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Private Club, Public Concerns: Women at Augusta

© Roy Pickering

Nevertheless, Ms. Burk and the NCWO are by no means backing down. They intend to organize a protest at next year's (April 2003) Masters if a woman member has not been admitted to Augusta by then. They will certainly be joined by others, including Reverend Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow Coalition, who are offended by the discriminatory practices of Augusta. As for going to the sponsors of the tournament for support, Ms. Burk need not bother. In a pre-emptive strike, Johnson cancelled the sponsorships of Coke, IBM and Citigroup, opting to broadcast the tournament commercial free rather than giving them the chance to snub the Masters. So when Tiger Woods attempts to earn a historic third consecutive green jacket, he will be doing so at a televised but nonetheless private show being put on by a private club. There will be picketers carrying signs and shouting disapproval, but will this be enough to budge the obstinate Hootie Johnson? Doubtful. Mr. Johnson and the club members that he speaks for live in a privileged world that has suited them just fine for a long time. They are quite slow to change, as is evidenced by the fact that it was not until 1990 that the first African-American member was admitted. This came a full fifteen years after Lee Elders became the first black man to play the Masters. Hootie does not rule out the possibility of a woman gaining entrance into his club someday. But he adamantly states that there is no chance of this event occurring prior to next Apirl, regardless of what Martha Burk and others do or say. This is his right under the law of the land.

To illustrate that there is national support for Augusta's cause, they commissioned a poll. 74% of the respondents agreed that a private club has the right to choose its own members, and if that means single sex membership, so be it. Hootie further points out that women are allowed to play the Augusta courses, so long as they are accompanied by a member. This makes Augusta more progressive than certain other golf clubs where women are not allowed at all. With Hootie Johnson making several reasonable points, some people have criticized Martha Burk for making such a big deal of this issue when there are so many situations that seem more pertinent to the rights of women. How many lives will be affected to a significant degree if one or two wealthy women are allowed to become members of Augusta? Will this truly be a major step forward for the women's movement? Why would any woman even want to join a club where she was so obviously not wanted? Perhaps my last question is irrelevant. The women's movement, like the civil rights movement, like any movement undergone by those in a subjugated societal position, is not about gaining admittance to places that are welcoming. Rather, it is about forcing change against the will of those who want things to remain as they have always been, because they are the sole beneficiaries of an unenlightened society. Jackie Robinson did not join the Dodgers because Major League baseball players and fans of the sport were clamoring for a black man to take the field. He took the field, stayed on it, and excelled on it, in spite of opposition to his presence.