Men-only herd

Black Sheep GC offers its perspective on excluding women

One of my nominees for best new course of 2002 is the Black Sheep Golf Club, located on Chicago's far West Side. The course is surrounded by farms, and if you didn't know how you got there you'd swear you were playing in Scotland. It reminded me of Crail, a course not far from St. Andrews. It is links-like, as much a links as you can be when you're a few thousand miles from an ocean. Few trees, rolling terrain and wild fescue rough highlight the course. Some bunkers even have wild stuff growing in them.

MAILBAG Admitting all the members' wives to Augusta National would be a good start and would also give the club time to quietly integrate women. I suspect they were very close to doing so anyway until this unnecessary public battle. But how about going one step further and inviting the winners of the previous year's LPGA majors to play at the Masters? They are clearly as good as some of the older male winners. This would most certainly get Augusta National off the hook and would give Hootie and the boys some positive public-relations buzz. (Third suggestion: Hire a good p.r. firm.) —Emily Brown, Sparta, Mich. Thanks for your innovative idea, E-woman. I'm afraid it would cause even more screaming and controversy, but it would be fascinating to watch Karrie Webb and Annika Sorenstam take on Augusta National from the men's tees. They could definitely make the cut, unlike Arnie. As for hiring a good public-relations firm, that horse already ran off to Nevada, and the whole barn burned down. Why not suggest that Hootie just run an LPGA Tour version of the Masters once per year, which we, as non-discriminating golfers, would all like to see (on the very vacant LPGA schedule)? Then he is both within the Constitution and true to the charter of Augusta National and the glorious traditions of the game of golf. He'd be creating equality and pioneering a historic event that we would all like to see for years to come. —Geoff Cornish, Laguna Hills, Calif. Pretty good idea, Cornball. I like it. Given the club's short season, October-May, I don't think members would've gone for it before, but if it would settle this controversy, it might have a chance. The problem is, somehow I don't think Martha Burk and her gal pals would be satisfied. Which sport is harder to play well: golf or baseball? And which is more difficult to perfect? —Martyn Camacho, San Diego Hitting a hard slider is about as difficult as it gets, skillwise, in sports. Baseball may be tougher in some ways because you can't practice by yourself. Also, you've got to be able to run, field, throw and hit. It requires certain physical abilities. Golf is a more cerebral game, although it, too, necessitates physical skills. As a former baseball player myself, I'd rate golf as slightly more difficult, mainly for the complexity of the swing and the mental side. In baseball, if you got mad, you could just throw the ball harder or swing harder. That doesn't work in golf ... not counting throwing your clubs harder.

It's one of the most fun courses I've played this year. The catch is, it's private, it's expensive -- and it's for men only. I asked the club's founder, Vince Solano, to write a piece about starting a men-only club in this day and age. With the Augusta National controversy in full swing, this seemed like a good time to let him explain his club's view. So here it is:

Why our club only admits men

By Vincent Solano Sr.

The Black Sheep Golf Club, which opened last spring near Chicago, is what I call a throwback. It has 18 holes (nine more are almost finished), a membership limited to 250 and a small clubhouse. Here's what it won't have: kitchen, banquet room, swimming pool, tennis courts, housing developments on the course, long waits, tee times and women. As a founding member and president of the development company that built Black Sheep, I'm excited to be part of a club whose focus is strictly on golf, the way it used to be. Country clubs in modern America have evolved away from that and often become social centers, dance halls, dining rooms, and swim and tennis clubs that also happen to have golf. They're good for families, but we hope to offer another option.

We're not the first all-male golf club in the Chicago area. Old Elm, Bob O'Link and Butler National also are men-only. For us, it wasn't a sexist or political decision not to admit women; it was a business decision. With equity memberships costing $85,000 apiece, there simply wasn't a market for a golf-only club that women would join. In 1988 one of the courses we built was the Royal Fox Golf Club in St. Charles, Ill. Membership was "open" -- in other words, a man or a woman could be the club member of record and have full privileges. In 12 years, only seven women had memberships, and the last I heard the club was down to three. That's not much of a market.

The Black Sheep Golf Club's emphasis on golf enables us to have a small clubhouse (6,200 square feet), greatly reduced labor staff and to concentrate on the course, the game and the practicing and teaching of golf. Our clubhouse has one main room, which has a bar -- I call it the saloon -- where cigars are smoked. There's a pro shop, an office and, on the lower level, a locker room. If we admitted women, we would have to substantially increase the size of the clubhouse and add another locker room and shower facility. We have few amenities, which probably wouldn't appeal to women. For example, if the ladies wanted to come out to the club for lunch or tea, well, we don't do that. All we have is a grill on the veranda and a refrigerator stocked with sandwiches. When the course closes for the winter, the clubhouse will close with it.

Our club's no-women rule hasn't been an issue, I think, because we're not unique in Chicago and we've been upfront and straightforward about what we're trying to do. Women golfers will play at Black Sheep. We'll host an annual Daisy Mae Day, when members can bring female guests. You've never heard of Daisy Mae? She's a throwback ... like our club.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle writes for the magazine's Golf Plus section and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.

 

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