It's only a small step mind you and the fact that we are still discussing whether or not women should be admitted to one of the world's oldest golf clubs in 2014 is quite frankly not only embarrassing but disgusting.
A mere 260 years after the R+A were founded only now are they even considering to allow women into their club. Over the last few years, the R+A's stance has become more and more of a PR disaster for them and indeed the clubs on the rota for The Open Championship that operate a single sex membership policy.
Golf is often tarnished with the brush that it is a sport for the rich and elitist. The last thing it needed is to be continually tarred with the sexist brush too but for a while it seemed that R+A members and it's Chief Executive Peter Dawson seemed happy to accept this.
I wrote about this issue here in November 2012 (http://www.ewansworldofsport.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/why-royal-and-ancient-must-change-its.html). I reckon I was being kind back then when I said their watches were stuck in the 1950's.
Make no bones about it. I have always seen this as a ludicrous sexist policy for this modern age, or indeed any age. I'm a keen golfer and I have a few female friends who enjoy the sport also. Nobody can tell me it would be right for me to enjoy the privileges of being an R+A member or indeed a member of Royal Troon where I lived near to until last year and for a female companion to be unable to enjoy these benefits.
I've always been at a loss to fathom what some members of the R+A and single sex clubs think will happen by admitting women members. It's hardly going to create nuclear war or see the clubs burn down in flames.
For me, the writing has been on the wall for the R+A ever since Augusta National, home to the Masters each year admitted their first female members two years ago. Let's not forget that Augusta was a club that didn't admit their first black member until 1990, but they looked positively modern when compared to the R+A.
And politicians were hugely criticial as well with Alex Salmond refusing to attend The Open Championship last year at Muirfield, a male only club whilst Gordon Brown described the R+A's stance as an unacceptable blot on the landscape. You can disagree with Salmond and Brown's political views until the cows come home but both these men were bang on in their stance against the R+A's Victorian practices.
Some will say that men have every right to have their single sex clubs and it is right to say that they aren't breaking any laws in doing so. But this is 2014, not 1814 or 1754 when the R+A were founded. Women aren't second class citizens anymore. Heck, in two years time a woman might be the most powerful person in the world.
So on September 18 (yes the vote is incredibly being held on the day as the Scottish Independence referendum), let's hope the R+A members use some common sense and take a giant leap forward by letting women in as members.
To vote against it would stall progress for another generation no doubt.
