ROYAL Troon Golf Club could yet open its doors to women members by the time the 145th Open Championship is held there in July.
It was widely reported last week that the club, which was founded in 1878, was likely to stay men-only until at least until after the Open. That was Royal Troon's own timeline, but club secretary Stephen Anthony last night revealed that the committee may now look at speeding up the process to allow a decision to be made before the club stages the championship for the ninth time.
"The review group's report is just out and is with the committee," Anthony said. "We will then go into consultation with the club's 800 members."
Having instituted the membership review in January 2015, the club has been criticised for allowing the issue to drag on, inviting negative publicity in the run-up to the Open. That was the case at Muirfield three years ago when the club's refusal to admit women members threatened to overshadow the championship itself.
"The situation here is different from Muirfield in that we have a Ladies club and we play on the same courses." Anthony pointed out. "Our membership review isn't as simple as people think it might be.
"It's a wide-ranging review which covers all aspects of membership, including the introduction of ladies and other potential new categories - social membership, for example.
"We also have to bear in mind the impact our changes might have on the Ladies Golf Club. They have their own constitution and clubhouse and we have existed with them for the last 130 years.
"One of the potential implications for the Ladies club is that no new members would join them - they would just join Royal Troon. If that happened their club would wither on the vine.
"We are looking at a variety of structural options which will allow us to move forward to our mutual advantage."
Anthony said that the next step was to fully consult with the Royal Troon members, and because of constitutional niceties two special general meetings will have to be held before a vote on admitting women members, as well as possibly introducing other new membership categories, can be taken.
"Our current timetable has this happening after the Open," the Troon secretary said, "but the committee are considering whether the planned timetable can be brought forward without affecting the completeness of the review and the consultation period."
Asked if the club was aware that the issue of admitting women members was likely to be subject to intense scrutiny in the run up to the Open, Anthony replied: "We are very much aware of it, but we have to consult with the members. It's the members who will decide.
"One thing I will say is that we have had no pressure on us whatsoever from the R&A."
The first of the previous eight Open Championships at Royal Troon was held in 1923 and the most recent in 2004. The last six have all been won by American golfers.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here