Augusta National Golf Club

Few institutions revel in the reputation of being a dinosaur like Georgia's Augusta National Golf Club, host of the Masters Tournament. Augusta has never admitted a woman to membership and has even tried to portray its adamantine stance as a virtue: When activist Martha Burk launched a public challenge to its males-only membership policy in 2002, the club's then-chairman, Hootie Johnson, won plaudits (in some quarters) for declaring that although the club might admit women at some time in the future, it would not make a decision "at the point of a bayonet.

GOLF URBAN LEGEND : Augusta National Golf Club changed their rules to keep an African-American player from possibly qualifying for the Masters in 1962. With the recent news that the Augusta National Golf Club has added a female member to their club, I thought it would be interesting to examine another controversial period in Augusta history, the years before Lee Elder became the first African-American player to compete in the Masters Tournament in 1975. Charlie Sifford was a pioneer among African-Americans in the world of golf.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Oh, how badly I wanted to walk and see and smell and write about whatever it is that makes the Masters masterful. For we first-timers, on this first day of the tournament, it is almost mandatory. Craft an entire column that attempts to explain how there are golf tournaments, there is the Masters and never the twain shall meet. Sportswriting allows so few similar opportunities. Where else can you tell readers about a place that is color-coordinated in the greens of grass, the whites of sand and the blues of sky; where putting greens are more like green-carpeted gymnasium floors, after the water pipes below them have burst?

My applause for the admission of the first two women to Augusta National Golf Club is tempered by a question. They're really going to wear the green jackets like Billy Payne promised? Are we sure they're not going to be asked to instead wear green skirts? I hate to be cynical about Monday's landmark decision by the folks who run the Masters golf tournament, but it only makes sense that the opening of a door that has been closed for 80 years would be accompanied by lots of creaks.

Hord Hardin has resigned as chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club. He will be succeeded by Jackson Stephens of Little Rock, Ark., as the head of the Masters tournament.

The International Olympic Committee is willing to bend its rules to include golf as a medal sport at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, even though there is a movement to downsize the Olympics, a leading IOC official said. Atlanta organizers last month announced plans to stage men's and women's golf competitions at the Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters. If the proposal is approved by the IOC, golf would be on the Olympic program for the first time since 1904.

GOLF URBAN LEGEND : Augusta National Golf Club changed their rules to keep an African-American player from possibly qualifying for the Masters in 1962. With the recent news that the Augusta National Golf Club has added a female member to their club, I thought it would be interesting to examine another controversial period in Augusta history, the years before Lee Elder became the first African-American player to compete in the Masters Tournament in 1975. Charlie Sifford was a pioneer among African-Americans in the world of golf.

If you have lost track of Martha Burk, the chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations was back at it again Friday, aiming another barb at Augusta National Golf Club. Burk, who is leading a campaign to force the club that is host of the Masters to admit a female member, issued a statement congratulating Annika Sorenstam while criticizing Colonial sponsor Bank of America.

From the greens of Augusta to a diamond in Atlanta, it's a weekend of masterful golf and bountiful baseball. CBS will cover the final rounds of the Masters from the Augusta National Golf Club today at 12:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. (2)(8). Meanwhile, NBC's first baseball Game of the Week originates from Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium as the Dodgers and Braves play today at 12:15 p.m. (4)(36)(39). The world champions also take on Atlanta Sunday at 11:05 a.m. on Channel 11 and TBS (cable)

Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters tournament, admitted the first female members in its 80-year history Monday: former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore. "This is a joyous occasion," Augusta National chairman Billy Payne told the Associated Press. "These accomplished women share our passion for the game of golf and both are well known and respected by our membership. It will be a proud moment when we present Condoleezza and Darla their green jackets when the club opens this fall.

A decade after former Augusta National Golf Club chairman Hootie Johnson swore that the home of the Masters golf tournament would not admit women “at the point of a bayonet,” the club has quietly invited two prominent women to join. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore have accepted membership invitations, the club announced Monday - 22 years after admitting its first black members. The move came with little advance notice, and at a time when controversy over the previously all-male club in eastern Georgia had cooled somewhat.

Mitt Romney agrees with President Obama on at least one thing: Women should be admitted to the Augusta National Golf Club. In response to a reporter's shouted question about the issue at a campaign appearance Thursday, Romney said, “Well of course. I'm not a member of Augusta.  I don't know if I would qualify -- my golf game is not that good -- but certainly if I were a member and if I could run Augusta, which isn't likely to happen, but of course I'd have women in Augusta. Sure.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Oh, how badly I wanted to walk and see and smell and write about whatever it is that makes the Masters masterful. For we first-timers, on this first day of the tournament, it is almost mandatory. Craft an entire column that attempts to explain how there are golf tournaments, there is the Masters and never the twain shall meet. Sportswriting allows so few similar opportunities. Where else can you tell readers about a place that is color-coordinated in the greens of grass, the whites of sand and the blues of sky; where putting greens are more like green-carpeted gymnasium floors, after the water pipes below them have burst?

If you're thinking about heading to Augusta, Ga., and trying to score a ticket to the 2012 Masters golf tournament this week, be warned: The rules for buying and selling tickets on the street are rigid, apparently not very well advertised -- and strictly enforced by local law enforcement. There's a chance that you and your sporty knit polo and your Titleist visor might end up on the floor of the Richmond County jail. Steve Crawford of the Augusta Chronicle reports 24 people were arrested just outside the Augusta National Golf Club on Tuesday.

Few institutions revel in the reputation of being a dinosaur like Georgia's Augusta National Golf Club, host of the Masters Tournament. Augusta has never admitted a woman to membership and has even tried to portray its adamantine stance as a virtue: When activist Martha Burk launched a public challenge to its males-only membership policy in 2002, the club's then-chairman, Hootie Johnson, won plaudits (in some quarters) for declaring that although the club might admit women at some time in the future, it would not make a decision "at the point of a bayonet.

Martha Burk of the National Council of Women's Organizations released the contents of a letter Thursday to CBS Sports in which she asked the network to drop coverage of the Masters until Augusta National Golf Club admits women members. In the letter, addressed to CBS Sports President Sean McManus, Burk said that because the Masters is held at a club "flaunting ... sex discrimination" she found it "astonishing that CBS would even consider such a broadcast."

Few institutions revel in the reputation of being a dinosaur like Augusta National Golf Club, host of the Masters Tournament . Augusta has never admitted a woman to membership, and has even tried to portray its adamantine stance as a virtue: When activist Martha Burk launched a public challenge to its males-only membership policy in 2002, then-Chairman Hootie Johnson declared that the club would admit women at some time in the future, but...