Augusta National Golf Club finally makes it to the 20th Century

They get a black also -- a twofer! And no divisive politics, a good honest Republican.

 

Martha Burke is claiming victory. Time to move on.

 

I like her burnt Iraqi leg wood.

 

Amateur golf's gone crazy- biggest driver head I've ever seen in my life, even with the angle and the fact that she may be somewhat petite. And she scares the ball into the hole with a look. What's fair about having an advantage like that?

At least she can wear her green jacket to the next anniversary of the 16th street Baptist Church bombing. Fit right in with the families and friends of the victims...

 

I take members of the Augusta club bombed that church?

 

No, that was a reference to her giving a speech or something in Birmingham at the 42nd anniversary of the incident.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/23/national/23rice.html

I was as appalled as anyone that she would be invited to speak by the very people her administration sought to marginalize.

 

I don't believe in running behind people's segregated businesses if you can destroy them instead. Augusta National's waaaay too big to be taken down, but Condie knows she's just the sort of Black person they'd take in to fill the requirement, so to speak. A flag would have gone up if she'd been the sort to oppose being used. Augusta doesn't generally (as in, ever AFAIK) announce new members- this is nothing more than a PR move.

That said, my post was really my opinion about her being an inappropriate speaker for the bombing anniversary.

 

The media was doing backflips for Augusta this week. What a joke. Didn't they get their first black member in 1990 after Shoal Creek was also called out for not having black members? IIRC they also had a policy that all caddies be black. Everything they've done is to save face/protect their gig with CBS. What a POS organization, even for golf.

 

Are you the Martha of this cause? Will you be out protesting? Will Christine Brennan write a piece about you?

 

Augusta's elitism was never the point. Their exclusion of people of color (regardless of their social or financial status) was/is. I haven't seen anyone lobby for them to admit poor women or poor Black or brown men.

Agreed.

I'm not sure (you're probably right), but the Shoal Creek issue was a disgrace. After they backtracked on then-chairman Hall Thompson's comments...

In the months before the 1990 PGA Championship which was to be played in August at the club, Thompson was approached by a reporter from the Birmingham Post-Herald who asked about the club's admission policies, with Thompson noting the inclusion of Jews and women as members, saying that "we don't discriminate in every other area except blacks"... -wiki, FWIW

...a local Black businessman named Louis Willie allowed himself to be used (agreed when asked to join, membership/initiation fees waived) so that Shoal Creek could host the 1990 PGA Championship. N****r didn't even play golf.

The policy that all caddies would be Black doesn't save face- does exactly the opposite, in fact. It reinforces the belief that Black people exist to serve Whites. Former chairman Clifford Roberts is alleged to have said that, as long as he lived, all the golfers would be White and all the caddies would be Black.

 

Reminds me of the old Chappelle bit:

Travelling has made me a racism conossieur. It's different from region to region. Anyone ever been down South? The racism down there...is MWAA...perfect. Stewed to a perfection. It's comfortable, out in the open. There are no secrets in Mississippi. Everybody knows the deal. "Morning n*gger." "Morning, sir"

(starts around 1:00 mark)

 

I don't think we're in disagreement.

 

I think part of the reason Augusta finally folded was because some of the young guns of the PGA were calling them out for their exclusionary/racist membership policies.

The writing was on the wall: they needed to change or they'd become irrelevant. You can't have The Masters if none of the marquee players will come to the tournament. It's probably a little strong for an analogy, but Augusta would become like Sun City.

 

My guess is that none of those players have the moral upbringing to have actually passed on playing Augusta or any other club with a continuing history of exclusion based on skin color. Hell, guys like Lee Elder were trying to get in in the 70s instead of saying "I'll show up when you grow up".

Dude, most people reach a point where their decisions are made with themselves in mind, and even those who understand that dehumanization takes many forms and come in all sizes often find themselves saying, "Well, that's good enough for now". Sun City is part of a country where the dehumanization was much more visible and (to the uninitiated) worse than the USA during the same time. And Sun City's more like Vegas or Atlantic City than like Augusta- it has no history that makes people want to show up and perform. It was just a place where you can get paid more. OTOH, the Masters is a tournament most golfers want to be a part of even if they have to set their values aside.

 

Golfers for the most part are conservative. Most but not all came from the country club set or are very familiar with it from having to play in country clubs. Most obviously are white. It would've been nice for Tiger to make a stink when he first came up (and dominated) at the Masters. But Tiger doesn't have that in him.

 

Oh, I'm sure that environment has helped shape the mentality of a lot of PGA pros.

No, he doesn't. I don't think anyone expected him to, and he didn't disappoint. I still cheer for him to win majors, tho, because I know Fuzzy Zoeller has as many ideological fans as Tiger has/had golf fans, if not more.

 

But for a good decade or more Tiger was the most popular athlete probably on the planet. If he just once said "Know what? I think it would be nice to see a woman member at Augusta. All of the other great clubs have one." Something as mild as that could've put the screws to those rednecks in Augusta where they would've had to come around quicker. Instead Tiger, the king of the lameass go-along-to-get-along sound bite (like Derek Jeter), dodged the issue at every opportunity.

Gutless.

And unless he can hit a straight drive, Tiger ain't winning shit at a major again. These youngsters don't fear him one bit like Duval and Mickelson did.

Edit: found this petition online:

• Target: Tiger Woods, International Management Group; William Johnson, Chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta National Golf Club

We, the undersigned, urge Tiger Woods to boycott the upcoming Masters golf tournament until the club admits women members. Because of your powerful position in the golf world, and your influence on young golfers, you have a unique power and responsibility. Like it or not, your decision to play or not to play will be a strong statement given the recent tremendous public outcry against the sexist policies of the club. Please support equal rights!​