These are small issues to feminists, the really big issue that is going to undermine the future or women as we know it is whether they can "network" in the most exclusive golf club in the world. This is an example of having it so good in America that you have to sit around and think of things to get worked up about. It is not enough that we are a war with terrorists.
News Flash: most men cannot get into Augusta National. Bill Gates had the audacity to actually apply; you do not do that at Augusta National, and was turned down.
As a side note, you have to give it to the guys of Augusta National. They took a place that only has good weather in April when The Masters is played and made into the most sought after club membership for golf in the world. If you spend any time in Augusta, you know that it is always 7 degrees hotter and more humid that the hottest day in Atlanta. The guys of Augusta National were brilliant but they do not want to admit women. They probably ought to, but when you think about it, I don't want men at my Junior League meeting, either.
Patricia Ireland, former President of NOW, said it was a "public accommodation" issue. What does that mean? If she means that The Master's sells tickets to the public, she is wrong about that. These tickets are practically handed down generation to generation. You won't find them on Ticketmaster. The Master's is a invitation tournament that is televised, it is not open to the public.
This is a private club and they are allowed to make their own rules. The Coca-Cola Company is said to have been quietly working on the side to get Hootie Johnson, the leader of the guys of Augusta National, to admit women. Hootie's answer was to eliminate commercials from the 2003 broadcast. You have to like this guy's style.
Mr. Johnson, this woman hopes you take it a few steps further. Let in any man that fits your profile and then consider admitting women for the future. That is for the future, though. So until then, you can get CBS to drop you and cut a pay-per-view deal. You will have the biggest grossing pay-per-view event in history and then you will have enough money to play the game your way.
Augusta National, do not change a thing until you are ready to change. You are a private club and that works for you. If you get rid of the mystique of Augusta National in the media eye, then who is every going to want to come to Augusta in the summer.
A personal note: I may have been a little hard on the weather in Augusta, but it is "hotter than the hinges of hell" there in the summer and summer lasts 9 months there. I love The Masters and if you will be patient, I am sure that women will be admitted, but on the Augusta National timetable. That's how it works around there.
Martha Zoller hosts a daily political talk show from 9-11:35 am on WDUN AM 550 in Gainesville, Georgia. She is a regular panelist for Fox5Atlanta's The Georgia Gang. Check out the other things she is up to at marthazoller.com and let her know what you think.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/10/188372