At a course to the north, a woman competes in a club tournamentagainst an otherwise male field.
To the west, women take over the course on a busy weekend to playtheir club championship.
A look deep into the future of golf at private clubs? Hardly.At selected courses in Massachusetts today, men and women already arestanding side by side on the links, part of a growing trend of equalaccess in a sport known for its male domination.
It's all happened rather quietly, as country clubs are decidedlydisinterested in trumpeting their new openness.
Still, the clubs have understood they have little choice but toopen their roles. With most aspects of society pointed towardensuring equality for women and with their roles changing fromhousewives to working women, the old rules have slowly given way tonewer, more progressive ones.
'By the next century,' said Dick Haskell, executive director ofthe Massachusetts Golf Association, 'the private clubs as we knowthem today will have to change.'
To understand why requires a history lesson. Most country clubsbegan as recreational facilities for men and their families. The manpaid an initiation fee to join, then a yearly fee to play golf. Hiswife and children paid a reduced yearly fee since their playing timewas presumed to be secondary.
Typically, these women were not allowed to tee off until 1 or 2 onweekend afternoons and also were restricted from playing certaintimes during the week. Only Tuesday, which became 'Ladies Day,' wasreserved for them. Meanwhile, the children, or junior members, hadeven more restrictions.
Problems arose as the makeup of the membership began to change.First came a large influx of single men. Then, when more and morewomen started taking up the game in the 1980s, it created a pool thatincluded those who worked, were single, widowed or married to men whodidn't play golf. Clubs then decided to create a new set ofmemberships.
Some clubs chose to lump single women into the same financialcategory as single men, while still restricting their play to certaintimes. At other clubs, in a practice that remains prevalent, womenwithout a spousal member were required to pay an initiation fee --unlike women with spousal members -- plus the same yearly fee aswomen who were already members. Again, their play was restricted tothe same times as the wives. Thus, memberships began to developalong gender lines. One of the groups left out in the cold was theworking woman who couldn't play on Ladies Day and could only play onweekends.
'Six years ago, I was single, having paid the same initiation feeas guys my age,' recalled Paula Levine, a 38-year-old who works atAdrian's Decorating of Medford and belongs to Kernwood Country Clubin Salem. 'I paid the same amount of money as a man, I worked like aman, but I couldn't get on the golf course like a man.'
So Levine, feeling she wasn't getting her money's worth, quit.Two years ago, when Kernwood eliminated men's and women'sdesignations, Levine rejoined. Since then, she's been a fixture inmen's club tournaments, playing from the men's tees where she's a 19handicap.
'For me, it came down to tournament golf, when I could play,' saidLevine, who opted to pay the extra money that went along with anunrestricted membership. 'The women played during the week when Iwork. The men played on Saturdays and Sundays when I'm off. That'swhy I opted for the men's.
'Fortunately, I can hit the ball far enough, so playing from themen's tees is not a big problem,' added Levine, who was a 17 handicapfrom the women's tees. 'Hey, when you play with the boys, you haveto play by their rules.'
Levine gives Kernwood high marks for being 'ahead of their time.
'While other clubs are busy fighting it, Kernwood has become veryprogressive. They're one of the least sexist courses around.'
Not all clubs have changed so willingly.
A few years ago, both Longmeadow CC and Haverhill Golf and CountryClub were subjects of discrimination suits, based on restrictionsplaced on women not only on the golf course but in clubhousefacilities. Both clubs have since changed their bylaws to becomegender neutral.
Women at The Country Club at Halifax and Pembroke CC also had tocomplain formally before action was taken, and Ipswich CC hadproblems before a new management group took over the course last yearand opened the course to everybody.
It's only within the past few years that men's grills havedisappeared at Brae Burn CC in West Newton, The Country Club inBrookline, Charles River CC in Newton Centre and Tedesco CC inMarblehead.
Part of the progress toward equal access can be directlyattributed to a regulation passed last year by the state AlcoholicBeverages Control Commission, which threatened suspension orrevocation of a liquor license at any private club that practicedgender discrimination.
Facing up to the reality of the situation, many clubs in the pastyear have chosen to change their bylaws and provide a gender neutralmembership.
At Indian Ridge CC in Andover, there are two main categories: Aand B. 'A' players pay the most and have no restrictions. 'B'players pay less and are not allowed to tee off between 11 a.m. and1:30 p.m. during the week or before noon on weekends. Husbands andwives who have a joint membership can designate either spouse as theA player.
The result? 'A lot of men changed over,' said Andrea Holbrook,the women's club chairman. 'And a few of the wives became the `A'player, but not many other women. The truth is the men generally runtournaments on the weekend, so there's not much time available tomake it worth your while.'
Marshfield CC, Cohasset GC and Thorny Lea GC in Brockton are justa few of the courses that went gender neutral this past year butfound their women members choosing to keep their limited memberships.The reasons are sometimes financial, or simply because of apreference to play with their women friends.
'For some of our women, it came down to the simple reason thatthey wouldn't have anyone to play with,' said Helen Bulger, women'sclub chairman at Marshfield. 'One of our best players wanted to doit but she couldn't get anyone to do it with her.'
Some women at other clubs are taking advantage of their newopportunities. Belmont CC, Duxbury YC, Tedesco CC, Vesper CC andWinchester CC all have at least one woman who's an unrestrictedmember.
Dyan Leonard, a 36-year-old account executive, will be teeing itup with the men on weekend mornings at Winchester.
Unlike her male counterparts in the business world, Leonardwasn't able to join her bosses when they flew into town looking toplay golf on a Saturday morning.
'I'd have to get my father to take them out,' said Leonard, who asa woman member could not tee off on weekend mornings. 'It wasinsulting.'
When Winchester changed its bylaws, Leonard jumped at the chance.
'A lot of men wanted to know why I did it,' said Leonard, a 20handicap. 'I did it for moral and logistic reasons. And although Ihaven't used the privilege yet, I plan to be out there with businesscontacts or my dad. I think it's wonderful.'
Some courses have been free of gender problems for as long asmembers can remember. Acoaxet Club in Westport has at least eightwomen on its board of directors, and Concord CC had one of the firstfemale club presidents when Gertie Cutler held the post a few yearsago.
'We've always been able to tee it up on a Sunday morning at 9,'said Jane Wilson, women's club chairman at Concord. 'And this year,to encourage more working women to play, we're going to hold our clubchampionship on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It's only anexperiment, but with our membership, it's no problem.'
Louise Mariani, president of the Women's Golf Association ofMassachusetts, is encouraged by the advances.
'Progress has been made,' said Mariani. 'But I think there'sstill more room for improvement, and it can only come from the womenat the clubs.'
There were approximately 70 prominent clubs in Massachusettscontacted by the Globe for the purpose of this story. Of those whochose to respond to the gender-neutral question, three said they werenot: Wampatuck in Canton, Brae Burn CC in West Newton and Canton'sBlue Hill GC, which plays host to an LPGA Tour event. All o
