Wilson Sibbet, the R&A’s current captain, acknowledged all of the above in a letter sent to members ahead of the March conference: "It is true to say that the R&A Golf Club and the R&A remain widely perceived as a single organisation, despite extensive efforts to publicise our new structure. “Our seat at golf’s top table,” he continued elsewhere in his epistle, "is secured by one thing - our reputation. It is our great asset and it is a primary duty of the General Committee and indeed, of all members, to ensure that it is maintained and enhanced.
"In recent years, however, the General Committee has noted with growing concern that in the modern era, the exclusion of women from membership of the Royal and Ancient Golf club is becoming increasingly damaging to our reputation as a club and as a governing body."
Dawson insisted that the R&A are not trying to put pressure on the remaining all-male clubs to follow their lead. Yet Royal St George’s, Muirfield and Royal Troon were hardly going to ignore the R&A’s very public intentions. Royal St George’s and Muirfield have since confirmed that they are continuing to review their membership arrangements, though neither club has pinned down a date for a vote.
Some think that St George’s may yet seize their hosting of this summer’s Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship as a natural springboard to a new order but, at least so far, the club is denying as much. Muirfield members, meantime, were advised around Christmas that it might be two or even three years before they were asked to make up their minds. After the historic news from St Andrews, a club spokesman explained the lack of urgency this way: "We will be taking time to ensure that the plans we adopt will stand us in good stead for the next 270 years of our great club".
On the one hand, there are those Muirfield diehards who do not care if an on-going all-male membership policy could cost them the Open. On the other, there are those who cannot so much as contemplate departing the Open rota. They see Muirfield and the Open as synonymous and suggest that the seeming minority who want to stay with the status quo will notice a few women rather less than they will miss their week with the stars.
Such influential Scottish professionals as Stephen Gallacher and Andrew Coltart are both convinced that “common sense will prevail” and that the club will make the necessary changes to its constitution. Neither man believes that Muirfield’s exceedingly impressive Open history - no Open venue has a finer list of champions to its name - could suddenly come to a full stop.
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