Tour News

Muirfield restored to Open rota after voting to admit women members

Published

9 years ago

Mar 14, 2017

That didn’t take long. Just after Muirfield and the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers publicly announced the results of their vote to admit women, the R&A has restored the iconic venue to The Open rota.

A statement from R&A chief Martin Slumbers reads:

“In light of today’s decision by the Honourable Company we can confirm that Muirfield will become a venue for The Open once again. Muirfield has a long and important history of hosting The Open and with today’s announcement that will continue. It is extremely important for us in staging one of the world’s great sporting events that women can become members at all of our host clubs. Muirfield is a truly outstanding Open venue and we very much look forward to taking the Championship back there in future.”

Muirfield, which last hosted The Open in 2013, was stricken from the rota last May after a vote to admit women didn’t reach the two-thirds majority necessary to pass.

The Honourable Company announced the results of a second vote Tuesday, confirming that the was approved by 80.2 percent of members, well above the necessary two-thirds majority.

Henry Fairweather, the captain of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, told reporters outside the clubhouse: “This is a significant decision for a club which was founded in 1744 and retains many of the values and aspirations of its founding members.”

“We look forward to welcoming women as members who will enjoy, and benefit from, the great traditions and friendly spirit of this remarkable club”.

The seaside links layout has hosted The Open 16 times. Courses are scheduled through the 2021 Open, so the earliest we might see Muirfield hosting the competition is 2022.

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Ben Alberstadt

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

11 Comments

Sodapoppin

Mar 16, 2017 at 1:21 am

G – entlemen
O – nly
L – adies
F – orbidden

Enough said. Period.

Reply Report comment
setter02

Mar 15, 2017 at 9:34 am

Google is your friend! http://www.ladiesgolfclub.com/golfformen

Reply Report comment
The dude

Mar 14, 2017 at 10:45 pm

very predictable…..welcome back to the rotation $$$$. Quid pro quo….

Reply Report comment
S Hitter

Mar 14, 2017 at 8:07 pm

So does the club have to build lockers and showers for women now? I guess they will, now that they are guaranteeing themselves of getting the millions that they would have lost had they stuck to the old ways of being men only. Expect to see a whole new section of clubhouse soon

Reply Report comment
Patricknorm

Mar 14, 2017 at 6:44 pm

My wife works at a bank where she lends about 50 billion dollars per annum to many businesses throughout the world. Her area of expertise is in the hotel industry, primarily with the major players. And she takes home well over 7 figures as her remuneration is tied to performance. The bigger the loan, the bigger the fee. I could easily see her joining a club like Muirfield because she likes the finer things in life, actually the best things in life. At her bank, there are 90,000 employees, in the executive branch, the ratio is about 35% women , each taking home at least $500,000 and like I said before, admirers and consumers of the finer things in life. They earned it and they can afford it.
So in 2017, why would any high end entity want to exclude women? It’s not that they can’t afford to join. Here’s a revenue stream these stuffed shirts never imagined.

Reply Report comment
JCGA

Mar 14, 2017 at 4:29 pm

Funny how the world turns now!!!

Reply Report comment
George

Mar 14, 2017 at 4:25 pm

Muirfield did not have to change its rules. Women did not sue Muirfield. The open championship just did not want to associate itself with that club for not allowing women to join. There is not any hypocrisy. You are more than welcome to open/ join any men only clubs you want. Just dont expect to hold a major golf tournament there. They could have remained men only. They voted not to be men only this time around.

Reply Report comment
- Mitch
  
  Mar 14, 2017 at 9:18 pm
  
  I’m with you, George.
  I don’t care that Muirfield was Men Only.
  I don’t care that the R&A removed them from the rotation.
  I don’t care that they voted to admit female members.
  I don’t care that the R&A restored their spot in the rotation.
  We all make choices. They sometimes have consequences.
  Sometimes we get to have our cake and eat it it too. Other times, not.
  Big deal.
  
  Reply Report comment
Forsbrand

Mar 14, 2017 at 3:38 pm

Welcome ladies please feel free to tee off from the Tiger / Back Tees after all is equality you hae he same rights as the malt members!

Reply Report comment
Mark

Mar 14, 2017 at 3:03 pm

I feel really sorry for any woman asked to be a member. Muirfield is a great course with a stuffy old fashioned, out of touch with reality club attached. I can see a couple of token gestures to keep the R&A happy and that will be it. Muirfield members actually think they are the elite of the elite in Scottish Golf and look down on every club and course. Best of luck ladies, I hope you like Whisky and talking finance all day and night.

Reply Report comment
- DocMcStuffins
  
  Mar 16, 2017 at 10:33 am
  
  Sounds like a classic case of not wanting to join a club that would have me.
  
  Reply Report comment

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Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

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