What's your perception of
Muirfield? It is known as the most private
of private clubs in the world. Very traditional when people think about
Muirfield they think about it being one of the finest on the,
on the men's open rotor. This is Muirfield home of the
honorable company of Edinburgh offers. He's members are the direct
comping descendants of the gentleman golfers were playing a few miles down
the coast at East in the 15th century.
The owner of company were first mutated in 1744. This is the first golf club in
the world. The man of Muirfield known as The Honorable company
of Edinburgh of has established golf's original
rules, and hosted The Games first formal competition, they created traditions and
policies that would influence the game for centuries. Going to be a great tournament
and I think it's For the best man to win to get the really
cordial hand at milk.
One of those policies was the
exclusion of women members, I grew up in a time when there
were courses across the UK, that
women can even drive up. The driveway, they'd have to drop
their husbands off at the front gate. Women weren't allowed in certain
parts of the clubhouse weren't allowed to play at
certain times of the day. So a lot of people have felt,
you know, cross about how they're treated over the years. In 2013, when Mickelson water
your field, that was the story that your field would need to
start taking women members if they wanted to go on holding the
open. What's wrong with the irony
hands? The biggest champion in golf to a single sex club,
that's wrong. The controversy made headlines when Scotland's first minister
at the time Alex, Diamond boycotted, the
event entirely, the started a huge domino effect. You know. Soon as
I said, I wasn't doing a David Cameron, British prime
minister. He had to say he wasn't going as well. Almost three years, after
Mickelson won the 2013 open at Muirfield. The membership took a
vote to determine if the club would remain male-only.
Could be an historic day in the
game of golf. And it's also in and around Muirfield Golf Club
in Scotland. With the two-thirds majority that we
require for a change in the rules was not met Club. Therefore, will retain its
men only membership policy. It was, it was a sad moment in
the game, really? It was a message that they
weren't inclusive. I guess the older will get in life. The
last we may be like change.
Maybe it took a little bit of
time for the membership to get comfortable with the idea. What? Well, digested the result
of the vote golf's governing body. The RNA made a Swift and Powerful
decision I don't think they thought the
club would be thrown from the open rotor but it happened
immediately, we made our position. Very clear at that point, that we were only
going to take our championships two venues where
there was a quality of membership. After hosting the open, 16
times, The Honorable company found
itself at a Crossroads Ten months later. They called
another vote this time. 80% of the membership approved,
the proposal enough for it to pass. Barbara bigot and Lindsay Garden
were among the first women to join the club was delighted. I couldn't wait
to come and play. I think that was it and be part of the club.
We were all very welcome, very much as members. It was nice to
be part of this change that's going on in golf. We are gentle breeze into your
face. I was always pinching myself at
guy have just driven in here and I can just go
and play it, you know, without relying on somebody else.
You're taking me in its enhanced, the atmosphere in
the club, they participate in in everything. No, very good. That's gonna test
you. It's gonna taste me, we don't call them woman
members, they're fully integrated in 2020, the RNA made another
announcement. Muirfield would return to
hosting major championship golf. For the first time in the club's
nearly three hundred year history. The tradition of
only hosting men professionals would be broken. As the top women in the game
were invited to compete for the 2022. AIG Women's Open. We're finally starting to see
kind of the respect that we deserve them pushing and supporting the
women's game is the big deal to be able to come. To me rifle is one of the moments we've been
waiting for It's pretty surreal. They are going to claim on the
best golf courses in the world.
And they will be met with great friendliness and they'll
get a real warm welcome, they'll be part of History..