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This Thursday, a historic vote will take place that has the potential to drastically and radically alter centuries of history.

On the same day, the Scottish Independence referendum will also be held.

As the nation goes to the polls to determine the fate of the union, a smaller but still hugely significant vote will be undertaken at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. Its male-only membership will decide whether or not to allow women to join one of the world’s oldest golfing institutions.

Don’t be fooled into thinking the date clash was in any way coincidental. It was clearly (to my mind at least) picked because it will be easier to bury bad news in the event of the vote going against the ladies. No matter what happens with the other poll, it will be covered extensively in the mainstream media the next day, leaving little time and space for anything else. “Golf club rejects women”? Any other day, that’s a front-page story. On Friday, September 19, 2014, you’ll find it on page ten, maybe 12.

“It’s a change that isn’t just desirable but, in fact, necessary.”

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, though. Instead, let’s cross our fingers that the members of the Royal and Ancient grasp the opportunity to change the way the world perceives them. Rightly or wrongly, they and their club are seen by many as both archaic and bigoted. With this vote, they can reinvent themselves as progressive, relevant and inclusive.

So much is at stake, not just for them but for golf, too. Like it or not, there are people out there who know nothing about the sport – they just think they do. And what they ‘know’ is that it’s a sport that is famously anti-women.

That’s tosh, of course. But it’s what they think and that’s in part down to the existence of single-gender clubs like the Royal and Ancient and, previously, Augusta National.

The latter, need I remind you, revoked its ‘male only’ policy two years ago, inviting Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore to become its first female members. In doing so, it cranked up the pressure on other single-gender clubs, and the Royal and Ancient in particular, to change its ways.

The Old Course St Andrews

It is, by now, well established that the Royal and Ancient and its ilk are doing nothing legally wrong by refusing to admit women. It’s their right, their prerogative, their entitlement to be like that.

But it’s bad PR. Awful, really. It reflects terribly on the game when one of its best-recognised and most influential institutions – from which the administrative body for the sport globally was formed – says ‘no’ to half the population.

“Too much is at stake for the views of so few to hold firm.”

For that reason, I hope that the men of this famous and proud club vote for change this week. From what I gather, it’s not a foregone conclusion but I hope they accept that, for the good of the game, which will endure much longer than any of them, it’s a change that isn’t just desirable but, in fact, necessary.

For too long, golf has been saddled with an image that is representative of only a fraction of the sport. Thursday can be a major step towards righting that wrong. And it is a wrong, no matter what the law says. The same, I hasten to add, is true for all single-gender clubs. Perhaps if the Royal and Ancient takes the lead, others will follow suit.

Too much is at stake for the views of so few to hold firm. That’s my opinion. I dearly hope it is one shared by the majority of those with a say in this week’s ballot.

As for the other vote, well, that’s another story for another day.

St Andrews vote: your thoughts

Do you agree with Michael McEwan that the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews’ vote this Thursday is vitally important for the good of the game? What do you think the outcome will be? Leave your thoughts in our ‘Comments’ section below

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Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor

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