News
Civil rights complaint filed against Pine Valley GC for ‘pattern of gender-based discrimination’
Three weeks ago, Golf WRX reported on a press conference held at Augusta by Fred Ridley, where he commented that, “Women members are a very important part of our membership, and you will continue to see over the years, if you look, more green jackets that are women. I’m going to make sure of that.”
Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case at all golf clubs.
This week, New Jersey Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed an eight-page civil rights complaint against Pine Valley Golf Club based on ‘a pattern of gender-based discrimination’.
Platkin states that the club, which only started admitting female members last year, has 700-plus members of which only 0.5 percent are women.
Further allegations state that the Camden County Club considered one of the greatest golf courses in the world, prohibited women from becoming members and, “with extremely narrow exceptions,” prohibited them from playing golf or otherwise accessing club facilities.
As a private club, Pine Valley has lived under the premise that its exclusivity meant it could choose who it wanted to be members, but nj.com report that:
“State officials in announcing the complaint acknowledged that clubs that are distinctly private are exempt from the Law Against Discrimination’s protections from discrimination in places of public accommodation. But they said an exception could be invoked regarding the Pine Valley Gulf Club because the club was so deeply intertwined with the former borough of Pine Valley.”
“The borough was a legally incorporated New Jersey municipality where all the land was owned by the golf club and served no other purpose than as gatekeeper for the club. Essentially, the club was the borough. Pine Valley, the borough, merged into the neighboring Pine Hill around the beginning of 2022.”
Further allegations against the club include the barring of women from owning one of the 19 homes tucked around the course, unless they did so with a member – in effect, a man.
Whilst the club’s officials say their rules were relaxed in April 2021, the State claims this was only after they had launched their investigation, a part of which has looked at the employee ratio.
Reportedly, less than four percent of the club’s staff were female. In real terms, just six women.
The complaint states, “Based on their job titles, the six women appear to be in positions that have little contact with club members.”
“Gender-based discrimination has no place in New Jersey, period,” said Platkin in a statement.
Pine Valley has yet to respond to reporters’ request for a statement.
With the second major of 2026 now behind us, the PGA Tour arrives in Texas for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
GolfWRX Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, is on site at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, and he’s already captured several WITBs and a look at some new colorways of just-spotted L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i putters.
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Aaron Rai upset the odds to win his first major championship on Sunday at Aronimink, firing a final round of 5-under par to see off his competitors and claim the winner’s check for $3,690,000.
Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley were the best of the chasing pack, with both men sharing runner-up spot which was good enough for each to receive a check for $1,804,000.
With a total prize purse of $20.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 PGA Championship.
Players who missed the PGA Championship cut each received $4,300 each.
1: Aaron Rai, $3,690,000
T2 : Jon Rahm, $1,804,000
T2 : Alex Smalley, $1,804,000
T4: Justin Thomas, $843,866
T4: Ludvig Aberg, $843,866
T4: Matti Schmid, $843,866
T7: Cameron Smith, $637,050
T7: Rory McIlroy, $637,050
T7: Xander Schauffele, $637,050
T10: Kurt Kitayama, $496,707
T10: Chris Gotterup, $496,707
T10: Justin Rose, $496,707
T10: Patrick Reed, $496,707
T14: Matt Fitzpatrick, $364,762
T14: Scottie Scheffler, $364,762
T14: Max Greyserman, $364,762
T14: Ben Griffin, $364,762
T18: Maverick McNealy, $229,128
T18: Jordan Spieth, $229,128
T18: Stephan Jaeger, $229,128
T18: Padraigh Harrington, $229,128
T18: David Puig, $229,128
T18: Harris English, $229,128
T18: Min Woo Lee, $229,128
T18: Joaquin Niemann, $229,128
T26: Nick Taylor, $125,523
T26: Alex Noren, $125,523
T26: Cameron Young, $125,523
T26: Andrew Novak, $125,523
T-26: Daniel Hiller, $125,523
T26: Tom Hoge, $125,523
T26: Sam Burns, $125,523
T26: Hideki Matsuyama, $125,523
T26: Bud Cauley, $125,523
T35: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, $78,805
T35: Patrick Cantlay, $78,805
T35: Ryo Hisatsune, $78,805
T35: Daniel Berger, $78,805
T35: Ryan Fox, $78,805
T35: Haotong Li, $78,805
T35: Aldrich Potgieter, $78,805
T35: Si Woo Kim, $78,805
T35: Martin Kaymer, $78,805
T44: Chris Kirk, $53,743
T44: Matt Wallace, $53,743
T44: Shane Lowry, $53,743
T44: Jhonattan Vegas, $53,743
T44: Denny McCarthy, $53,743
T44: Chandler Blachet, $53,743
T44: Taylor Pendrith, $53,743
T44: Dustin Johnson, $53,743
T44: Nicolai Hojgaard, $53,743
T44: Michael Kim, $53,743
T44: Kristoffer Reitan, $53,743
T55: Collin Morikawa, $34,186
T55: Corey Conners, $34,186
T55: Andrew Putnam, $34,186
T55: Brooks Koepka, $34,186
T55: Mikael Lindberg, $34,186
T60: Sami Valimaki, $29,218
T60: Sahith Theegala, $29,218
T60: Rico Hoey, $29,218
T60: Rickie Fowler, $29,218
T60: Brian Harman, $29,218
T65: Casey Jarvis, $26,900
T65: Jason Day, $26,900
T65: Rasmus Hojgaard, $26,900
T65: Keith Mitchell, $26,900
T65: Sam Stevens, $26,900
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Chad Tyrone
May 1, 2022 at 11:02 pm
Feminism = Cancer
C
Apr 29, 2022 at 8:47 pm
So it’s time men just joined women’s clubs like Needlework but go in stinking to high heaven after having not bathed for a week and if they complain about a man in a women’s club well we should all sue them for sexism too
Paul Runyan
Apr 29, 2022 at 5:11 pm
Pretty soon they’ll want their own schools!! ?
Have a drink. This too shall pass…
Paul Runyan
Apr 29, 2022 at 5:10 pm
Pretty soon they’ll want their own schools!! ?
Have a drink. This too shall pass…
T-Bone
Apr 29, 2022 at 3:55 pm
Should I file a complaint against the Woman’s Golf Association at my local muni?
Tony
Apr 29, 2022 at 2:48 pm
7.62 is going to solve a lot of problems soon. Bankers, bureaucrats, politicians, lawyers, wokesters, transformers… all gone.
We have a subversive and parasite problem and the pot is boiling.
Tom Kay
Apr 29, 2022 at 12:24 pm
The problem will solve itself as more woke women become men.
Kevin Thatcher
Apr 29, 2022 at 7:13 am
Women and their beta orbiters will keep on pushing and pushing to destroy all of our established institutions. A line in the sand has to be drawn by the strong. Women will be happier for it, because that is really what they want. They’re begging for Western men to stand up to them and put them in their place. It’s human nature for them to be this way. It’s man’s fault for allowing women in the west to become the degenerate nightmares that they are.
Ryan
Apr 29, 2022 at 12:00 pm
What in the world are you talking about Kevin this is a golf course. What will happen when women being sharing your fancy little sporting field?! Oh no! Your huge balls might fall off and drop right into their purse. I hope they don’t beat you in golf
Dale
Apr 29, 2022 at 12:31 pm
Unless Pine Valley, or any other private golf club for that matter, receives some sort of public funding or operates with some sort of concessions, what business does anyone have telling them what they can and cannot do? It is flat out as simple as that. To say otherwise is naïve at best and at worst, disingenuous and intellectually dishonest. What else would you expect from people who say men can be female and get pregnant…
Ryan
Apr 29, 2022 at 12:57 pm
Sorry to be “disingenuous and intellectually dishonest” but I’m trying to understand how these private golf clubs of USA waive these laws everyone else (incl private businesses) follow. I need to learn more from you old hacks defending them. Are you playing at Pine Valley sometime?
Jimmy
Apr 29, 2022 at 3:17 pm
It’s the “places of public accommodation” part that binds a US entity to our antidiscrimination laws. NJ is saying that Pine Valley’s “borough” status makes them beholden to these laws. I’m sure PV’s lawyers will disagree.
Besides Pine Valley, the few men-only clubs that are left avoid AD laws by not opening themselves up to the public at all, ie they don’t host weddings, charity dinners, public tournaments etc. The only people allowed access are members, their invited guests, and employees.
One only needs to read these comments to get a feel for what we’re dealing with over here. You can’t even mention a legal proceeding against an iconic golf institution without hyper-masculine bell-ends jumping in to whine about wokes, feminism, and transgender people. A significant portion of the right is obsessed with maintaining the man/woman binary, with men holding pretty much all of the power.
geohogan
May 1, 2022 at 8:09 am
Dont forget the widespread secret fraternal orders
Mark
Apr 29, 2022 at 2:20 pm
I have a family member who belongs to an all mens club. Most have had to add women because they can prove as a member, you are an owner and if you do any business with a govt. entity, and can be proven you talked on your phone while at the golf club, you lose that exemption. That is why his club has a no phone policy while at the club.
Jimmy
Apr 29, 2022 at 3:20 pm
The incels have chimed in.
Stefan Molyneux
May 1, 2022 at 11:06 pm
Not an argument Jimmy!
Donny Barclay
Apr 29, 2022 at 6:57 am
Feminism = Cancer