News

Vote to admit women as full members fails, Olympic golf venue could change

Published

9 years ago

Feb 8, 2017

In the wake of pressure from the public, the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee and the International Golf Federation, the host course for the 2020 Olympics, took a vote that could determine its future as the Olympic track.

Kasumigaseki Country Club’s 15-man board met to vote on whether to admit women as full members. Presently, women are not eligible for full membership and are not permitted to play on Sunday and certain holidays.

Per a report from Reuters, the club voted Tuesday but failed to achieve unanimous support for the rule change.

Speaking with Golf.com, International Golf Federation vice president Ty Votaw said the club may be removing itself from consideration as a host venue.

“The IGF has clearly stated to both Tokyo 2020 and Kasumigaseki C.C. our requirements that the golf competition be delivered according to the Olympic Charter,” he said. “If the Club does not change its rules, then we cannot support holding the events at this venue.”

Board chairman Kiichi Kimura told reporters that he and his fellow members feel they are in a tight spot.

“That this situation has developed is a nuisance for us, it’s really perplexing,” he said. “I feel very uncomfortable that women cannot become full members in this day and age. It should be a venue open to everyone.”

If the club remains at a stalemate, it seems the likely replacement course is nearby public venue Wakasu Golf Links.

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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.

12 Comments

Dill Pickleson

Feb 13, 2017 at 6:53 pm

really no woman (or man) is missing out on joining this club. average age over 70 years old. men are required to wear high socks in the summer, jackets year round. it takes nearly 6 hours to play a round with a minimum required lunch break (even at 10am) for at least 1 hour….old men who have 1 beer at lunch and then stumble around drunk on the back nine. pathetic.

Reply Report comment
setter02

Feb 9, 2017 at 10:14 am

When you pay for exclusivity, you don’t really care what others think. I’m sure that if the members wanted, they could pool together some of their pocket change and host a better field event than the Olympics anyway… A none story.

Reply Report comment
- Bert
  
  Mar 4, 2017 at 9:07 am
  
  Absolutely correct – it’s their club. Good for them.
  
  Reply Report comment
S Hitter

Feb 9, 2017 at 3:14 am

Who picked this course in the first place and how did it even become a consideration, anyway? A bunch of pompous old fools wanted to play at one of the most exclusive and expensive courses by themselves, that’s who. And then to tell the club to change their policies and put them on the spot like this? Pathetic.
I think all the men in the world should be allowed to compete in women’s competitions soon and forget dividing the sexes in all sports. Might as well. We could watch some NFL players only be allowed to play in the Lingerie Bowl wearing garters and see how that goes down

Reply Report comment
Dave R

Feb 8, 2017 at 6:28 pm

Just some more rich Mutts being rich mutts.

Reply Report comment
- DONNEY
  
  Feb 13, 2017 at 9:22 am
  
  MONEY ISN’T THE ISSUE. IF IT’S A PRIVATE CLUB YOU SHOULD HAVE THE FREEDOM TO DO WHAT YOU WANT.
  
  Reply Report comment
Tom

Feb 8, 2017 at 11:04 am

Wakasa is in the mix.

Reply Report comment
Jim

Feb 8, 2017 at 10:48 am

Haven’t paid attention in years, but remember a time not too long ago when Tee times were booked a year in advance over there. I doubt they give a crap

Reply Report comment
Carlos Danger

Feb 8, 2017 at 9:08 am

How dare a private club do what they want…how dare they!!!

Reply Report comment
- dr bloor
  
  Feb 8, 2017 at 9:12 am
  
  They can do whatever they want. But that will exclude them from consideration for an event by another private organization that is…doing what they want.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Juan
  
  Feb 8, 2017 at 10:39 am
  
  When your organization is going to profit from an event being put on by an organization, the organization putting on that event gets to have some influence over the venue, and especially in the case of an event like the Olympics, if the venue’s policies run contrary to the values of the organization, and the club refuses to change those policies, the organization has every right to go elsewhere. It’s a two-way street.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Double Mocha Man
    
    Feb 8, 2017 at 12:16 pm
    
    I vote that Ammy, with her advertising scam, be allowed to post… and remain in the running for the Olympics.
    
    Reply Report comment

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News

Testing Lorem Ipsum

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7 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Pro Shop

What is Lorem Ipsum?

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News

2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

2 days ago

May 12, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Scottie Scheffler leads the betting ahead of the second major championship of the year, with the World Number One a +345 favorite to get his hands on a second PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy who won the Masters back in April is a +800 shot to complete half of the calendar slam at Aronimink Golf Club this week, while Jordan Spieth can be backed at +5900 to become a career grand slam winner.

Here is the full betting board for the 2026 PGA Championship courtesy of DraftKings.

Scottie Scheffler +345 – (Check 0ut his WITB here)

Rory McIlroy +800 – (Check out his WITB here)

Jon Rahm +1300
Cameron Young +1500
Bryson DeChambeau +1700
Xander Schauffele +1850
Matt Fitzpatrick +1950
Ludvig Aberg +2000
Tommy Fleetwood +2600
Collin Morikawa +3500
Brooks Koepka +3900
Justin Rose +4300
Russell Henley +4600
Si Woo Kim +4700
Justin Thomas +4800
Robert MacIntyre +5300
Patrick Cantlay +5300
Viktor Hovland +5400
Tyrrell Hatton +5500
Jordan Spieth +5900
Sam Burns +6000
Hideki Matsuyama +6200
Adam Scott +6400
Rickie Fowler +7000
Chris Gotterup +7400
Patrick Reed +7400
Min Woo Lee +7800
Ben Griffin +8000
Sepp Straka +8400
Shane Lowry +9000
Akshay Bhatia +9200
Maverick McNealy +9200
Joaquin Niemann +9200
Jake Knapp +9200
Jason Day +9600
Kurt Kitayama +10000
J.J. Spaun +10000
Harris English +10500
Nicolai Hojgaard +11000
Gary Woodland +11000
David Puig +11000
Michael Thorbjornsen +12000
Jacob Bridgeman +12000
Keegan Bradley +12500
Corey Conners +14000
Alex Fitzpatrick +15000
Sungjae Im +15500
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Harry Hall +15500
Alex Noren +16000
Thomas Detry +16500
Marco Penge +16500
Kristoffer Reitan +17000
Alex Smalley +17000
Wyndham Clark +17500
Sam Stevens +17500
Keith Mitchell +17500
Daniel Berger +18500
Ryan Gerard +20000
Nick Taylor +20000
Rasmus Hojgaard +21000
Dustin Johnson +21000
Pierceson Coody +23000
Aaron Rai +24000
Jordan Smith +24000
Angel Ayora +24000
Bud Cauley +25000
Matt McCarty +26000
Jayden Schaper +26000
Brian Harman +27000
Taylor Pendrith +27000
Ryan Fox +27000
J.T. Poston +27000
Cameron Smith +29000
Ryo Hisatsune +29000
Michael Kim +29000
Max Homa +29000
Denny McCarthy +29000
Tom McKibbin +30000
Rico Hoey +32000
Matt Wallace +32500
Ricky Castillo +33000
Haotong Li +33000
Michael Brennan +34000
Max Greyserman +36000
Stephan Jaeger +37500
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +37500
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +39000
Aldrich Potgieter +40000
Andrew Novak +42000
Patrick Rodgers +42500
Daniel Hillier +42500
Max McGreevy +46000
Billy Horschel +48000
Chris Kirk +48000
Ian Holt +49000
Casey Jarvis +49000
William Mouw +50000
Steven Fisk +50000
John Parry +50000
Nico Echavarria +52500
Garrick Higgo +52500
John Keefer+55000
Matthias Schmid +57500
Austin Smotherman +57500
Sami Valimaki +60000
Andrew Putnam +60000
Lucas Glover +62500
Daniel Brown +62500
Jhonattan Vegas +75000
Emiliano Grillo +80000
Mikael Lindberg +85000
Adrien Saddier +100000
Bernd Wiesberger +100000
Elvis Smylie +110000
Stewart Cink +130000
Kota Kaneko +130000
David Lipsky +150000
Chandler Blanchet +150000
Andy Sullivan +150000
Joe Highsmith +180000
Adam Schenk +200000
Travis Smyth +200000
Davis Riley +225000
Martin Kaymer +400000
Brian Campbell +400000
Padraig Harrington +450000
Kazuki Higa +450000
Jordan Gumberg +450000
Ryan Vermeer +500000
Austin Hurt +500000
Tyler Collet +500000
Timothy Wiseman +500000
Shaun Micheel +500000
Y.E. Yang +500000
Michael Block+500000
Mark Geddes+500000
Luke Donald+500000
Bryce Fisher+500000
Jimmy Walker +500000
Jason Dufner +500000
Jesse Droemer +500000
Jared Jones +500000
Garrett Sapp +500000
Francisco Bide +500000
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Paul McClure+500000
Derek Berg +500000
Chris Gabriele +500000
Braden Shattuck +500000
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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.