A Good Walk Spoiled

Evenin' all.

Interesting story in today's Irish media. The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the Equality Authority, ruling that Portmarnock Golf Club in north Dublin was okay to ban women from joining as full members as it is fundamentally a 'gentlemen's club where golf is played'.

Now, I don't have any strong opinions either way on this one. I don't really have a problem with any group in society wanting to to form a club that is exclusively for their own use (with the proviso that they don't cause harm to anyone else, and I wouldn't put a bunch of blokes knocking little white balls around with sticks in that category). At the same time I can understand why, in this case, some women might feel aggrieved that their rights are being challenged.

Ordinarily I wouldn't care enough about golf for this issue to get my dander up. However, it struck me as I was reading about it that there is a much simpler, and cheaper, way of resolving this situation than going through the courts.

If the 'gentlemen' who run the club are so insistent that the fairer sex shouldn't sully their membership list then the latter should take them at their word and boycott the place. Completely.

I imagine that a plethora of women works directly and indirectly on behalf of the club. The club's website (www.portmarnockgolfclub.ie - take a look at their dress code if you fancy a laugh) states that they have a bar and a dining room and I would hazard a guess that some of the staff who service these areas are women. The website also states that 'caddies can be requested' and maybe some of these are also female, as perhaps are some of the staff who work in administration, reception, bookings etc. And what about external companies who undertake work for the club, for example in advertising, fund raising, catering or cleaning?

Also, I believe that functions are regularly held in the club and presumably the members sometimes attend these with their partners and other female relatives and friends. Apparently, the wives and daughters of members are 'allowed' to play the course on Sundays (thanks, gents, that's very big of you).

I suggest that each and every woman who has anything to do with the club withdraws their services and general kinship immediately. I'd take a friendly bet that a golf club entirely devoid of the input of 'the little ladies' would introduce full female membership in very short order. But if the boys still want to play with themselves then let them. If all else fails the ladies could join one of the 400 other golf clubs in Ireland that operate a mixed gender membership.

To paraphrase Groucho Marks, why would you want to join a club that has men as members?

Ciao,

oldblodger