Freedom of Choice

As of Thursday, April 26, 2012

I disagree with Gordon White’s column in which he espouses women’s membership in The Augusta National Golf Club.

Unfortunately, he resorts to name-calling by labeling those opposed to female membership as intolerant bigots and the club as racist; pokes fun at members strutting around in green jackets; and says Augusta is an institution of social dinosaurs which is waging a horrid war on women. He also calls Billy Payne, the current chairman of Augusta National and the Masters, a dictator.

Frankly, I’m a little sick of your prejudice and people like you shoving down our throats a “no choice policy.” You also use inflammatory language to try to effect the change. Your rhetoric accomplishes nothing and only stiffens the opposition of those who disagree with you.

We like to have choices in our country. This is called freedom. For example, supposed today you wanted to attend an all-male college. You couldn’t because they don’t exist any longer. Male colleges caved in to political correctness and turned co-ed.

However, if you want to attend a woman’s college, you can. There is Smith, Wellesley, Mount Holyoke and many other “girls’ schools.” I am pleased that women have a choice. In your world, Gordon, we would force all colleges to be co-ed and we would have no choice.

I often think of what caused the demise of the famous men’s watering hole named the Biltmore Men’s Bar. There was a new law which made single-sex bars illegal and women were allowed in the Biltmore Men’s Bar. A few months later it was a computer center. Who won?

Goodbye choice. Goodbye the United States we love.

Monroe Diefendorf

Southern Pines

More like this story

JimHeim 1 year ago

Beyond the idea that women should still be second-class citizens, male-only clubs like Augusta limit women's ability to succeed in the corporate world.

A lot of business gets done on the golf course. Locking women out deprives them of the opportunity to participate in what are often high-level decisions. So far I've heard no convincing argument that our economy is served by encouraging male-only corporate business.

It was shameful to watch the female CEO at IBM have to participate as an outsider.

Unlock the doors and let them in. 'No girlz allowed' may be appropriate for little boys, but men need to grow up.

Bentpan 1 year ago

Good letter Mr. Diefendorf.

DoubleHeroides 1 year ago

Whoa JimHeim, just because business takes place somewhere doesn’t make it the right place to do business. Frankly I’ve always found it unprofessional to do business on a golf course. To cite the fact that some people might meet up and make business decisions in a private golf club is one thing but to use that as the reason to force them to accept women members seems a little odd to me. If the male membership that conducts business at the club to the exclusion of their female co-workers is doing it out of sexism how would allowing those women to be members force those men to sit down and discuss business with them? If Augusta wants to have a men’s only club that is their prerogative, they aren’t a government organization, they are a private membership club as far as I understand it so if they don’t want to let women in that sounds like their right to do so.

JD 1 year ago

I figured with hard economic times and memberships decreasing in major clubs that they would be happy for the additional revenue.

JER 1 year ago

I agree that Augusta National has every right to maintain their men only membership status. The people who could help to sway a change in that policy are....women. I noted a large contingent of women in the gallery during the recent tournament, including the CEO of a major sponsor. At this point in time, women seem to have no problem with the current membership arrangement. If they ever do decide to take on the men only policy, all they need do is boycott all activities. Don't go there to eat or dance, don't go there to attend golf tournaments and don't be a patron or sponsor of any of their events. The easiest way to sway anything is to effect the "bottom line".

JimHeim 1 year ago

DH, the reality is that much business occurs in informal settings and excluding women from them is a deliberate act. There is simply no way to prevent it, so women must be allowed in the group if their contribution to corporate life is to be valued.

The_AnonymusProfit 1 year ago

Im confused...So a bunch of men get together, pay ridiculous amounts of money to have a "PRIVATE" club for men, they pay out of their own "PERSONAL" money, the club is not funded by any public monies....

And yet someone feels they can tell them what to do with their money? someone feels they can tell them how to operate their own private club?

This is just another case of the POTMG syndrome and a symptom of our beliefe that everything has to be politically correct, this is nothing but a crock.

skylinefirepest 1 year ago

Hey Profit! Jimmy Heim loves spending other people's money and then telling them what to do! It sort of falls into the categorey of an email I got last week..."How come the Democrats care how Romney spends HIS money but don't give a hoot how Obama spends OUR money???"