There are many reasons I hate golf: It's boring to watch, there's no consistency, and I can't hit under 150. But one reason it caused "hate" instead of just "dislike" was the fact it's top venue, Augusta National, didn't allow female members. It had a bunch of green jackets for it's all male membership and none for females. That changed earlier today.
Augusta, founded in 1932, decided to admit its first female members. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina Financier Darla Moore were invited by Augusta National to be the first two female members in the club's history. Chairman of Augusta National Billy Payne said in a statement "These accomplished women share our passion for the game of golf and both are well known and respected by our membership. It will be a proud moment when we present Condoleezza and Darla their green jackets when the club opens this fall. This is a significant and positive time in our club's history and, on behalf of our membership, I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome them and all of our new members into the Augusta National family."
The all male membership was challenged ten years ago by Martha Burk and her women's advocacy group. When contacted by the AP, Martha said "Oh my God. We won."
Finally some equality in the most boring game in the world. Sure, women were invited as guests but there is something about being members that carries much more weight. It might've been better to offer this kind of historic invitation to Virginia Rometty, CEO of IBM, back in the Spring. Heck, it should've been done decades ago. The club is still conservative but this was a big step in step Augusta National and a big step in the golfing world.
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