Augusta National Golf Club is home to the Masters Tournament, the most popular and watched golf event virtually every year. The Masters is the youngest of the four major championships, but the fact that it is held on the same venue every year and that the winner is awarded the coveted green jacket has bred much fascination and familiarity among fans. Many serious golf fans know the back nine of Augusta as well as their own backyards.
Of its approximately 300 members, however, there are no women. Interestingly, the absence of women in the club's membership was first brought to attention at this year's Masters, when the club's chairman, William (Hootie) Johnson was asked whether Augusta had exclusionary policies.
Once Johnson flatly said no, he wasn't pressed any further; not until June 12, when Martha Burk, the chair of National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO), wrote to Johnson that "we urge you to review your policies and practices in this regard, and open your membership to women now, so that this is not an issue when the tournament is staged next year."
A month later, Johnson released a statement in response to Burk's letter. Not only was it a public reply to a private correspondence, Johnson's announcement was also aggressive and defiant in rhetoric. The gist of his answer was that the club would not "be bullied, threatened or intimidated" into admitting women. Johnson added that "There may well come a day when women will be invited to join our membership but that timetable will be ours and not at the point of a bayonet."
My feeling was that Johnson was going to admit the first woman member within this year. Among recent chairmen of the club, Mr. Johnson had proven the most progressive-relatively speaking, that is-having frequently lengthened the course and altered entry rules for former champions by installing a new age limit.
