NOW IT’S OFFICIAL – LGU WILL NOT TAKE TOP
EVENTS TO A MEN-ONLY GOLF CLUB
The Ladies Golf Union will not hold future championships at men-only clubs in the British Isles, LGU chief executive Andy Salmon has told Golfweek magazine writer Alistair Tait..
The LGU has staged championships at all-male clubs in the past - the Curtis Cup at Muirfield in 1984 and Royal St. George's in 1988, and the British women’s open amateur championship at Royal Troon in 1984.
"We have modernised our approach because we have to recognize that it's the future we have to be concerned about," said Andy Salmon.
"We now have a policy that we won't take the Curtis Cup or the British Women's Open, or any of our championships, to a golf club that doesn't allow women members.
"All our events in the future will only be held at clubs that allow male and women members. Our future championships will not go to male-only golf clubs.
"We're not to trying to say to these clubs, 'Change, because we want you to change.' We're saying, 'We respect your rights to be male-only, but we are not going to bring any of our profile events to you until you change your rules.' It was just time to make a stand. Society is changing, and it was time to recognize that."
According to the LGU survey results released earlier this week, the number of female golfers in Great Britain and Ireland has fallen from 225,276 in 2001 to 215,437 in 2005.
The average age of women playing golf is between 55 and 64, with players over age 45 comprising 87 percent of all women golfers.
The survey also revealed that there is an average of only seven girls in each club in the British Isles compared with an average of 58 boys.
"The game needs imaginative, innovative, out-of-the-box ideas to create a friendly, family-orientated atmosphere," says Andy Salmon.
"We've got to preserve the great traditions of the game, the self-regulation, the etiquette, etc., but we could soften some of the dress codes, some of the regulatory aspects of the game we've had for so many years to make it a bit more relaxed and a bit more appealing to a younger generation."
Alistair Tait is a Golfweek senior writer. You can reach him by e-mail at atait@golfweek.com
EVENTS TO A MEN-ONLY GOLF CLUB
The Ladies Golf Union will not hold future championships at men-only clubs in the British Isles, LGU chief executive Andy Salmon has told Golfweek magazine writer Alistair Tait..
The LGU has staged championships at all-male clubs in the past - the Curtis Cup at Muirfield in 1984 and Royal St. George's in 1988, and the British women’s open amateur championship at Royal Troon in 1984.
"We have modernised our approach because we have to recognize that it's the future we have to be concerned about," said Andy Salmon.
"We now have a policy that we won't take the Curtis Cup or the British Women's Open, or any of our championships, to a golf club that doesn't allow women members.
"All our events in the future will only be held at clubs that allow male and women members. Our future championships will not go to male-only golf clubs.
"We're not to trying to say to these clubs, 'Change, because we want you to change.' We're saying, 'We respect your rights to be male-only, but we are not going to bring any of our profile events to you until you change your rules.' It was just time to make a stand. Society is changing, and it was time to recognize that."
According to the LGU survey results released earlier this week, the number of female golfers in Great Britain and Ireland has fallen from 225,276 in 2001 to 215,437 in 2005.
The average age of women playing golf is between 55 and 64, with players over age 45 comprising 87 percent of all women golfers.
The survey also revealed that there is an average of only seven girls in each club in the British Isles compared with an average of 58 boys.
"The game needs imaginative, innovative, out-of-the-box ideas to create a friendly, family-orientated atmosphere," says Andy Salmon.
"We've got to preserve the great traditions of the game, the self-regulation, the etiquette, etc., but we could soften some of the dress codes, some of the regulatory aspects of the game we've had for so many years to make it a bit more relaxed and a bit more appealing to a younger generation."
Alistair Tait is a Golfweek senior writer. You can reach him by e-mail at atait@golfweek.com
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