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Some male golf clubs are on defensive
Posted: Sunday April 06, 2003 10:18 PM
Updated: Monday April 07, 2003 8:53 AM
By Jason B. Smith
The Augusta Chronicle
At Black Sheep Golf Club near Chicago, it's about golf.
Pure and simple.
Black Sheep has 27 holes and a small clubhouse, but no pool, banquet room, tennis courts or tee times. There are no women among its 200 members.
"It's a place you can go and enjoy that and not have to be distracted by worrying about, oh, how do we handle the children at the pool, what kind of dinner dance should we have, what should we charge," club President Vincent Solano Sr. said. "None of that enters into our minds. We go there and we just sink ourselves into golf."
The focus on Augusta National Golf Club's all-male membership this year has put private golf clubs across America, especially those yet to invite a woman to be a member, in an uncomfortable spotlight.
"I don't really think, frankly, that the public gives a damn," Solano said. "I personally believe that this is a nonissue. People in everyday life aren't thinking about why we should be mad at Augusta."
Solano already has been through the access battle, albeit on the other side. His Royal Fox Country Club was the first private club in the Chicago area to offer stand-alone memberships to women, he said.
When it came time to build Black Sheep, there was little question what Solano wanted. He already was a member of a couple of country clubs: places where pools, parties and other amenities kept the family happy. So Black Sheep got a golf course, a practice facility, a "saloon" and a back porch perfect for watching sunsets, he said.
The men-only policy, he said, was a matter of economics.
"There's no market for a woman to join a club like that," he said. "There may be some women interested, but there aren't 200 of them."
So far, Solano said, his club - along with other men-only clubs in Chicago, such as Bob O'Link Golf Club and Butler National Golf Club - have dodged the controversy stirred by Martha Burk, the chairwoman of the National Council of Women's Organizations.
For Burk, Augusta National is just next in line. She said her group caused Burning Tree Club in suburban Washington to lose its tax exemption and had a hand in getting women into clubs such as the New York Athletic Club and Cosmos Club.
"(You) need to understand, this is not about golf or a golf club. It's about access to power," she said.
The Masters Tournament put Augusta National on Burk's list, she said.
"Because they've turned themselves into a de facto public entity, they forfeit the right to claim they're a private club when they hold such a public event that's broadcast over the public airwaves," she said.
Solano agreed that Augusta National is different from other private clubs because of the Masters. However, he said, the National - which does not have a written male-only membership policy - is actually "very liberal with women being able to use the facilities."
The membership policy of Plantation Golf Club in Indio, Calif., is similar to that at Augusta National, said Art Schilling, the director of golf. There's nothing in membership guidelines to restrict women from joining the club; it just has only men as members. Prospective members must be invited, be social acquaintances of a member and complete a screening process.
"We've rejected a lot of people," Schilling said. "It's not a male-female issue. It is a member issue."
The Plantation has 450 members and a waiting list. It's been that way since the club opened in 1996, he said.
"It's for people that enjoy the game of golf - no tee times, no pools, no fancy flowers," Schilling said.
There are 106 other courses around Palm Springs - within a few miles of Plantation, mostly high-end, resort-style courses. Many of the Plantation's members are members of several of those courses, too.
"Our club is a fourth or fifth or sixth club for our members," Schilling said. "It's not a club where people come out and spend the day and socialize later with cocktails and dinner. We don't provide any of that."
The club closes at 6 p.m. daily and has a small kitchen for breakfast and lunch.
"We just try to keep it simple," he said.
Private clubs are also about convenience and comfort, Solano said. For example, if he wants a cigar in the saloon, he can have it.
"We can talk about a lot of things that we would not normally do in the presence of women," he said. "They are not profane or subjects that are off-limits. We talk about who won the basketball game and how that golf guy plays. Women don't want to hear that crap."
Copyright 2003 The Augusta Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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