Green jackets in men's sizes only: gender discrimination at private country clubs.

• Author: Lenkiewicz, Thaddeus Matthew

ABSTRACT

On November 3, 2009, the Supreme Court of Ireland held that the Portmarnock Golf Club could maintain its rule prohibiting female membership free from the sanctions of Ireland's antidiscrimination laws. Portmarnock is representative of the numerous private golf clubs that continue to promote discrimination against women. Despite significant advances in gender equality, private country clubs in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland remain bastions of codified gender discrimination. Many of the most prominent golf clubs hold firmly to discriminatory policies established generations ago. Opposition to these policies has come in various forms of protest and litigation, with mixed results. The private clubs have frequently asserted the right to free and exclusive association to defend their actions. Moreover, some of golf's most famous private clubs continue to practice egregious forms of discrimination against women largely free from legal challenges. This Note examines the existing legal status of gender discrimination at private country clubs in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland and offers a three-prong approach to litigation against clubs engaging in disparate treatment of women.

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND A. Women's Roles at the British and American Country Clubs in the Early 1900s B. Augusta National and Other Prominent Male-Only Clubs in the United States C. Notable Male-Only Clubs in Ireland and the United Kingdom D. Impact of Male-Only Clubs II. LEGAL CHALLENGES TO DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES A. Litigation in the United States B. Litigation and Legislation in the United Kingdom C. Litigation in Ireland i. Portmarnock Golf Club Rules and the Equal Status Act of Ireland ii. Litigation Against Portmarnock III. THREE-PRONG APPROACH TO GENDER DISCRIMINATION AT PRIVATE COUNTRY CLUBS A. Strategic and Sympathetic Plaintiffs B. Targeting the Well-Known Country Clubs C. Liquor Licensing IV. CONCLUSION Throughout the twentieth century, the women's rights movements in the United States and Europe made great strides in the fight against gender discrimination. Landmark victories included advancement in the fields of voting rights, education, and employment. (1) However, at certain country clubs in the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, discrimination against women remains par for the course. (2) Many private clubs continue to cling to decades-old, or even century-old, policies that deny women equal access to club facilities. (3) Even clubs that are home to golfs most revered courses continue to prohibit women from becoming members or even setting foot on the tee as players. (4)

The last two decades have witnessed a growth in litigation challenging various gender-biased practices at country clubs in the United States and Ireland. (5) The cases illustrate the tension between public policies favoring gender equality and the traditional claims of private clubs to freedom of association. (6) While numerous private country clubs have voluntarily granted equal status to women, many still stand firm behind exclusionary policies. (7) Challenging these policies through the court system has been marginally effective in the United States, with successes limited primarily to small, local clubs. (8) In Ireland, the Supreme Court's recent decision in Equality Authority v. Portmarnock Golf Club has quelled early optimism that clubs would abandon all-male membership policies. (9) In British courts, the issue of gender discrimination at private country clubs has gone largely unaddressed. (10) As a result, world-famous country clubs on both sides of the Atlantic remain accessible to men only. (11)

Part I of this Note outlines the historical treatment of women at private golf country clubs and the emergence of women seeking membership on equal terms with men. Part II reviews recent litigation and legislation concerning gender discrimination at private country clubs in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Lastly, Part III proposes a three-prong approach to oppose gender discrimination at country clubs in each of the three countries.

1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

   Understanding the continued existence of discriminatory policies at country clubs requires understanding the history and evolution (or lack thereof) of these clubs over the last century. (12) Golf is a game rooted in tradition. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (R&A), the club credited with inventing golf, still promulgates the rules and regulations of the game. (13) The R&A also retains the power to authorize courses as suitable for the Open Championship, the "oldest and most revered" Major Championship in golf. (14) Professional golfs four "Majors," the Open Championship, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, and the Masters, are still played on courses that hosted the tournaments more than seventy-five or one hundred years ago. (15) Several of the clubs that host the Majors also maintain some of the most restrictive rules barring access to women. (16) Many of the membership rules of the prominent clubs--at least in terms of rules pertaining to women--have gone unchanged for a century or more. (17) As Marcia Chambers acknowledged in her comprehensive study of gender discrimination at country clubs, "If the world of golf were starting fresh, without the cultural weight of old traditions, a different set of policies might have evolved." (18)

   British country clubs came to prominence during the early 1800s, and their American counterparts emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. (19) Golf arose as an outdoor pastime of the eminently wealthy, along with hunting and cricket. (20) The game was first played on private estates and then at private country clubs. (21) Early country clubs were sanctuaries for the elite, and membership correlated with high social status. (22) Members of the first British country clubs included dukes, earls, and lords as well as wealthy businessmen and landed gentry. (23) Early American clubs included members of distinguished families, including preeminent politicians, lawyers, and entrepreneurs. (24) Country clubs in all three countries not only limited membership to the wealthiest social class, but also adopted formal or informal policies of discrimination, restricting access on the basis of race, religion, and ethnicity. (25) In the nineteenth century, white, male, Anglo-Saxon Protestants established private country clubs for the exclusive use of white, male, AngloSaxon Protestants. (26) The clubs denied membership to Catholics, Jews, and Italians, and the possibility of black members was never even considered. (27) As the excluded groups founded their own clubs, they too instituted discriminatory restrictions. (28) Some club bylaws included express provisions that membership was for "Caucasians [o]nly." (29) While the degree of women's access varied from club to club, (30) women were universally prohibited from membership regardless of their ethnicity, religious affiliation, or relationship to male members. (31)

   1. Women's Roles at the British and American Country Clubs in the Early 1900s

      Despite their disparate treatment, women golfers were present since the establishment of the first American country clubs. (32) A women's national championship tournament was played in Britain as early as 1893, and in the United States two year later. (33) However, in the early twentieth century, British and American clubs classified women as "guests" or "associates" of their male counterparts. (34) Although many clubs were accessible to women, governing authority was consolidated in the hands of the male membership. (35) Men monopolized elected positions within the clubs, promulgated club rules, and controlled finances. (36) If a club did not deny women access outright, they were relegated to a secondary status. (37) Furthermore, a woman was generally only admitted to the facilities if she was married to a member. (38) Sons of members were groomed for future membership while daughters were not. (39) In a case of divorce, a member's daughters and former wife lost club privileges, while he and any sons retained membership rights. (40)

      Women played a predominantly social role at the country clubs of this era. Women were regarded as "adornments of their spouses" and "colorful additions" to the atmosphere. (41) Men preferred to find their "guests" relaxing on the verandas as they approached the clubhouse. (42) Women's use of the course was strictly regulated and frequently prohibited on weekends or limited to Sunday afternoons. (43) Restrictions varied, and clubs that permitted women to play the course often designated a specific weekday referred to as "ladies' day." (44) Many clubs also excluded women from certain dining facilities, establishing men-only grilles and cafes within the clubhouse. (45) For example, St. Andrews Golf Club in Yonkers, New York, prohibited women from using the main entrance way or the main dining room, while its namesake, the R&A, excluded women from the clubhouse altogether. (46) At St. Andrews in Yonkers, women were labeled as "guests," and the extent of their activity at the club consisted of congregating in secluded reception and dining areas that were significantly less lavish than the men's facilities. (47) Business Women and the Modern American Country Club

      While women's roles in society evolved dramatically throughout the twentieth century, discriminatory policies at many private country clubs endured remarkably unchanged. (48) The 1960s and 1970s witnessed the growth of the civil rights and feminist movements as well as landmark antidiscrimination legislation. (49) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned gender-based discrimination in private employment, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibited sex discrimination at educational institutions receiving federal funding. (50) During the same era, notable private...