Is it Finally Tee Time for a Woman?

Let me preface by saying that I LOVE sports, golf included. One of my favorite sporting events of the year is the Masters, held by Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, GA. It’s the first major of the year, all the elite players compete, and best of all, it’s one of the biggest signs that spring has finally arrived. However, both golf and Augusta National have had their histories regarding sexism, and frankly, sheer pigheadedness.

Golf’s biggest star (arguably of all time), Tiger Woods, got into a lot of trouble over the past couple years involving excessive womanizing and countless incidents of adultery. Relevant now is the fact that Augusta National has a long and infamous history of sexism. Though a private establishment, Augusta National has run into a great deal of criticism and condemnation for continuing to remain an all-male club; only men are accepted as members, and the club has historically gone well out of its way to reject women. In 2002, Martha Burk, then of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, publicly took on Augusta National Chairman Hootie Johnson and implored the club to start accepting women. This was met with a great deal of resistance, with Burk, according to herself, being "called a man hater, anti-family, lesbian, all the usual things." Despite the fight, Augusta National continued to remain men-only.

Fast-forward to today, ten years later. IBM has long been one of the major sponsors of the Masters Tournament, and as a result, its sitting CEOs have traditionally been invited as members of Augusta National. On January 1, 2012, Ginni Rometty, a woman, became the CEO of IBM. Understandably, this has really put Augusta National on the hot seat, and creates a great deal of drama and conflict between two of the club’s long-standing traditions.

Will Augusta National alienate one of its major sponsors and receive even more amplified criticism and scrutiny by breaking tradition and refusing to invite IBM’s sitting CEO as a member? Or, will Augusta National have to break with one of their core tenets by inviting a woman to be a member?

Chances are, by the time the Masters begins next week on April 5, the club may have made a decision. This is a much bigger deal to the golf world than it may seem, and finally inviting a woman would be doing the sport of golf, as well as the institution that is Augusta National, a lot of favors. More importantly, Augusta National finally accepting a female member would be a long overdue way of finally doing the right thing.

For further reading, here is an article from ESPN.com about the situation.