difference.

Well, it's not the first time, and certainly won't be the last...