Posted 4/14/03 9:57 am ET

Past champions give views on membership

Golfers practice on the driving range at Augusta National Golf Club shortly after the rain cleared Sunday. Many past champions have said the club's all-male membership doesn't bother them. Andrew Davis Tucker/AugustaChronicle

By John Boyette and David Westin
The Augusta Chronicle

All winners of the Masters Tournament automatically become honorary members of Augusta National Golf Club, but most are indifferent when it comes to whether the private club should admit a female member.

A sampling of former champions shows several believe women face greater issues than being allowed to join private golf clubs. A handful say the club should let a woman join, and some declined to comment.

The issue has been a topic of debate since last summer, when Martha Burk, the chairwoman of the National Council of Women's Organizations, wrote Augusta National Chairman Hootie Johnson and asked the club to open its membership to women. Johnson answered with a strongly worded reply and a statement to the media that said the club would set its own timetable for admitting a woman, "not at the point of a bayonet."

"I think controversy on anything is OK. Would it affect me in any way if there was a lady member there? No. Is it worse that there isn't? Not to me," said Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters winner. "My skinny on the whole thing is if they want to push it and try to get a lady member there, that's fine. But to go to these drastic measures I think is totally wrong. I think this Martha Burk lady that is running this women's group has gone a little overboard."

Mark O'Meara, the 1998 winner, said the decision was beyond his control.

"The way I look at it, if Augusta chooses to have a woman member, fine. ... I'm not a real member there, so I don't think that's my call," he said. "I would hope that sooner or later they would have one. If they choose not, I think I'm still going to go play in the tournament. I'm not going to boycott it."

After being rebuked by Johnson last summer, Burk set her sights on the corporate sponsors of the Masters. When Johnson released the three commercial sponsors from their obligation, Burk targeted several Augusta National members who are also corporate leaders. She also called out the PGA Tour, which does not sanction the Masters but does count player earnings from the event for its money rankings.

"I think there are really bigger and better issues out there concerning women than getting a membership at Augusta that she should be focusing on," said Vijay Singh, the 2000 Masters champion. "I'm just saddened that it has come to this. What is it going to do if they do have a woman member? I don't think it's going to make any difference."

Said Nick Faldo, a three-time Masters winner: "With all that's going on in the world, it's good that they care about something, but I hope they're only spending 5 percent of their time on it. There are far more important issues in the world right now. This one's not a big one."

Among those who declined to answer were Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, two of the most influential men in golf and both members of Augusta National.

"I'm going to keep my mouth shut on that one. Have I ever dodged a question? No," said Nicklaus, who has won the Masters a record six times. "Well, I'll dodge this one. What would that speak to you? You make your own assumption on how I feel about that. By not saying anything, I think I said a lot more."

Nicklaus, one of the foremost golf architects in the world, has pointed out that none of the clubs his company has developed keeps women or minorities out.

"I think I've said all I'm going to say about Augusta," said Palmer, a four-time winner. "I'm just very pleased to be a member and very pleased to have the opportunity to go there."

Tiger Woods, who is shooting for an unprecedented third-straight Masters win this week, was singled out by an editorial in The New York Times last fall to boycott the tournament. He declined, citing his opportunity to make history, but said recently that the Masters would be more than just a golf tournament this year.

"It's brought about more of an awareness (to the issue) that wasn't there before," said Woods, who supports admitting women to the club. "I think that's the important thing about it - that we are all aware that it still happens in our sport, and trying to rectify that doesn't happen overnight. Obviously, that's being proven."

One of Burk's arguments against Augusta National is that because the club puts on a yearly tournament that is viewed by the public, it should not exclude anyone from membership. Some players agreed with that point.

Gary Player, the first international winner of the Masters, said Augusta National differs from Pine Valley, an all-male club that is perennially ranked as the top course in the world. The U.S. Golf Association, the PGA of America and the PGA Tour do not sanction events that are held at clubs that have exclusionary policies, and Pine Valley has not played host to a major event since those governing bodies implemented their new standards.

"Augusta hosts one of the four biggest golf tournaments in the world. Therefore, they've loaned themselves to the public," Player said. "Three hundred million television viewers, 80,000 plus or minus spectators every year - they've been a part of Augusta."

Player, a native of South Africa, also pointed out that Augusta National did not have any black members until 1990.

"They changed, because they realized that was the correct thing to do," he said.

Larry Mize, an Augusta native who won the Masters in 1987, said whether the event constitutes a public event is up for debate.

"Augusta is so much in the public eye with the Masters that people seem to think of it as a different thing, and I'm not so sure it is," he said. "I believe they have the right to have the membership any way they want, but for the big picture, the best thing to do would be to go ahead and have a woman member."

One thing the former champions agree on is that this Masters, with the expected protests outside the club gates sure to draw attention, will have a different feel.

"I hope it doesn't really disrupt the tournament there," said Charles Coody, the 1971 Masters winner. "I think that would be unfortunate."

Couples agreed, saying the residents of Augusta are the losers in the whole controversy.

"Really, they are kind of destroying the little town of Augusta. I think that's not very funny," he said. "I know a lot of people who live there. ... Now, we've lost sponsors, the charities are going to get crushed in that area, and I think that's kind of crazy."

 

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