The sixth oldest club in the world, the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club has now voted to end its ancient men-only policy after members agreed it was time for a change at a meeting earlier his week.
A statement issued later by the club, based in the north east of Scotland, said: "The members of Royal Aberdeen Golf Club have overwhelmingly voted in support of a change to the club's constitution whereby membership applications are no longer restricted to gentlemen."
It continued: "Royal Aberdeen Golf Club and Aberdeen Ladies Golf Club have set up a working group to discuss the possible impact on both clubs of this change."
A club official added: "We've been around since 1780, that's 238 years we've been a single sex club. Every year we get new members in so we're continually asking the opinion of members and we did that via a survey. The information we got back was that we should really address this."
Royal Aberdeen Golf Club to admit women https://t.co/g9gTzwCL5h pic.twitter.com/l1aRylGdbd
— Golf Newz (@Golf__Newz) February 8, 2018ICYMI Royal Aberdeen Golf Club opens doors to women members @ScotsmanSport @edinburghsport @TheScotsman https://t.co/p54ZXSvzgw pic.twitter.com/F1iCYEcTWu
— Martin Dempster (@DempsterMartin) February 7, 2018
Royal Recognition
Popular with American visitors, the club was founded in 1780 as the Society of Golfers at Aberdeen before eventually becoming Aberdeen Golf Club in 1815. It eventually received royal patronage in 1903.
This latest decision comes almost a year after another historic Scottish golf club at Muirfield in East Lothian, voted to admit women as members for the first time in its history.
Members at the privately-owned club voted in favour of updating their membership policy following a decision by golf's ruling body, the R&A, to remove Muirfield as a host venue for the Open championship
Like the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in my city, where ladies are not allowed into the main Club House. Both wrong.
— Izhar Khan (@izharnephrol) January 25, 2018
Open Invitation
Immediately after the vote, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said the club would now be eligible for consideration as a future Open venue..
The Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which owns and runs Muirfield, had initially rejected the idea of women members, a decision that prompted anger from Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.
Describing the decision as "simply indefensible", she later welcomed the rethink in March 2017 in a tweet, saying "Well done, Muirfield — decision to admit women members emphatic & the right one. Look forward to seeing you host the Open again in the future."
While the decision takes effect immediately, it is anticipated it will take at least two years before the first woman successfully negotiates its lengthy joining process.
