Poll drives golf club's 'rude reputation' into the sand

Auslan Cramb, Scotland Correspondent, The Telegraph, 13 November 2000

A golf club once described as the "rudest in the world" has topped a poll of the best 100 courses in Britain.

Muirfield, home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, was judged the most enjoyable experience in British and Irish golf by judges for Golf World magazine. The East Lothian links, which will host its 16th Open Championship in 2002, was described as "both beautifully tranquil and supremely testing".

Muirfield, founded in 1744, is one of the few golf clubs that refuses to allow women members, a condition that meant it was not included in Scotland's recent bid to host the 2009 Ryder Cup match between Europe and America. Officials trying to secure the event for Scotland feared their claim might be damaged if a club that discriminated against women was put forward as a contender.

But Group Captain John Prideaux, club secretary, said yesterday that Muirfield "did not care what other people think". He said: "If a group of like-minded men wish to collect together and enjoy the privacy of their own club it is rather sad that others should want to cajole them in to giving up that right."

He said the club was honoured to have their course voted the best in Britain, but not surprised. Royal County Down in Northern Ireland came second in the poll with Loch Lomond third.

More than image that matters

A MacLeod, Letter to Editor, The Scotsman, 25 October 2000

With regard to Muirfield’s association with a Scottish Ryder Cup bid you say “The men-only issue is one few golfers will lose sleep over.... What matters, however, is the image our nation portrays. (Sport, 20 October). Should that have read "few male golfers”?

You can go on a mixed works outing to a local golf club and be refused entry, and have your bacon roll handed to you through a dining-room window. Elsewhere you can get in but find that the bar is demarcated for the use of one sex only. Or you find that you cannot join several clubs based on council-operated links courses.

Without locker and changing facilities, and unable to play medal golf on these courses, you cannot have a handicap based there. It is more than image that matters. Retaining Muirfield in the bid is not an honourable option.

Men-only Muirfield dropped from 2009 Ryder bid

Donald Walker, The Scotsman, 21 October 2000

Muirfield will no longer be part of Scotland’s bid to host the 2009 Ryder Cup, because of fears that the presence of the men-only golf club will have a negative effect on what is otherwise considered to be a very strong representation.

Five courses declared an interest in hosting the biennial match between Europe and the United States when the Scottish Executive targeted the event, which is also coveted by bidders in Wales, England and Sweden. Then two weeks ago, Muirfield became the sixth Scottish course to put itself forward, joining Gleneagles, Turnberry, St Andrews, Loch Lomond and Carnoustie.

The investment of public money into a bid that was associated with sex discrimination was opposed in yesterday’s edition of The Scotsman, and was the subject of private concern at the Scottish Executive, where politicians were uncomfortable on the principle and fearful of bad publicity which could harm the overall Scottish bid.

As a result of those concerns, the bid document which will be published next Thursday will make no mention of Muirfield.

After Scotland’s formal bid is delivered to the Ryder Cup committee, a decision on which country will host the 2009 event is expected in January. The committee will then decide the specific course by September.

A spokesman for Scottish Enterprise, which has backed the campaign of the East Lothian course, insisted that Muirfield remained a credible venue. “Muirfield has just been voted Scotland’s top golf course which justifies its inclusion in Scotland’s Ryder Cup bid,” said the spokesman. “It is the venue for the 2002 Open and has hosted many men’s and women's international events in the past.”

Drop Muirfield for sake of international respect

The Scotsman, 20 October 2000

If Scotland is to host the Ryder Cup, it would bring to this country one of the greatest events in international sport, and with it the prestige and honour that will be the envy of the world in 2009.

It is perhaps sad that winning the right to host the Ryder Cup should mean so much to us, when we consider that, should the Scottish bid prove successful, it will be the first time the event has been held here for 36 years. A return is long overdue, particularly when the European staging of the event has been monopolised by The Belfry over the last two decades, a golf course that is nowhere near the class of the Scottish contenders.

Nevertheless, we should be aware that failure this time could delay the return of the Ryder Cup until at least 2017.

For that reason, the bid should be the strongest the nation can muster, and with the resources at hand in terms of courses, funding and government backing, our bid co-ordinators have assembled a highly attractive package.

Unfortunately, the bid is not without flaw. Of the six courses in contention to host the Ryder Cup - if it comes to Scotland - Muirfield sticks out like a sore thumb. Quite simply, a men-only club should not be entertained as a potential host of an event that will attract international interest.

It should be no surprise if Scotland's competitors point to the presence of Muirfield as the soft target of an otherwise formidable bid. There will also be opposition in Scotland to any government-backed bid which is associated with prejudice, but there is a danger we may not reach that stage if Muirfield's interest is counter productive to the collective Scottish bid.

The men-only issue is one few golfers will lose sleep over, and there is a suspicion that those within the sport couldn't care less if a bastion of chauvinism hosts the Ryder Cup. What matters, however, is the image our supposedly mature nation portrays to the world.

It is true that the US Masters is held at a club where the expression "equal rights" is considered to be foul language, but should such a lack of tolerance in the USA be acceptable in Scotland? No. The Irish bid for the 2003 Ryder Cup involved a men-only club, but does that make it correct for Scotland to follow? Again, no.

Members of the Scottish Executive have expressed unease in private over Muirfield's involvement. Those concerns should not be whispered - if politicians feel Muirfield can damage the Scottish bid, they have the power to remove it. The bid has to be submitted by the end of this month. If by then Muirfield is still associated with the tender, the Scottish Executive's involvement will amount to tacit approval of sex discrimination.

Muirfield leaves it late to join race for Ryder Cup

Mike Aitken, The Scotsman, 10 October 2000

Muirfield, the club which hosted the Ryder Cup on the one previous occasion when the match with the Americans was held in Scotland in 1973, has thrown its hat into the ring again to stage the 2009 contest.

With St Andrews, Turnberry, Carnoustie, Loch Lomond and Gleneagles already on board as official contenders to provide the venue, the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers declared their candidacy last week in a bid document which also drew the support of various tourism and enterprise agencies in the Lothians.

All bids for the 2009 match have to be lodged with the Ryder Cup committee by the end of this month and Muirfleld declared its interest at the 11th hour. The involvement of arguably the most testing and beautiful links course in world golf adds another sprinkling of glitter to a Scottish bid which is second to none in terms of quality courses.

Wales, the North-east of England and Sweden are also involved in the quest to host the Ryder Cup nine years from now. The Welsh bid is seen by many as the most serious rival to Scotland, with Celtic Manor backed by huge financial resources.

If money is no object in the valleys - the Welsh impressed officials with the manner in which they staged the recent PGA Cup match - the Scottish bid is also understood to be commercially sound.

A press conference at St Andrews on Thursday during the Alfred Dunhill Cup is expected to deliver details about a strategy for developing the game in Scotland.

With European Tour events scheduled for Loch Lomond, Gleneagles and St Andrews next season, Scotland’s Ryder Cup bid looks to be gathering momentum. All concerned in this neck of the woods, mind you, appreciate they’ve not reached the winner’s enclosure yet.

As far as Muirfield’s interest is concerned, perhaps the one major stumbling block to holding the Ryder Cup at the East Lothian course is the club’s membership policy.

Only men are allowed to join the world’s oldest golf club. That antiquated view of women golfers, one would guess, is unlikely to sit well with a government-backed initiative.

On the other hand, no Scottish club has more to offer in the way of tradition than Muirfield The Honourable Company first played golf on Leith Links in 1744. and have been running championships ever since.

Muirfield has welcomed the world to 14 Opens but a reputation for lofty isolationism was fostered by a former secretary, Paddy Hanmer. The former navy captain was known to be icy in the company of visitors.

When four Americans, who had booked a year in advance, turned up on a day when wind and driving rain sent the seagulls in search of shelter, Hanmer barked: “Start at the tenth - we don’t want you getting in the way of the members.”

A decision on the host country for 2009 is expected to be announced in the New Year, with the successful course due to be named during the 2001 Ryder Cup match at the Belfry.

Sandy Jones, the chief executive of the PGA and an observer at the Solheim Cup over the weekend, indicated that the calibre of all the bids was high.

“Celtic Manor did a very good job of putting on the PGA Cup and what we can say about them is that they’ve met every challenge which has been put in front of them so far,” he said.

“We’ve also been very impressed with the bid from the North-east of England and the enthusiasm and seriousness of the Swedish bid All the interested parties, including Scotland, are showing both innovation and commitment to the game.

“After what happened at Brookline, there was a feeling that the Ryder Cup was bad for golf. We want to change that perception. Our aim is to persuade people that the Ryder Cup can be very good for the game.

“That’s why the decision on who gets the match in 2009 has to be viewed as a catalyst for growth - a chance to focus on golf and an opportunity to develop the game.”