Augusta National admits women, and we all should smile
The man who did the right thing. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
That a day too long in coming has finally arrived probably shouldn’t touch off a celebration, but somehow this does. There was never a good reason for Augusta National not to include women among its membership. There was no reason beyond the stubbornness that human beings — both male and female, let’s stipulate — can sometimes mistake for “tradition.” But now the famous private club has admitted two women into its green-jacketed ranks, and that’s one less reason to regard Augusta National as the tin-eared old coot it has often seemed.
Yes, went the hollow argument, Augusta National is a private club and as such could admit whom it chooses. But Augusta National is a private club with a ragingly public face. It invites outsiders — at least those fortunate enough to land tickets — onto its premises for a week every April, and through television and the Internet and even iPhone and Android apps it invites the rest of us to partake of the Masters. It sells merchandise (lots of it) bearing the club logo. Given all that, could it reasonably argue that its membership rolls were of no concern?
Confronted by Martha Burk, former chairman Hootie Johnson sought to dig in his heels and succeeded only in digging a deeper hole. There was no way Augusta National could, in the 21st Century in these United State, remain stag much longer, and everyone who wore the green jacket had to know. Hootie held fast while Burk, who overplayed her hand, eventually went away, but the issue never did. It was raised again this spring, and Billy Payne chose to dodge the question during his annual Masters week briefing.
Say what you will about Billy Payne, but he is not tin-eared. The man who brought the world to Atlanta in the form of the 1996 Summer Olympics always figured to be the man who would admit women to the club on Magnolia Lane, and sure enough he was. Condoleezza Rice, once the Secretary of State, and Darla Moore, a financier known for philanthropy within her home state of South Carolina, are ideal choices, and having Rice, who is African-American, as one of the first women members of a club that not long ago included no African-American men is a most encouraging sign.
And, by adding Rice and Moore, Augusta National hasn’t just welcomed a woman. It has welcomed women, plural. “A joyous occasion,” Payne called it, via a press release, and it is. It should have been done long ago, but we take our breakthroughs where and when we find them. More Payne: “It will be a proud moment when we present Condoleezza and Darla their green jackets when the Club opens this fall.”
Some may see this as the fall of one of the last bastions of male-dom, but here’s what we say to such folks: Come out of that cave, men. Nothing is the way it used to be, and a lot of what used to be wasn’t right and/or proper to begin with. Credit Payne for realizing that there’s a world outside the gates of a golf course. Credit him for being the man who finally made happen what needed to happen.
So long as Augusta National was men-only, the question would have been asked: “Why is it men-only?” There was no good answer to that, and there could never have been a good answer. The only right response was to render the question moot. Billy Payne has, and Augusta National is better for it. And so, in a small but significant way, are we.
By Mark Bradley
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
213 comments Add your comment
Skram30082
August 20th, 2012
12:38 pm
First!
And this is a great column. You’re correct on all points.
Mark Bradley
August 20th, 2012
12:39 pm
Kudos, Skram. And thanks.
Rice, Moore are Augusta National’s first 2 female members | All Things Masters
August 20th, 2012
12:40 pm
[...] Click here for Mark Bradley’s take on the decision. [...]
Weyman C Wanamaker Jr, (A Great American)
August 20th, 2012
12:43 pm
Good for Condi & the other woman. Would have rather it be Christie Hefner (just think of the parties!)
Herschel Talker
August 20th, 2012
12:44 pm
MB:
We love you, man!!!
HT
Ostrich Racer
August 20th, 2012
12:44 pm
I’m all for change, as long as they keep the pimento cheese prices down.
SSIgator
August 20th, 2012
12:48 pm
“Why is it men-only?” There was no good answer to that.
_____________________
Yes there is – It was the way the club wanted it. Of course the PC Police will never quit on their mission to have everyone feel all warm & fuzzy and agreeing with them on their adgenda by sticking their noses in to places they have no business being in.
Mark Bradley
August 20th, 2012
12:50 pm
And here we go.
C’mon, folks. Give it a rest.
Denley
August 20th, 2012
12:51 pm
Smile why? I could care less.
Abnerish
August 20th, 2012
12:51 pm
I believe Martha Burke caused the delay of this announcement. Had she not caused the stink that she did, I am convinced they Augusta National would have come to this decision much sooner. After Martha did her thing, the Club could not allow female members because it would look like they caved to pressure. Waiting until the pressure had subsided (despite what the AP reported), the club was able to do this at a time of their choosing. I am happy they decided to do this and even happier that they did it when they were ready, not when the media or Martha Burke was ready. Congrats Condi and Darla. Let me know if you ever need a fourth!
Denley
August 20th, 2012
12:53 pm
Watch tho. They will now complain that they invited conservative women. Guaranteed. Liberals are never happy with anything.
Fetus Breath
August 20th, 2012
12:54 pm
Mark Bradley
August 20th, 2012
12:50 pm
And here we go.
C’mon, folks. Give it a rest.
\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”\”
You started it with this blog entry…..Just what did you expect?
Not very bright are you?
Matt
August 20th, 2012
12:55 pm
I’m no sexist. My wife could whip me on the tennis court. Women are human beings and valuable participants and contributers to our society. That being said, this is complete BS. If Augusta wants to let women in then fine but the fact that they are forced to do to public pressure is ridiculous. It’s nothing but a fraternity with a golf course!!! Entitlement is overtaking this country. I want to, therefore I should have it and if I don’t get it I”m going to jump up and down until I do. Augusta should let women in!!!!!! WHY??? Because it’s not fair!!!!! So what??? Fair is not an argument. Children have this argument. Here’s an idea: Start your own women’s club and not let men in!!
Again, Augusta is free to do what they want but the fact that they are essentially forced to cave due to public pressure is ridiculous.
Jr
August 20th, 2012
12:56 pm
So when will u write an article asking N.O.W to admit men?
Bryan G.
August 20th, 2012
12:56 pm
I understand the sentiment, Mark, but I just think this was always a non-story. Who cares if it’s all male? On the same line…who cares now if they are not? It was always a made-up fake media story in my opinion.
The rut
August 20th, 2012
12:56 pm
Sure wish I was one of those ladies boyfriend.
Fetus Breath
August 20th, 2012
12:58 pm
Next thing you know, the NFL will have women officials on the field.
Let us pray.
Matt
August 20th, 2012
12:59 pm
Who wants to be a part of something where they are not wanted??? So they let them in? Now what? The other members will be forced to be polite and friendly?? Condeleeza “they aren’t being nice to me”!!!!
Fetus Breath
August 20th, 2012
1:00 pm
Suppose they will start serving wine coolers and light beer there now.
Athens Dog
August 20th, 2012
1:01 pm
I’m not a golfer, although I do enjoy watching Sunday afternoon in Augusta. Saying that, I’m happy for
Secretary Rice and Ms Moore. Altogether fitting that Secretary Rice would be in the first ladies group,
she is dignity and grace personified.
However, and you knew a ‘however’ was coming, it IS a private club. The thought that they were pressured into inviting women is revolting. I’m glad they did, but a private club should be able to do as they please as long as they are not baking the law. Rather than bow to public sentiment, I prefer to believe that they just simply changed their minds for whatever reason.
The marketing of the logo, etc…is a nonsensical argument. If people don’t want the merchandise, they won’t buy it. Augusta National fought, and won, with CBS years back over commercials during the broadcast. The members of the club need many things, no doubt. Money isn’t one of them.
Ted
August 20th, 2012
1:01 pm
Really? Who cares? It is a club of rich and/or well connected good ole boys and now it will have rich and/or well connected good ole girls. All this did was give Mark an easy chance to get his copy out for the day.
SSIgator
August 20th, 2012
1:02 pm
And here we go.
C’mon, folks. Give it a rest.
_________________
Feeling a little sensitive today Mark? Your wrote, posted and opened the article up for comments. Or did you convince yourself that all of the readers would simply agree with what you wrote because you and other writers in the media all like to be on that PC Police bus and therefore, the rest of the public should be as well? Just because the “We Are All One Big Happy Family” crowd asserts that this is the way we should all feel does not necessarily make it so.
JB
August 20th, 2012
1:02 pm
Good stuff. National did it their way on their time table. It’s a private club. The way I look at it, they have added Romney voter 301 and 302 to the club, thank goodness.
only fair
August 20th, 2012
1:03 pm
all the guys in the nationwide tour who rarely make the cut and thus aren’t making much money should demand now that they be allowed to play on the lpga tour , and then they will take away women from that tour. that would be justice for pc muck run awry.
Getaway
August 20th, 2012
1:05 pm
Now,if they will only end their discrimination against middle-class white guys! Where’s our Martha Burke?
Lester Shepherd
August 20th, 2012
1:06 pm
I wondered who the sleaze bag wd be and Rice cd not be a bigger example. Wow Wee!
The Augusta National Golf Club sd be all male. I can’t see anything wrong with it. So what! Can’t men have their caves? Ridiculous.
Fetus Breath
August 20th, 2012
1:08 pm
@ the Rut
Really? You would want to be a boyfriend to one of those women? You would probably want to go dress shopping with them….Help out with the laundry…..Drink light beer……Drive a mini van…..
Yuck
Athens Dog
August 20th, 2012
1:09 pm
Densely and Abnerish are both correct.
And now we can turn our attention to other, more important Injustices in our quest to be a truly fair nation.
Maybe we can get public universities to stop giving admission preference to minorities, and use the same guidelines for all.
Maybe all collegiate scholarship monies from public sources could be made available to all students based on their academic qualifications regardless of gender, ethnicity, etc…
SSIgator
August 20th, 2012
1:09 pm
Mark -
Martha Burke called – she wants to have a beer with you and celebrate.
Al Bundy
August 20th, 2012
1:10 pm
So much for traditions….good ole boys have to be political correct now…sissies!
VoiceOfReason
August 20th, 2012
1:11 pm
@Mark Bradley
This is has nothing to do with Billy Payne. He is just a spokesperson for the membership. Get your facts straight. It was a membership vote that made this happen. Private club. They set their own polices.
Abnerish
August 20th, 2012
1:11 pm
I disagree with the comments that say the club did this out of pressure. If they felt that pressure, they would’ve done this YEARS ago. Perhaps I’m naive, but I feel like this was done because the members wanted to do it. End of story. I don’t think these two women will feel unwelcomed into the club. I mean, it’s not like they applied for membership. The club INVITED them! Big difference.
And, Mark, I wouldn’t get too upset. Those are obviously intentionally over-the-top stereotypical jokes. Harmless…
jeffrey d
August 20th, 2012
1:13 pm
What’s next? Next they’ll have women voting
Roll Turd
August 20th, 2012
1:15 pm
Can you imagine the uproar if a few men wanted to join the Red Hat Society….!!! I am sick of all the double standards…!!!
ole dawg
August 20th, 2012
1:16 pm
God , I hope Billy hasn’t gone and messed it up for all of the deer hunting and fishing clubs in Georgia! Dadgumit, us men got to have a place to go without our wives where we can chew, spit, drink beer, eat food that’s bad for us, and lie. Billy… we coming after you if we have to take our wives this year:)
GTBob
August 20th, 2012
1:16 pm
I would love to care, but I don’t. Really rich and powerful people deciding which other really rich and powerful people are allowed to hang out with them. Yawn. Just keep the course pretty every April.
Gordon
August 20th, 2012
1:17 pm
Mark,
I think you are a good man and a good writer, but I think you have inadvertently insulted these two women. Has it occurred to you that they were admitted because the club wanted them to be members because of who they are and not what gender they happen to be? And Rice is an especially good choice because she is also black?
Nothing in Payne’s statement indicated anything but delight that two people (along with many others) will make their club a better place because of who they are. Augusta National is one of the last places on this earth where nobody really cares whether the world approves or not, so happily these two were admitted for the right reasons.
Abnerish
August 20th, 2012
1:17 pm
Amen, Athens Dog, It’s time to move on. I know the sooner we stop focusing on such trivial things such as race and gender, the sooner we can get to a truly equal society. Equality can and should be achieved. Fairness, however, is an unattainable goal, meant for games and kindergartners.
Fetus Breath
August 20th, 2012
1:18 pm
You can\’t be an atheist and be a member of the Elks lodge.
MarkBradleyMom
August 20th, 2012
1:18 pm
Oh Mark. Can’t wait to knit that sweater with you. That’s what makes me smile.
- Mom Bradley
gbal
August 20th, 2012
1:30 pm
ENTITLEMENT
Fetus Breath
August 20th, 2012
1:35 pm
Really, the first female members should have been strippers.
Sid
August 20th, 2012
1:36 pm
Our last bastion of sanctity is now gone forever.
Can’t argue the choice of Rice, that woman has earned it. I really don’t know that much about Darla Moore. Why did SC Gov. Nikki Haley remove her from the University of South Carolina board?
“regard Augusta National as the tin-eared old coot it has often seemed.” Only to you Mark.
“But Augusta National is a private club with a ragingly public face. It invites outsiders and the rest of us to partake of the Masters. It sells merchandise (lots of it) bearing the club logo. Given all that, could it reasonably argue that its membership rolls were of no concern?”
Mark, private membership is of concern to the private members. It has ZERO to do with women should be on the rolls because they have the finest golf tournament in the world. “There was never a good reason?” But it was good enough.
If they were considering welcoming women into the club all Martha Burk did was make it impossible for Augusta National to do so during and subsequent to her tirade. So when Billy took over from Hootie he probably said, “Wait 10 years to let women in, Martha should have kept her mouth shut.”
Let’s tee it up!
sansho1
August 20th, 2012
1:37 pm
The ironic thing is, by admitting women into their ranks, Augusta National itself is leaving its defenders behind. What oh what do they have left now?
Dawglasville
August 20th, 2012
1:42 pm
I think it is funny (sad) that only my fellow white males think there is too much political correctness. I’m sure that their kids, or grandkids, won’t feel the same way. Not because of the way they are, or will be raised, but because us future white males will one day be a minority.
GTBob – Wow. That is the closest I’ve ever come to agreeing with you (1:16) and football is only 2 weeks away.
Sonny Clusters
August 20th, 2012
1:44 pm
Not many people know a Clusters was one of the early members at August National. We mostly play baseball, though, and not all that much golf. We did like the pretty flowers and nicely manicured grass and that drove our love for landscape management and almost took us to Clemson University instead of second shift. This offer to the two women was a decision for the club and no one else. The decision was made and two impeccable candidates have been invited and have accepted. That’s good news. At least Augusta National did not pick somebody in a slump that has potential. We have never seen Condoleeza’s or Darla’s arms but we are betting they are not Popup arms and we bet if either one made the All-Star team it would be for the right reasons.
Skram30082
August 20th, 2012
1:45 pm
One day, you knuckle draggers will realize how ridiculous this seems.
Doesn’t the fact the Lee Elder was the first African-American to play the Masters in 1975 make that time seem like the Stone Age?
Does not the benefit of hindsight enlighten you as to how far we’ve come as a society, as well as how LONG it took us to get here?
I know a lot of these posters are just trying to stir the pot, but others truly just don’tget it.
bitter 8 handycap
August 20th, 2012
1:48 pm
Money cant buy my good looks and nice golf game———the name masters is
—kinda like——-illuminati—–the enlighten one’s——-chumps
thank goodness for —public courses
Fetus Breath
August 20th, 2012
1:49 pm
Am I allowed to say woodpecker?
Frank Lane
August 20th, 2012
1:49 pm
Agree, but the rules for being a gentleman need to change to being a gentle person.
Frank Lane
August 20th, 2012
1:51 pm
Does not the Chairman of the club have the right to invite anyone he chooses or does that just apply to uninviting a member? If so, Payne invited, not Augusta, and the next Chairman could uninvite?
GIVE ME A BREAK
August 20th, 2012
1:52 pm
Roses are red
Violets are blue.
I’m schizophrenic.
And so am I.
Earl
August 20th, 2012
1:57 pm
GIVE ME A BREAK
1:52 pm
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -
Both of you need counseling.
Sonny Clusters
August 20th, 2012
2:00 pm
Pimento Cheese Sandwiches and Coca-Cola served in a green cup with no visible logo are what made Augusta National great. Now, they add two distinguised female members who may or may not be cola drinkers. Will concessions change? Will pimento cheese give way to tofu? We know Billy Payne a little bit and we think not. When we was accepted at Augusta National we suggested Dairy Queen treats but that did not go over well because they feared little plastic spoons would end up on the course.
Hillbilly D
August 20th, 2012
2:05 pm
They wouldn’t even let me in the door at the place, so I really don’t care who their members are.
old dog
August 20th, 2012
2:09 pm
Mark,
No doubt Martha Burke actually held it back. She was caustic, snotty, and exceedingly ugly to boot! Nothing about her at all would help the cause………but they could put her picture out by the creeks to keep the snakes away……..
shankit
August 20th, 2012
2:11 pm
Condelezza is now a member of both Augusta National and Shoal Creek in Birmingham.
Who would have ever thought it?
Certainly not Clifford Roberts.
GTJoe
August 20th, 2012
2:12 pm
I cannot honestly believe that Martha Burke has the gall to take CREDIT for this happening……she really had NOTHING to do with it.
I guess it is her way to get back into the news…..maybe do a talk show or two…..
It is a sad thing, but someone will have her on to spout off about how important a role she played in all of this….when the reality is that she had ZERO positive impact on this happening.
If I had been Augusta National, I would have waited till she passed…..then admitted one woman for every year since 2002, and make the statement “these women all would have already been members if it weren’t for Martha Burke”
KOOL
August 20th, 2012
2:26 pm
Martha Burke is a piece of crap… Hootie won.
urban redneck
August 20th, 2012
2:26 pm
they let women in nascar. why should this be any different?
again, MB. please, for the love of God, stop giving kudos for first.
Big Crimson 75
August 20th, 2012
2:40 pm
The Masters is the Greatest Golf Tournament in the World.
Admitting woman, especially wealthy conservative ones, isn’t going to tarnish Augusta National.
Hootie won his battle with the fem-nazi Martha Burke. I’ll never forget the look on her face as she gave her rah-rah speech in front of 20 supporters that year!!
It was time to get past this subject & Hootie didn’t Do it at the point of a bayonet!!
F. Sinkwich
August 20th, 2012
2:44 pm
A good argument could be made that something like this would have happened years ago if that hag Burke hadn’t stuck her beak into what is none of her bidness…
Johnboy
August 20th, 2012
2:45 pm
As Joe Biden would say, “Augusta National is finally in the 20th century.” I think this is way over do and glad that the issue is settled! The golf gods are happy now.
BobDawg
August 20th, 2012
2:47 pm
Meanwhile, the “snapper soup” at Pine Valley GC is being eaten by men only there. I bet there are smiles there today also.
HAN
August 20th, 2012
2:51 pm
I am happy with their decision if the club did it without regard to pressure and want to allow whoever they choose to be a part of the club.
That being said, “hollow argument”… how stupid of me. I believed that what the National did was called freedom of choice and the basic right to set its own rules no matter how public their face might be. “Public face” is irrelevant, and is what bows to the PC garbage of our day. Any moron that can’t see this, I wish would stay home the first Tuesday of November 2012. Because you don’t understand freedom or what America is about.
Goober
August 20th, 2012
2:58 pm
This annoucement changes what? You can’t be a member. I can’t be a member. 99.999999999% of people on earth can’t be a member. You morons. Karla and Condi are rich prestigious HUMANS… if you are not either fabously rich or prestigious, you’re never getting in. The VAST majority of us can’t even attend the tournament, let alone join the club.
Stinger 2
August 20th, 2012
2:58 pm
Clusters: Again say and think as you like. Question: Why did you post three
anti-Uggla rambling bunch of comments on Mark`s other blog today and then follow it up with another one saying the same old drivel about him.
Should we be prepared for another one?
Bernie
August 20th, 2012
3:01 pm
Ahhh! The Rank SMELL of Republican FEAR in the morning! there is nothing like it!
Makes you want to RUSH out and invite (2) TWO Republican “TOKEN” WOMEN, One WHITE and the other BLACK! to the AUGUSTA National GOLF CLUB.
One of the last BASTIONS of WHITE MALE FIFEDOMs in America!
Just LQQK, how evolved we have BECOME……..All of a SUDDEN!
to WILD chants of USA! USA! USA! USA
Stinger 2
August 20th, 2012
3:02 pm
Mark: Your comments about this issue were politically correct. As far as I am concerned, Augusta National can do what they want as a private club. It is done and so be it. Since I am not a member, its none of my business.
Taxi Smith
August 20th, 2012
3:06 pm
God, who cares?
Prime Time
August 20th, 2012
3:11 pm
Wow. My post got sent to the great blog in the sky!!! Liberals are dead wrong to force any private institution, that does not take any federal funds, to do anything. Next thing, they will tell you to let anyone into your house that wants to come in. You would not be politically correct to deny strangers into your house.
The sissification of America continues unabated!
Motocross Survivor
August 20th, 2012
3:14 pm
Is INXS pronounced “inks?”
Bernie
August 20th, 2012
3:18 pm
You can hear the MEMBERS saying to Billy. “BILLEY, If you are going to DO IT! Mak’em GOOD and UGLY! so it will not matter to US! and No will CARE!, especially to our WIVES!” to roars of LAUGHTER!
Fragile Bob Horner
August 20th, 2012
3:18 pm
Now, I believe MB to be a huge liberal if only for the fact that my two previous posts have disappeared!!!!!
America is becoming a much sadder place each day.
hotrod
August 20th, 2012
3:19 pm
wow, the old rich guys gave in and admitted a couple of broads,how about admitting a couple of average guys, like a truckdriver making 70,000 grand a year, you know regular guys.
Glenn
August 20th, 2012
3:19 pm
We should all smile ? Because a multi millionaire regardless of sex or gender now has a chance at joining any county club ?! Yes lets all rejoice !!
Joey
August 20th, 2012
3:20 pm
Good for Condi and Darla. I love Condi Rice and have long wished she would get the urge to run for higher office.
Two questions:
1) What will be the media headline at the next Masters – “When will Augusta National Have a Woman Chairman?”
2) Who will win the Women’s Club Championship?
Fair & Balanced
August 20th, 2012
3:20 pm
Ginni Rometty, the female President and CEO of IBM,
must be a Democrat.
Joey
August 20th, 2012
3:22 pm
Clusters > little man (Stinger 2)
dawgfan
August 20th, 2012
3:23 pm
I wonder how many beers Condi Rice puts away in one round? She probably curses like a sailor when she hits a bad shot too. I’m not sure about this pick.
Joey
August 20th, 2012
3:27 pm
Bernie, I take it you would have preferred a couple of Democrat, union “ladies?”
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=seiu+women+photos&view=detail&id=1E2F3E276A4FE03A85E7B1FEDD6E11FE76FD1C84&qpvt=seiu+women+photos
Glenn
August 20th, 2012
3:28 pm
When Augusta National is on Golfnow we should all smile . Till then who really cares about these two wealthy ladies joining a country club ?
NATS
August 20th, 2012
3:30 pm
If only everyone who was so obsessed with the rules of a private club would get interested in unemployment, our towering debt and the corruption in government. But of course, this has a much greater effect on our day to day life doesn’t it? Good luck to them all but who cares?
Fragile Bob Horner
August 20th, 2012
3:32 pm
Liberals!!!! MB must be one!
Ken Stallings
August 20th, 2012
3:38 pm
Mark,
I think your column misses the essentials in most areas. The one thing you got right is that this is a good development, but not for the reasons stated.
First, Martha Burke should not get another 15-minutes of fame. She brought media attention to herself and ensured this decision took years longer than otherwise it would have.
Second, Augusta National’s membership roles are not critical national issues. Despite the yearly Masters Tournament, what Augusta National does cannot in any logical way be twisted around a public mandate claim. Women are not denied the opportunity to play golf nor to join a myriad of associations, gender neutral and female only. There is no conspiracy here and neither is there a social injustice. Martha Burke made a lame claim and got more attention than she deserved.
About the only thing related to Augusta National that bothered me was when political agendists got the golf removed from Augusta for the 1996 Olympics. I will never forget the words of Furman Bisher who spoke so eloquently that the pearl that Bobby Jones built would be denied the Olympic stage. That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the greatest golf course ever seen by man to be in an Olympic pagent — denied because so many people just cannot get past their selfish issues in life.
Freedom means some people are told no when it comes to what a private group of people do. And as a society we will never be truly free until everyone embraces the right to say yes and no in equal measure when it comes to expressions of private behavior.
Dan
August 20th, 2012
3:38 pm
“Yes, went the hollow argument, Augusta National is a private club and as such could admit whom it chooses.” Wow. So freedom of association — even when exercised by others in a peaceful way that harms no one else’s person or property — is a “hollow argument.” Duly noted. I wonder if Mr. Bradley feels similarly about freedom of expression. Probably not.
oakwood dawg
August 20th, 2012
3:42 pm
POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WINS OUT AGAIN.
Jamal
August 20th, 2012
3:44 pm
I will not stop my attacks until Augusta National allows an illegal alien as a member.
Adam
August 20th, 2012
3:45 pm
Mark, can I ask you an honest question, that I truly would like for you to answer? If it wasn’t right for Augusta National to keep women out of their private club, what makes other clubs or organizations right from omitting some due to gender, race, ethnicity, etc.? I have no desire to join an all women’s club or organization of some sort, but where is the call to allow men into their ranks? It’s not just gender either…what about the United Negro College Fund? As a white man, how much assistance would that have gotten me going to college?
Not trying to stir the pot, but really, what’s the difference? Why can’t there be the same standards across the board?
Really look forward to reading your response…
dnash
August 20th, 2012
3:46 pm
I was disapointed they did not invite Whoopi Goldberg
Atlanta Olympics 2020
August 20th, 2012
3:46 pm
<——- Good, now Billy Payne can focus on this.
Sonny Clusters
August 20th, 2012
3:47 pm
Stinger 2 do you have a picture of us in your basement? We hope not. You are becoming creepier and creepier as time passes. Get a hobby. Your pal, Sonny Clusters
Hmmmmmmm
August 20th, 2012
3:47 pm
Why would they want to join a club like Augusta? Expensive….. Play it once, and then what? Who is paying their dues….?
Hmmmmmmm
August 20th, 2012
3:49 pm
Good luck in that one Jamal….
julian
August 20th, 2012
3:57 pm
It’s all about the money. There is no game anymore. It is strictly money ball.
phil
August 20th, 2012
3:59 pm
It’s a private club. An arrogant and exclusive bunch.
Who cares.
Rev Al
August 20th, 2012
3:59 pm
Yaaawwwnnnnnn…..come on Tawana weez needs to get down to Freddie’s…..
Joey
August 20th, 2012
4:01 pm
I remember when Mr Martha Burke was showing her butt, and CBS came out with lukewarm support of her noble cause, and some numbnut asked Hootie something like, “what if CBS pulls out of the Masters?”
Hootie just smiled and said, “I think we can get the Masters Tournament on TV, even if we do it our selves…”
Bang!
crackbaby
August 20th, 2012
4:02 pm
C’mon, MB. This is not a sports story.
Barack Obama
August 20th, 2012
4:04 pm
What about me?
I play golf… a lot of golf.
Lester Maddox....
August 20th, 2012
4:04 pm
Mark, does this mean that the “”100 Black Men of Atlanta” club is in jeopardy?????
Tom
August 20th, 2012
4:12 pm
Now, doesn’t that just make you feel good all over? Bradley, you and the PC crowd can gloat all you want but the fact is that Augusta National did it their way.
Augusta Admits Two Women - The Spearhead
August 20th, 2012
4:13 pm
[...] sports columnist Mark Bradley thinks it’s great, and writes that the organization has changed the world for the better: Some may see this as the fall of one of the last bastions of male-dom, but here’s what we say to [...]
steveo
August 20th, 2012
4:18 pm
Billy Payne you are a sellout!!!! You have just cheapened Augusta National making it just ANOTHER nice expensive golf course…… not because of women, but for destroying the history,tradition and mystique of one of the best venues in sport!!! You new name as far as I am concerned is “TRADER DAWG”…….THE Augusta National is no more….I weep!!
Alphare
August 20th, 2012
4:19 pm
Adam,
“Mark, can I ask you an honest question?”
No you cannot, because Mark works for a private newspaper.
MJ
August 20th, 2012
4:20 pm
I will smile when I get my practice round and daily badges for 2013. This is a non-event.
the truth
August 20th, 2012
4:20 pm
Bravo Mark, two pages of comments on an editorial column that should really have no interest to anyone. Job well done.
trishaDishawareagle
August 20th, 2012
4:22 pm
Not a one of you are ever going to be members pf Augusta National, so why did you ever even care? I never cared that there were no women, because even if there was 1 or 2, it wouldn’t be me, and I do not live vicariously or think of myself in group think where if one of us is Invited, we all are all Invited.. (only retarded leftist ideology requires us to think as the collective, not the individual) Nor do I think all should be included in all things. I like exclusivity in certain things.
ed
August 20th, 2012
4:23 pm
does condi even play golf?
MJ
August 20th, 2012
4:24 pm
Typical. Wouldn’t expect anything else from the liberal media.
Pawwwwl
August 20th, 2012
4:25 pm
Why is every journalist out there taking the same position? Why aren’t any noting that the inclusion of females goes against the founders, including Bobby Jones, vision for the Club? Why are women entitled to be members? Does the Club have to create special tees and a seperate locker room for them, or can they hang with the boys in all respects? Should we now start a media-fueld campaign to turn Augusta National into the local muni course?
Abnerish
August 20th, 2012
4:26 pm
I gotta say that the number of comments condemning the club because of its wealthy members and its exclusivity really bother me. I think this explains to a larger degree why the Obama campaign is using class warfare as successfully as it has. Far too often Americans demean the wealthy and the successful, when they should be respecting them and emulating their success. I have no ill feelings towards any member of the ANGC or any other private club or institution for that matter. Take Billy Payne for example. He didn’t inherit his wealth or gain his prominence through invalid or immoral means (not that inheritance is either invalid or immoral). He used his great education at UGA and his own intelligence and work ethic to be successful and he took advantage of the opportunities that were presented to him, either through luck or his own hard work (usually a little of both are involved). Bottom line: don’t be a hater.
ed
August 20th, 2012
4:33 pm
heck with women when do i get my tee-time? lol
Stinger 2
August 20th, 2012
4:34 pm
Clusters: I continue to respond to you post because they are almost always
negative toward the subject(s) of the blog or they are absolutely silly in content. Example: When your were a member of Augusta National ..LOL
Keep in mind: I never tell you what to say or what to think; therefore don`t tell me what to post.
dougmo2
August 20th, 2012
4:38 pm
Dear Mark,
We are offically revoking your membership to the “He Man Woman Haters Club”.
Sincerely,
Spanky and Alfalfa
hmmmmm............
August 20th, 2012
4:39 pm
Hey Abnerish, how about you pull your head out of your ass?? Judging by your statement over the years I’m sure you’ve voted for people that breed hate and entitlement.
Oh yeah and it’s too bad that Augusta gave in I think its a very sad day.
Dawgdad (The Original)
August 20th, 2012
4:43 pm
Yeah, Augusta, no celebrating; time to move on. Diversity is never satisfied. Where are the “po” folks? I volunteer, only if given some subsidy from the government, however!
Do they allow homosexuals, transexuals, bisexuals, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Cablanasians, Mormons, atheists, Scientologists, AJC columnist, or MSNBC Anchors? Long way to go there, Billy boy.
wally
August 20th, 2012
4:43 pm
I NEVER LIKED THE GAME OF GOLF, AND NOW I HAVE ANOTHER REASON NOT TO LIKE IT. I REMEMBER WHEN THE ERA GOT IT’S START. THE LETTERS STOOD FOR EVIL RISES AGAIN. WHAT A BETTER NATION AMERICA WOULD BE IF WOMEN WERE READING THE BIBLE AND PRAYING RATHER THAN CHASING SOME STUPID BALL. I HAD BETTER QUIT I JUST OFFENDED A FEW THOUSAND READERS.
Welcome to the Club!
August 20th, 2012
4:45 pm
This was a Boy’s Club in its finest form. A place where boys could be boys without a female adding her two cents. No more cussing, picking noses, passing gas, scratching and adjusting our crotches and certainly no peeing on trees. Is there a place on the planet where a guy can be a guy without being told to stop or hear “you’re being gross”? I guess now it is a matter of time before Major League Baseball will have women umpires and players and NASCAR will have women driving cars. Wait a minute, their driving race cars now! I guess when the male members play a round of golf on this historic course; they can now wear shorts too! Remember ladies there is no crying in Baseball and definitely no crying at Augusta National, so be sure to duck when you hear “Fore”. For years women have controlled the money and bedroom, now they have taken our beloved Augusta National. Sorry Bobby Jones and Cliff Roberts. Seriously, welcome to the most wonderful place on God’s Green Earth. It’s about time.
GTBob
August 20th, 2012
4:50 pm
Far too often Americans demean the wealthy and the successful, when they should be respecting them and emulating their success.
Is this a serious post? Anyways, why would any normal American care about the acceptance policies of some elite club that they can’t possibly get into? If they wan’t to accept women, fine. If they want to open a water park, good for them. If they want to have civil war reenactments on the 9th hole, more power to them. Hardly anybody cares either way.
blazerdawg
August 20th, 2012
4:50 pm
Good for Mss. Rice and Moore – good for ANGC and their membership – still waiting on my application.
Bubba
August 20th, 2012
4:51 pm
Wow: If women can be invited to join the Masters now — and all these liberals agree with this — does this mean as a guy I can join a Sorority now? Thanks so much for making this possible….I can’t wait Martha Burke…thank you and Mark Bradley for opening this door for me. Amazing isn’t it: all minorities can have their own private and public clubs and exclude people but white males cannot? So again…who is discriminating now? Sounds like a set of double standards. Thank you ACLU. Thank you Mark Bradley. Thank your Martha Burke for helping me see the light!
UGA Insider
August 20th, 2012
4:51 pm
This picture is the new President of UGA… Billy Payne. It’s time to clean UGA up. Bye Bye Cynthia Tucker.
UGA Insider
August 20th, 2012
4:53 pm
steveo,
Don’t be too mad at Payne. He will be back at UGA very soon taking over for Adams.
Abnerish
August 20th, 2012
4:53 pm
Well, hmmmm, not sure what you mean by that. I have never voted for anyone that believed in “hate” or “entitlement”, quite the contrary. I vote for politicians that believe in freedom (in all it’s shapes and sizes). I’m puzzled that someone who thinks I believe in hate and entitlement would be sad about this news. The only reason I would be sad about this news would be if the club made this decision strictly because of the nonexistent public pressure to do so. If they truly did this because they wanted to, then good for them and, most importantly, good for Condi and Darla.
Jackson
August 20th, 2012
4:54 pm
Bring back the pimento cheese, egg salad & chicken the way it was up until a couple of years ago when the ANGC took it in-house. Get rid of those wraps.
bob
August 20th, 2012
4:55 pm
Lets face it. Augusta National was hated by women on the left because it was known to be one of the finest clubs in the world and it was men only. America has many clubs, associations and colleges that are women only and the women whining the most about Augusta would be the first to whine about men being equals at Welesley or Agness Scott. The leftist women hate the success of Augusta and could really care less about gender equality in most other areas, let the women work on making 18 year old girls to register for the draft if they want eqaul access.
GIVE ME A BREAK
August 20th, 2012
4:55 pm
They didn’t invite Herchel Walker to join because they don’t have room for 47 more members.
GIVE ME A BREAK
August 20th, 2012
4:57 pm
Herschel. I guess.
GIVE ME A BREAK
August 20th, 2012
4:58 pm
Couldn’t care less.
Abnerish
August 20th, 2012
4:58 pm
GTBob, yes it’s a serious post. If you don’t think that statement is true, you apparently haven’t paid any attention to the news over the past year. Occupy Wall Street demonizing the 1%, Obama constantly demonizing the rich. Unfortunately, it seems too many Americans think that the rich didn’t earn what they have.
Ed
August 20th, 2012
4:58 pm
Who cares? It’s a private club that 99.9999% of us have absolutely no chance of getting invited to, regardless of our sex. That being said, they should be able to invite whomever they want and exclude whomever they want. I’ve never understood why anyone cares what ultra-wealthy woman gets that coveted first invite. I mean, it’s not like someone’s middle class suburban mom gets a green jacket. We’re addicted to symbolism in this country.
PMC
August 20th, 2012
4:59 pm
how does this effect any of our lives?
chuck
August 20th, 2012
5:02 pm
Mark, why do you care.
PMC
August 20th, 2012
5:02 pm
For all the hullabaloo about this I bet in the end the power and influence of these two women serves the club far more than anything the club provides to them.
Abnerish
August 20th, 2012
5:02 pm
You’re right, it doesn’t affect anyone but the members of that club. Agree completely.
ksleezy
August 20th, 2012
5:03 pm
We should smile? We should be shaking our heads that it took this dang long!!! What is wrong with white people? Why are we the last to accept differences and the first to shoot up movie theaters?
GTBob
August 20th, 2012
5:04 pm
If you don’t think that statement is true, you apparently haven’t paid any attention to the news over the past year.
There is certainly class warfare going on but to say that Americans should respect and emulate rich people just because they are rich is beyond an ignorant statement. There are some that deserve that kind of respect, but I would say most don’t.
Jamal
August 20th, 2012
5:06 pm
Member Of Prestigious Golf Club Scolds Others For Pissing On The Greens, Cavorting In The Nude, Picking Up A Golf Ball With “Naked Butt Cheeks,” And Much More at the Piedmont Driving Club
Why join Augusta National when you can join the Piedmont Driving Club- play golf in the buff and pee wherever you want? Hell- that beats the old Chamblee Putt Putt any day-
GTBob
August 20th, 2012
5:06 pm
For all the hullabaloo about this I bet in the end the power and influence of these two women serves the club far more than anything the club provides to them.
I bet these women show up for a few club parties, play a few rounds of Golf and nothing much changes in the world.
Alphare
August 20th, 2012
5:07 pm
“Obama constantly demonizing the rich.”
when & how?
David Granger
August 20th, 2012
5:10 pm
Enjoyed reading your comments, Mark. I somewhat agreed with them…I think it’s a good think for the Augusta National, and I like the way they went about doing it.
I remember Martha Burk’s little snide remark last year that “They’re going to just admit a woman over the winter one year, and claim it wasn’t because of all the pressure”…which seemed to indicate that the actual results wasn’t nearly as important to her as getting credit for “forcing” the issue. (I’ll bet you anything Burk will spin this somehow so she can claim she “won the battle”.)
It always seemed strange to me that men founded the Augusta National, men started the tournament, men worked hard to build the tournament up to what it has become…and then women started whining that the men shouldn’t have it all to themselves. Why not go the same route, and start your own golf club, establish your own tournament, and build it up to a world-renowned event? After all…the Masters wasn’t the most prestigious tournament in the world when it was founded, either. It took time, money, and hard work.
I applaud Billy Payne and the Augusta National membership for making this step. It’ll sure take a lot of BS off the table every year.
A couple of things I wonder:
Almost one-third of the member-clubs of the National Council of Women’s Organizations…that Martha Burk was chairwoman of when she had her little hissy-fit in 2003…do not allow men to join. I wonder if Ms. Burk will lead a protest or even speak out against any of those organizations?
And President Obama pointed out last year that…though the Augusta National was a private club, and perfectly within its legal rights to keep membership men-only…he felt that it should allow women to join because that would be the right thing to do. I think he was right about that. And I also notice that over the years several caucasian congressmen (and one congresswoman) have wanted to join the Congressional Black Caucus because they (the caucasian legislators) have a large African-American population within their districts, and felt that being a member would help them better serve a key part of their constituency. But they were not allowed to join because of their race. I wonder if President Obama will use his tremendous influence among African-American congressmen and congresswomen to request that they do the “right thing” as well.
I hate to admit it, but I frankly rather doubt that either Martha Burk or President Obama will do anything at all about these inequities. Political correctness has a way of only going in one direction.
Abnerish
August 20th, 2012
5:16 pm
GTBob, I did not intend to say that ALL rich people should be emulated and respected. If you think I was saying that then you read things too literally. But, by and large, if you want to be successful, who would you emulate: a member of the ANGC or a welfare recepient?
Skeezix
August 20th, 2012
5:19 pm
I have nothing against all boys clubs or all girls clubs. I’m also okay with Augusta’s decision to admit female members. That is their entirely their decision to make.
This is just no big deal in my book.
eagleputt
August 20th, 2012
5:20 pm
Enter your comments here
Abnerish
August 20th, 2012
5:21 pm
and, why, GTBob, do you think “most” rich people don’t deserve to be emulated or respected? It’s because you believe the liberal template of the wealthy, that they are mean, selfish, fat cats that care only of themselves and would step on the poor if they could. I simply don’t believe that. Certainly, there are rich people that fit that template, but I refuse to believe that they are anything more than a small minority.
Jamal
August 20th, 2012
5:23 pm
ksleezy@ 5:03
I knew I can find something so stupid to laugh at- ding the box and done
eagleputt
August 20th, 2012
5:25 pm
Time for the LPGA to host a tournament at Augusta now that there are female members.
DawgNole
August 20th, 2012
5:25 pm
Mark Bradley
August 20th, 2012
12:50 pm
And here we go.
C’mon, folks. Give it a rest.
Fetus Breath
August 20th, 2012
12:54 pm
You started it with this blog entry…..Just what did you expect?
SSIgator
August 20th, 2012
1:02 pm
Feeling a little sensitive today Mark? Your wrote, posted and opened the article up for comments. Or did you convince yourself that all of the readers would simply agree with what you wrote because you and other writers in the media all like to be on that PC Police bus and therefore, the rest of the public should be as well? Just because the “We Are All One Big Happy Family” crowd asserts that this is the way we should all feel does not necessarily make it so.
____________________
I’m loathe to agree with a gator on much of anything, but SSIgator (and “Fetus Breath” before him) is correct on this one.
You had to know when you threw it out there and opened it up for comments, Mark, that it would generated a “spirited” reaction–from all parts of the spectrum.
blazer
August 20th, 2012
5:35 pm
Private club should be able to do what they chose. They just did!
Now i hope they let the LPGA have a tournament there.
Alphare
August 20th, 2012
5:36 pm
“and, why, GTBob, do you think “most” rich people don’t deserve to be emulated or respected? It’s because you believe the liberal template of the wealthy, that they are mean, selfish, fat cats that care only of themselves and would step on the poor if they could.”
Sounds like somebody is fabricating facts again. How do you know what GTBob thinks of the rich people. You don’t live in his brain, do you?
Huh????
August 20th, 2012
5:42 pm
I remember when women were crying about not being allowed to play on the PGA tour. So, Sorenstam was allowed and she got her butt kicked all over the course.
Point: be careful what you wish for.
DawgNole
August 20th, 2012
5:44 pm
GTJoe
August 20th, 2012
2:12 pm
I cannot honestly believe that Martha Burke has the gall to take CREDIT for this happening……she really had NOTHING to do with it.
I guess it is her way to get back into the news…..maybe do a talk show or two…..
It is a sad thing, but someone will have her on to spout off about how important a role she played in all of this….when the reality is that she had ZERO positive impact on this happening.
If I had been Augusta National, I would have waited till she passed…..then admitted one woman for every year since 2002, and make the statement “these women all would have already been members if it weren’t for Martha Burke”
__________________
Agreed. All Burk did–if anything–was delay it for a few more years.
GTBob
August 20th, 2012
5:48 pm
and, why, GTBob, do you think “most” rich people don’t deserve to be emulated or respected?
Because I am not nearly as obsessed with money as you are. Everyone deserves basic respect until they do something to lose it. Higher respect is reserved for those who make the world a better place, and just having a big bank account doesn’t really do that. As far as emulation, I don’t think anyone should emulate anyone. Especially because of money.
StingerSplash
August 20th, 2012
5:50 pm
Yawn.
They don’t even have red tees at Augusta National, do they? How bout making the two newest members try it from the tips?
Then again, it’s not like the members are there every weekend to play. I’d best most members play only a handful of times a year, if that.
Really?
August 20th, 2012
5:55 pm
The Metropolitan Club, the Colony Club in NYC, the Century Club of Rochester, The Women’s City Club of Pasadena, the Saint Louis Women’s Club.
All clubs over 100 years old.
These are primarily social/ business/ networking clubs.
Men cannot join.
Odd that we’ve never seen the media speak of this. Or Martha Burke try to get these clubs to change their policies.
Bill
August 20th, 2012
6:07 pm
I think I will skip the Masters next year and the year after that…
Bernie
August 20th, 2012
6:07 pm
The only problem I see now….with Condi, She may mistake the regular morning FOG, as a Billowing MUSHROOM CLOUD and cause an International incident. She has made this mistake BEFORE and many of our Fighting MEN & WOMEN died.
rc
August 20th, 2012
6:08 pm
I COULD CARE LESS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS AND NONE OF MINE. PRIVATE CLUB PERIOD
WORRY ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WILL MATTER
Beast from the East
August 20th, 2012
6:32 pm
Mark,
I respectfully disagree. It is a private club and they have every right to be as selective as they choose in regards to membership. I’m not saying they should ban women, but if they choose to only have men as members then so be it. If people don’t like their position, then so what? What next? Men in the WNBA? Men on the WTA? Men on the LPGA? When does it end?
Bernie
August 20th, 2012
6:45 pm
Atlanta Olympics 2020 @ 3:46 pm – Out of All of the comments posted here today,
I found yours to be the most IRONIC and Funny. My Friend, The Olympics will Never return to Atlanta! EVER!
There is an Asterisk to all future Host cities, Never repeat the mistakes of Atlanta and neither will We! It was Truly a CARNIVAL of misfits! And Billy Payne was its Ring Leader!
Wilson Pickett
August 20th, 2012
6:53 pm
Yes , this is real big news.
Esquire
August 20th, 2012
7:11 pm
Thousands and thousands of women have attended the Masters Tournament and not worried one iota who was and wasn’t allowed membership. That smile on Billy Payne’s face is relief that the bull____ is over until one day soon someone complains that there are only 2 female members. God smiled on Fruitland Nursery and saw it was good.
SSIgator
August 20th, 2012
7:15 pm
Shhh. Do you hear that? It is the sound of Mark Bradley softly sobbing over the beer he is sharing with Jeff Schultz while they try and understand why all of their readers do not agree with everything they write.
Abnerish
August 20th, 2012
7:16 pm
GTBob, I was simply trying to point out that people are unfairly demonizing the members of the ANGC specifically and the rich generally for doing nothing more than organizing themselves in a private club. I guess that makes me a bad person because I am willing to defend the rich. So sue me…
dawg4u
August 20th, 2012
7:22 pm
The fact that ANGC admitted two female members is to me nothing to either smile or frown about. I grew up in the Augusta area in the sixties (aged 6 to 15). I have been an Atlanta native for the last thirty years. I was priviliged to be able to attend the Masters golf tournament from age 10 to 19 and though none of my family were ever members; we were acquainted with many members and their wives and children. I never once heard a single one of the wives or children complain about the National being a “men only” membership growing up or even on visiting the Augusta area now and talking to old friends. Our view was that it is and always has been a private club that had the right to include or exclude whoever they choose. It didn’t matter how prominent or famous the Master’s had become or how much national media coverage was involved – the bottom line was that it is a private club that does whatever it chooses regarding membership. Another poster stated it correctly in that you should not give Billy Payne the accolades for admitting two female members because he is merely the spokesman for the membership who voted these two ladies in. The membership of this club are the very wealthy in society and have been for years and they have been pressured for years to admit female members. If anyone thinks that they just all of a sudden caved under pressure to admit females then they are mistaken. They have been pressured for at least the last 20 years and probably much longer than that. They decided to do this among the entire membership for whatever reason. It still is a private club and decisions made by the club stay in the club!
Strange Murphy
August 20th, 2012
7:35 pm
Augusta National caved in to the god of PC.
bamaguy
August 20th, 2012
7:36 pm
And neither of the women admitted are Georgians. Rice (Alabama), Moore (South Carolina).
The Factor
August 20th, 2012
7:38 pm
SSI Gator is a weasel and needs a GIRLFRIEND!! What a Pinhead!! lol, lol, lol…Good gosh son, get a life…
The Factor
August 20th, 2012
7:43 pm
@GT Bob,
Man, I agree with every post I read of yours here, very rational. Yet, when it comes to UGA you are completely not?
3d
August 20th, 2012
7:49 pm
Because it’s a private club.
People tend to forget that AN had to tell CBS in the past that they are allowing them to televise the tournament.
GTBob
August 20th, 2012
7:49 pm
Man, I agree with every post I read of yours here, very rational. Yet, when it comes to UGA you are completely not?
I am a bit of a different person in a UGA discussion.
One final word
August 20th, 2012
8:05 pm
Somewhere Furman Bisher is wringing his hands.
The Truth
August 20th, 2012
8:09 pm
Actually espn radio/tv also hiring more women for mens sports!! Replacing more men.
Dirty Dawg
August 20th, 2012
8:35 pm
OK so they did it…big deal. Now for the heavy lifting… As in what’s the over/under on when they’ll admit a Democrat?
Tom Ferrell
August 20th, 2012
8:41 pm
This is so long over due and so unreasonably 30 or 40 years late, I think it should be greeted with oppobrium instead of celebration. I wish Dr. Rice and Ms Moore would have rejected the membership until a more thorough going reform and serious indication of changing their old boys ways was in motion.
Tom Ferrell
longtimefan
August 20th, 2012
9:16 pm
It seemed the right thing to do. It’s more complicated than “It’s a private club and it is their choice”. Yes, it is their choice and they thoughtfully made the right one. All the other clubs and institutions discussed are not nearly as high profile as Augusta National.
Sideline Dude
August 20th, 2012
9:43 pm
A sad day for good ole boys.
Pat R
August 20th, 2012
10:50 pm
I, as a female, am sick of the push to include women in all things male. I have worked in a male-dominated field in the IT arena for years but have always made sure I could do the work. Even then, when the guys went out for drinks after work, I didn’t always go with them. Sometimes guys need to be with just guys. And men should be allowed to have a club that is all their own just as women should be allowed the same privilege. Lastly, I must say that if Condi Rice was the conservative she claims to be she would have declined the offer. Women need to learn to leave men alone and them be men.
tdawgmoney
August 20th, 2012
10:53 pm
Bradley, caving in to the politically correct crowd is never something to be proud of.
billyBobjacket
August 20th, 2012
11:36 pm
Love it! Hootie still gets to thumb his nose at NOW, because those leftie pinko lezzie b!+che$ HATE Condi Rice, so they don’t even get to enjoy it and they have nothing to squawk at Augusta National for anymore. Also did it when this was completely off the radar, so Martha Burke gets NO credit, try as she might to take it. Well played!
Hootie Jr.
August 20th, 2012
11:38 pm
Good job Billy. That’s playing the PR card by the book. Let in ONE Black Woman and ONE White Woman. Not that I give a rat’s a@# who gets in there but Billy just punked out. Maybe Martha Burk can look into why I can’t join the all FEMALE Gymn right around the corner from where I live. What’s the difference? We live in a shi#$& world.
Mutley
August 20th, 2012
11:56 pm
Could an LPGA tournament be far behind?
zeke
August 21st, 2012
12:05 am
One well deserving pick, Darla I am not so sure, except that she and her husband have loads of money.
At least Hootie and Billy snubbed their noses at M. Burk and her NAGS!
There is a place for PRIVATE CLUBS. They are validated by the Constitution!
Milton Friedman
August 21st, 2012
12:17 am
“and we should all smile”….your right, for a short period Augusta National reminded us that we still have freedom of choice in this country. A completely out of style concept that the PC police and their surrogates the media will assail until it no longer exists. The society that seeks equality over liberty will get less of each, the society that seeks liberty over equality will get more of both.
SSIgator
August 21st, 2012
12:22 am
Well now, let’s see. As long Augusta National is going this far with women being allowed to join, do not mess up at this point. To keep Mark Bradley and the rest of the PC Police happy you will also have to include women that are catholic, arabs, jews, atheists, mormons, communists, socialists, lesbians, bisexuals, etc. Oh, and don’t forget also devout readers of the AJC since they endorse this type of foolishness.
Hamad Meander
August 21st, 2012
1:58 am
I think the decision by Augusta National’s members is to be commended, though I would have supported them either way. I love how they admitted women on their own terms, and picked two fantastic and dynamic women. Sports loving women. Self made women. Not hairy-armpitted feminists.
This is good for Augusta National, and completely deflates any future criticism. Money will flow into this place like never before. It’s a great business decision.
Hamad Meander
August 21st, 2012
2:01 am
And for you that say this was caving into political correctness, I see it as exactly the opposite. It’s an in-your-face, we’ll pick women who we WANT to hang out with, not you screeching equalists decision.
By no means is this caving in. It’s a brilliant move and will pay dividends for years to come.
Buckeye
August 21st, 2012
7:16 am
I wonder if Cynthia McKinney and Maxine Waters were on the short list?
Billy Boy
August 21st, 2012
8:23 am
Since when does Augusta National announce new memebers? Last I checked their membership was a matter of privacy. I am pleased with the addition of these two members but not with Billy Payne. He has brought bigger crowds to the Masters, greater media attention, and less mystique to Augusta National.
Tacusa
August 21st, 2012
8:30 am
Who would you rather play golf with? The gentlemen (and now ladies) of Augusta National? Or members the ALL MALE sports writing team at the AJC?
max j
August 21st, 2012
8:39 am
Why would I “smile” because some millionaire, connected women join a club with a bunch of other connected millionaire/billionaires at augusta. There are more important things to worry about.
333
August 21st, 2012
8:54 am
A commendable decision by Augusta National–We all knew it had to happen sometime. Condi Rice—What a sexy lady!!
richie
August 21st, 2012
8:54 am
WHOOOOOO CARESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!
Jimnalph
August 21st, 2012
9:13 am
A sad day for the First Amendment right of freedom of association.
The Blowfish
August 21st, 2012
9:13 am
Hootie, where art thou?
Fuzzy Zoelleous
August 21st, 2012
9:15 am
Great, now i have to use the men’s room instead of the trees.
PMC
August 21st, 2012
9:46 am
This is not sufferage, it’s not Sally Ride on the space shuttle. It’s a freaking elitist club for perhaps the most elitist sport in the world.
Two extremely wealthy, powerful and connected people who happen to be women just became members of an exclusive club.
How is this news? It matters not to virtually anyone on the planet.
Marvin Mangrum
August 21st, 2012
9:51 am
I cant for the life of me understand one thing, Augusta, members, women. None of my business, none of yours. My God, why all the words. And if it mattered to the Members what we thought, dont ya think we would be members?
DeShaun Sanders
August 21st, 2012
10:19 am
@ Skram30082
re: Your 1:45 of August 20
“Doesn’t the fact the Lee Elder was the first African-American to play the Masters in 1975 make that time seem like the Stone Age?”
Skram, the Masters has always had very strict requirements as to exactly what a golfer had to do in order to qualify to play. In 1975, if you won a PGA tournament, you were automatically guaranteed a spot in the field. You could also qualify if many other ways. But there has never been any “supplemental” entry slots…no “sponsor’s exemptions” as with other tournaments. And until Lee Elder did so in 1975, no African-American had ever met those qualifications. There were many people around…including a lot of sportswriters…who felt that the Masters should make an exception and extend an invitation to Elder before then, because it would have sent a “message” and been (according to them) the “right thing to do.” But that would have been relaxing standards, and patting an African-American golfer on the hand and (symbolically) saying “Bless your heart, you’re Black…so you can’t be held to the same standards those White golfers have to meet. You just come on and play anyway…we’ll slip you in somehow”…which the Augusta National refused to do. And then…when Lee Elder finally qualified the way EVERYONE else had…he was able to play knowing that he had legitimately EARNED his way there.
I was glad to see Lee Elder in the Masters that year, and was thrilled to finally see someone who looked like me playing in the most prestigious golf tournament in the world. And it was very satisfying knowing that he deserved to be there, and had gotten his invitation the same way as every other golfer there. And I’m glad the Augusta National refused to knuckle under to the politically correct notions of the day, misguided though they were. It gave African-Americans a sense of great pride watching Lee Elder play in 1975 (and in following years as well), knowing that…in order to do so…he had earned his right to do so.
Hamad Meander
August 21st, 2012
11:01 am
DeShaun Sanders – beautifully done. Exactly what Dr. Martin Luther King would have said, and you might have even said it better.
Van Jones
August 21st, 2012
11:13 am
“Why is it men-only?”
None of your or my business. It’s a private club.
Rolo
August 21st, 2012
11:25 am
Nice PC BS there Bradley. The ANC does what it wants, it didn’t bow down to PC BS or whiny liberal “men” like you. They simply made their OWN CHOICE to invite successful woman. They many never invite another, or they might invite nothing but. But it has nothing to do with pressure or a tin ear. Its a private club. Maybe you should look up the defination of private
dawg tired
August 21st, 2012
11:39 am
Augusta can invite as many old, rich women as they want but last I checked your paper, no cure for cancer was found, no war was stopped and the unemployment rate was not lowered.WGAS.
RobinVa
August 21st, 2012
11:46 am
“… Augusta National is a private club with a ragingly public face. It invites outsiders — at least those fortunate enough to land tickets — onto its premises for a week every April, and through television and the Internet and even iPhone and Android apps it invites the rest of us to partake of the Masters. It sells merchandise (lots of it) bearing the club logo. Given all that, could it reasonably argue that its membership rolls were of no concern?”
Yes. Of no concern to non-members.
“Some may see this as the fall of one of the last bastions of male-dom,…”
And some are foolish. It is a golf course. It’s not a government. It’s a golf course.
“So long as Augusta National was men-only, the question would have been asked: “Why is it men-only?”
The question WAS asked and the answer was, “Because that was how the members wanted it.”
I personally believe that keeping the club all-male for all of those decades was silly However hailing this change as a great leap forward for humankind is sillier. One sad fact about this whole affair is that the concept of private associations-people choosing to be with whom they wish for whatever reason or purpose they wish-without being hounded by the public at large has suffered. And in a free society that is not a good thing. That was once as important a principle as free speech.
PonGT
August 21st, 2012
1:55 pm
You are wrong Mr. Bradley. You and all of your emasculated ilk do not understand what has truly just happened … we aren’t witnessing the evolution of Augusta National but the demise of the last sacred vestige of male freedom in the world. Who was it that caused Adam to fail? A woman. Who was it that caused Samson to fail? A woman. Who was it that caused King David to fall? A woman. The downfall of men since the beginning of time has been the woman. Wait and see….the demise of the Masters has begun.
RAB1482
August 21st, 2012
4:31 pm
Well gee Mark, using your reasoning here, my 12 yr old SON should be able to join the Girl Scouts of America–I mean, afterall, even though they are a private group, they sell their cookies all over the world, therefore inviting us into their organization! Good grief, if men want to have a PRIVATE place to gather with their friends, play golf, have some drinks and tell dirty jokes, then they should be able to do that! I mean, this is America…..or at least it USED to be!
BulldogBen
August 21st, 2012
7:24 pm
In a state like Georgia, I honestly can’t believe this happened.
Good on ya Augusta National. Bout time.
BulldogBen
August 21st, 2012
7:33 pm
RobinVa, what you say would be fine if this “private association” wasn’t also the BIGGEST GOLF TOURNAMENT IN THE WORLD. This isn’t some local cigar club or something. They court worldwide attention. It reflected poorly on the entire South.
Paul in NH
August 21st, 2012
10:31 pm
There are some amusing comments on here. I really like the ones that say it is Augusta National’s right to invite who they want and then say that Augusta National shouldn’t have caved to “political correctness”. Some people really don’t get irony.
monroe
August 23rd, 2012
12:19 pm
this racist golf club needs to admit more african-americans. There are too many white people in the club. I’m tired of all this racism in the south.
zilla
August 24th, 2012
1:19 pm
It requires far more effort to give a fuzzy rats a** about this than I am willing to put forth.
zilla
August 24th, 2012
1:21 pm
What reflects more poorly on the South is that for some reason we believe that we are in some way inferior to the rest of the country, which couldn’t be further from the truth.