The Royal & Ancient Golf Club appears ready to make a 250-year leap forward later this year.
And some would say it’s at least a few decades overdue.
In September, members of England’s historic club, which was founded in 1754, will vote to grant membership to women.
The move, expected to pass, comes two years after perhaps the United State’s most recognizable course, Augusta National, broke its gender barrier and granted membership to former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore.
“It’s an exciting day for the club,” the R&A club secretary, Peter Dawson, told The Associated Press. “There will be quite a bit of internal discussion between now and the September vote. It’s a matter for the members to determine. All indications are very supportive.
“The feeling is as society changes, as sport changes, as golf changes, it’s something the R&A needs to do, and is doing now as being forward-looking as we can.”
The move has support from British sports minister Helen Grant. R&A has female employees, but none serve on the Club’s committee or board of directors — directors who serve as part of R&A’s corporate branch and, among other things, organize The Open, one of the sport’s four major championships.
Dawson said the move has been on the Club’s agenda for “quite some time.”
And it’s about time.