Mr. Dawson's Mulligan

Peter Dawson, the chief executive of the R&A, was questioned earlier this week about hosting the Open championship at all-male Muirfield, aka The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers.  He was asked whether or not he sees the exclusion of female members at Muirfield as a form of discrimination, similar to racism.  One of his responses, to one of the many questions asked on this topic, was as follows.

“I don’t really think, to be honest, that a golf club which has a policy of being a place where like-minded men, or indeed, like-minded women, go and want to play golf together and do their thing ranks up against some of these other forms of discrimination.” 

If that were a first tee shot, it might not be out of bounds, but it certainly wasn't striped down the fairway.  To paraphrase his many responses, Mr. Dawson simply doesn't view Muirfield's all-male policy as a big deal.  Not a surprise.  The R&A doesn't have any female members either, similar to many other private golf clubs in the UK. Additionally, Royal Troon and Royal St. George's are other courses on the Open rota which do not have female members.  But the question that begs asking is why he even addressed these types of questions regarding membership?  The membership policies of these clubs have absolutely nothing to do with the R&A, or the Open Championship.  Imagine if Mr. Dawson was granted a mulligan, and instead responded with something along the lines of the following:

"Our job at the R&A is to identify the finest tests of championship links golf in the United Kingdom for staging the Open Championship.  We believe Muirfield is one of the finest links in the world and that golf fans deserve to see the Open contested here.  It is not our right to involve ourselves in the affairs of a private golf club.  Muirfield is a private golf club and as a result, we don't allow ourselves an opinion on anything regarding their club, we are only concerned with the course.  We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to host the Open at such a world class golf course."

Now if that was a first tee shot it would be described as "far and sure."  This type of response would not only have diffused the argument, but more importantly wedged a much needed divide between the R&A championship committee and the affairs of the host clubs.  It would have also focused the remainder of the press conference back on the tournament, where it belongs.  The R&A does not need to concern themselves with the policies of the host club, only the 18 holes.  And there is little argument that Muirfield is one of the best 18 holes that links golf has to offer.  

Hit 'em well.
-MG