In a press conference done for tomorrow's 142nd British Open at Muirfield in Edinburgh, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club's chief executive Peter Dawson defended the club's policy on forbidding women to join the club. He said that excluding women from the club was not sexist but "a way of life that [some people] rather like".
"In our view they don't do anyone any harm and we think the right of freedom of association is important. And we've explained our view that we think they have no material adverse effect on participation," Dawson explained.
Small scale protests transpired due to the British Open's resistance in accepting women to the club. Dawson admitted that they considered the issue "increasingly difficult," as it would affect their popularity and revenue.
Golf currently brings 1.5 to 3 million new players every year. In 2011, Tiger Woods, golf industry's top earner, reported revenue of US$64 million from playing alone. Consequently, the players who listed for the British open declined to give a remark regarding the issue.
As a counter to the culture, last year, Grace Belgravia club established the first club that made women-only policy. Conversely, Marylebone Cricket Club allowed women on the club. This was following the fact that no funding would come if they did not reform the policy.
Join the Conversation