An Argument Against Women's Participation in the Masters

Augusta National Golf Club is generally thought of as one of the most famous golf clubs in the world. Bobby Jones, a famous golfer, founded the club in 1933 (Masters). The following year, the club began hosting the Masters Golf Tournament. It is one of the four major tournaments that are played on the PGA tour circuit each year. It has traditionally been a male-only club with around 300 members by invitation only (Masters). This fact is something that began garnering a large amount of criticism in 2003, when Martha Burk, chairperson of the National Women's Council of Organizations, spoke out against the golf club for its lack of female membership. The "male-only" mantra is something that Augusta National takes pride in, and this concept should remain forever as part of the club's history.

Women can play rounds at the golf club during the season whenever the tournament is not being held; however, they have to be guests of a member. Also, they would actually be allowed to play in the golf tournament if they qualified for an invitation, but the requirements for this are seemingly impossible. They would have to win one of the other three major tournaments: PGA Championship, British Open, or U.S. Open (Masters). Women have played in other PGA events before, but this is by invitation only. Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie, and Babe Zaharias are the only women ever to accomplish this feat.

The "no-women allowed" policy was never really visited until 2003 when Martha Burk spoke out. She realized that there were no women among the 300 members, and organized a protest against Augusta National Golf Club and then-chairman Hootie Johnson. Burk's National Women's Council of Women's Organizations sent a letter to Johnson on June 12, 2003, protesting the club's membership policies (Augusta). She also suggested that the Masters should move to another golf club that allows women members. This letter was ultimately dismissed; with Johnson maintaining that Augusta National Golf Club membership matters were private.

Since the Augusta National Golf Club is a private entity, neither it nor the Masters has any affiliation with the PGA tour itself. This is something that obviously allows the club to make its own decisions. If the club does not want to allow women members, that is most definitely their right. Augusta National Golf Club is proud of their history and private nature, and they are allowed to keep it the way they want.

Augusta National Golf Club is not the only private entity in the world. There are things such as fraternities, sororities, and many other social clubs that have private membership. This golf club should not be singled out simply because it is on a larger scale.

Another thing to consider once again is the Martha Burk incident. She organized her protest in 2003, seventy years after the golf club opened (Privacy). No one had ever really thought about it before then. That seems to speak to the fact that it really is a non-issue. Burk got a little hotheaded because of some documents she read about the club not having women members, and then just decided she would lead a protest. There was much media interest in her situation in the months leading up to the Masters (Privacy). However, when the day of the protest came; she only had around forty people join her at the golf course (Augusta). Some dignitaries, such as Jesse Jackson, backed out on her at the last minute. These types of circumstance again show that the whole situation really is not a big deal. You never hear women on the LPGA tour talking about it; they are superstars in their own right and proud of what they do. Martha Burk created a short media buzz that fizzled out and really has not been revisited.

Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters tournament are both things that are a very rich part of the history of professional golf. These two entities are obviously separate, with one being a private golf club and the other being an actual tournament, but they are synonymous with each other. The private nature of the club gives it the power to do whatever it wants with its membership policies. "Males-only" is part of the rich history of this golf club. Women need not apply.