The South Ayrshire, Scotland golf club is reconsidering its male-only policy, potentially avoiding negative publicity at next year’s Open Championship.
Royal Troon Golf Club has taken a meaningful step towards finally admitting female members, thereby avoiding a wave of negative publicity at next year’s Open Championship, by announcing a “comprehensive review” of current policy, the Guardian reported.
Although a separate ladies club operates at the Ayrshire, Scotland venue, Royal Troon itself has a male-only membership stance. The issue has proved thorny where the Open takes place at such courses; as was the case at Muirfield in 2013. Since that point, the Royal and Ancient Club of St Andrews has broken with its tradition by voting to allow women to join, the Guardian reported.
Royal Troon is now likely to follow the Royal and Ancient’s lead. A statement issued on Tuesday confirmed Royal Troon will “shortly undertake a comprehensive review to consider the most appropriate membership policy for the future. The recommendations from this review will be presented to the membership for their consideration.”
Bob Martin, Royal Troon’s captain, added in respect of next year’s Open: “Royal Troon Golf Club has hosted the Open on eight occasions since 1923 and in 2016 we will share this responsibility with the Ladies’ Golf Club, Troon as joint hosts of the 145th Open Championship.”
This will mark the first time in the history of the Open that such an arrangement has taken place, albeit, by definition, the very fact this is being highlighted only serves to illustrate the split membership of the sexes that currently exists, the Guardian reported.
Muirfield, or the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, confirmed last March that its own membership review would be conducted by an outside agency. Royal St George’s, also a male-only club at present, is expected to have a vote on membership criteria some time this year, the Guardian reported.
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