Interesting article on Augusta's Corporate Structure

[HDPM]

Here's the article: web page (http://www.golfdigest.com/gfw/gfwfeatures/index.ssf?/gfw/gfwfeatures/gfw200306augustamoney.html)

I think this undermines Augusta's continued bleating about being a private club. They do not do what other clubs that choose to discriminate do, namely stay private and stay out of commerce (except for buying stuff they use at least.) I hinted at this a while back. Really private clubs do not have money making tournaments. The boys keep to themselves and discriminate as they will. Augusta though is simply a business with a phony private club veneer.

[B-Man]

I'm not sure how the fact that they make money changes the analysis at all. If I start a company with some of my friends, we have no obligation to sell stock to women. There are probably millions (certainly hundreds of thousands) of corporations in this country which are for-profit and do not have women stockholders, just as there are thousands of non-profits and private organizations that are single-sex. There isn't anything illegal or immoral inherent in that. Should this company be singled out because they are successful?

Even the author admits that August is not breaking any laws:

So are there any laws that apply to Augusta National in this membership dispute? None that fit. Even assuming that Augusta might be deemed a public accommodation and therefore subject to the state's civil rights law, the state would first have to have such a law. Georgia, it turns out, is one of five Southern states with no public accommodation law or any other business-related civil rights law.

I am very surprised to see you on the other side of this issue, given that you are a strong supporter of individual rights (at least with respect to the right to bear arms). Augusta is not doing anything wrong here. Martha Burk is free to say whatever she wants, but that doesn't mean she is right.

[andyfox]

I saw Ms. Burke on TV last night. She's an apt match for Hootie. Very poor speaker, in my view, and a bit flighty. She almost seemed drunk to me.

[andyfox]

Very well-written article.

I suggest they admit Anneka, make her chairwoman, and she could do the inviting to the Masters. Mickey Wright and Joann Carner could then play. Afgter all, they have as much of a chance of beating Tiger as Phil does.

[scalf]

/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif there ain't nothing phony about the masters ..or augusta national...that's really the real appeal of the masters tourney...ya missed a real point here...gl

hootie stands tall...burk squats...that's it!!!

gl /forums/images/icons/smile.gif /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif

[scalf]

/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif you got right to the point....

as far as i have read..absolutely no one challenges seriously, uder today's judicial structure, that augusta national is violating any laws....

but this is what lawyers do:..yjey pick out facts, scramble them the way they wanr, present arguments that miss the main point, make huge fees arguing what a guy would be given a swirly for if he actually acted that way in life...but hey, it's a lot of billable hours...ultimately, that's all the lawyers care about...just the truth herre..jmho...

hootie is the man...gl..hey if he feels an earlier decision was incorrect, such as allowing past champs to play, he changes it...that's alll...lol..gl /forums/images/icons/cool.gif

[olemissgolf]

And what about the Girl Scouts of America, pushing those damn cookies. Either quit peddling them, or let me join so I can buy 'em wholesale!

[HDPM]

Late reply but I've been out of town. I have never said Augusta does not have the right to keep women out. I have criticized them for the exercize of their right and their stupidity. This article exposes Augusta's hypocricy and the hypocricy of the PGA Tour. Augusta is nothing more than a business. It is a business that discriminates. Customers of the business or citizens have a right to oppose the discrimination. Augusta would not be allowed to do what it does in other states. I said early on that Augusta wasn't exactly a private club in the context of the Masters. This article proves that. Butler National, Cypress Point, and Preston Trail don't advertise, profit, or seek fame. They discriminate and don't care. Augusta does not have that luxury since it is just a business.