| The Mystery, Magic And Mayhem Of The Masters |
 There's 'Mystery, Magic And Even Mayhem' Swirling Amongst The Georgia Pines At Augusta National Golf Club According To At Least One Intrepid Reporter by Gayle Moss Well, spring is in the air (even if it’s late hitting the ground in Vancouver) and that can mean only one thing – The Masters is Coming! The Masters is Coming! The Masters marks the official start of golf season and I am always caught up in the mystery, magic and mayhem that goes with it. Here’s how I see it… The Mystery While most people talk about the revered Augusta National in hushed tones because it’s steeped in history, for me Augusta National is just an old private elitist golf club. St. Andrews has mystery – Augusta just has azaleas. No, for me, the real mystery lies with the master of golf himself – the legendary, Bobby Jones. Bobby Jones isn’t like any other golfer that ever lived. I have watched all 12 episodes of his “How I Play Golf” series and am still in awe of his fluid swing and uncanny ability to make golf look easy. Oh, did I mention, he was self-taught? And what’s even more amazing to me is how he dominated a sport, when he hardly devoted any time to it. Tiger may be the best golfer ever in terms of total wins, but I can’t imagine Tiger being able to achieve what Bobby Jones did in just 7 years: • Play golf only 3 months a year on average – and only 7 tournaments outside the majors • Win 13 out of 21 majors he entered • Win the grand slam • Get a law degree from Harvard (not an honorary degree from Stanford) Oh, I love Tiger and Jack and Arnie and Ben and so many other great golfers, but IMHO Robert Tyre Jones Jr., born on St. Patrick’s Day in 1902 is by far the greatest of them all. Hmmm…do you think it might be the luck of the Irish? The Magic This one is easy. Although some die-hard Augusta fans might not like what I said about their beloved golf club, I bet few of them would argue with me on this one. There was nothing more magical than watching a 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus take the lead on the 17th hole at Augusta National with that birdie putt, scoring a 30 on the back nine (a tournament record) and finishing with a 65 to win his 6th Masters. Wow! I have watched replays of that tournament more times than I can remember and it never fails to give me Goosebumps or bring tears to my eyes. The Mayhem Not a year goes by where the topic of Augusta National not having any women members doesn’t rear its ugly head. This year is no different. Cynthia Good, CEO of PINK magazine plans to be at The Masters in April to pick up where activist Martha Burke left off in 2003 – she plans on protesting once again the all-male membership of the club. For those who aren’t up on this issue, Augusta National has no women members. Women can play if they are invited by a member, but to date, they have not been “invited” to join the exclusive men’s club. Six years ago, Martha Burk, head of the National Council of Women's Organizations, sent a letter to Augusta chairman, Hootie Johnson, asking the club to add a female member to its all-male membership. Mr. Johnson, whom many thought (including Tiger Woods) was just about to invite a woman to join, responded in a letter and in a media statement that, “Augusta would not be bullied into having a female member.” Oh my! Well, this year, the golf forums are abuzz about this issue once again and I thought I’d check in with four of them to see what the members thought. Although not statistically relevant (I collected opinions from 100 forum members), it is pretty evident that the majority felt that Augusta is well within its rights to exclude women members. Opinion % "It's a private club, they should be able to choose their members - 46% any way they want." "I'm against excluding women." - 26% "There are women-only fitness clubs that don’t allow men, - 15% so I'm okay with excluding women from golf clubs." "I don't care." - 13% Those who were against excluding women members also shared similar views about minorities in general. The thing I can’t really share with you is the emotional outbursts that took place during the “discussions”. One forum’s debate between its members got so hot that the moderator had to shut it down and call a truce. It got ugly. Now you may want to know how I feel about this subject. Personally, I wouldn’t want to be part of a club that is stuck in the past. In 2004, USA Today obtained a copy of the membership at Augusta, where the average age was 72! Ugh! That is enough for me to stay away – I want to be around progressive-thinking people, not the who’s who of old money and corporate power. But I can’t rant and rave about their practice not to invite women to join their old boy’s club because they are within their rights as a private club, and there are women-only clubs out there who practice the reverse. That being said, in my heart, I just feel it is wrong. The argument about there being women-only schools, fitness centres, weight loss centres and girl guides is valid to a point, but how can one really put those in the same league with Augusta? And although it’s no longer standing, the "No dogs or women allowed" sign at the home of golf in Scotland still bothers me when I think about it. The invisible sign still lives in the hearts of those who rule the Royal and Ancient at St. Andrews – it has never had a female member and it doesn’t look like it will any time soon, given its recent controversy over not offering the new female Principal of the University of St Andrews a special membership, normally offered to men in that same position. No, these private clubs don’t have to invite women to join, but neither did they have to justify their practice of discrimination based on race or colour not that long ago. But finally, enough pressure was put on Augusta National GC that it invited its first African American member to join in 1990. Perhaps we’ll see another breakthrough at the 20-year anniversary of that big day and see the first woman invited in 2010. I’m not holding my breath, but then again, I’m hopeful. You know, I think Tiger had it right back in 2003 when he said…"Hootie is right, and Martha is right. That's the problem. They're both right, but they're going about it the wrong way. If they both sat down and talked about it, it would be resolved a lot better than what's going on right now." Perahps people just need to talk rationally about things and maybe they'll change for the betterment of everyone. About the writer:  |
