Irish golf club set to admit women for the first time
By Alistair Dunsmuir
One of the last golf clubs in the British Isles in which only men can be members is set to change its policy.
Portmarnock Golf Club in Dublin is to hold a special general meeting to lay the groundwork that would allow the members of the club to remove a gender clause from its rules.
The 127-year-old golf club cannot host publicly-funded events such as the Irish Open or R&A events such as the Walker Cup or the Amateur Championship as it remains men only.
According to the Irish Independent, the meeting will first vote to temporarily make an amendment to club rules to allow an online or postal ballot and then decide on what majority will be required to pass a motion on the gender issue.
Once that has been done, the club will set a date to vote on amending Rule 3 of the Rules of Portmarnock Golf Club, which states that “the club shall consist of members and associate members who shall be gentlemen properly elected and who shall conform with the rules of amateur status”.
It is understood there is an appetite in the club to introduce women members, so it again becomes available for top class international competition.
The club only got to host the Amateur Championship in 2019 because it was awarded the event several years before The R&A introduced its ban on men-only clubs hosting its championships.
While almost all golf clubs in the UK and Ireland have always been open to both sexes, some of the most prestigious venues were men-only for years. However, this has changed in the last decade: The likes of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, Royal Troon, Royal Aberdeen, Panmure Golf Club, Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society, Royal St George’s and the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers have opened their doors to women members in the past few years. Glasgow Golf Club, believed to be the last men-only UK golf club, agreed to admit women at the end of 2019. This hasn’t just been a UK and Ireland issue, Augusta National Golf Club ended its men-only policy in 2012.
By Alistair Dunsmuir
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Whatever next? If we’re not careful, people might think women are the equal of men (and for those with an irony bypass, this is not meant to be taken seriously)
“It is understood there is an appetite in the club to introduce women members, so it again becomes available for top class international competition.”
So, not because they want to promote equality?
I think this is awesome!!
Long past time !!!
How is this even a thing in 2021?
And when are the admittedly few women only clubs going to open up to men?