Augusta National looks foolish after resisting diversity for so long | Opinion

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Like so many others who have defiantly stood in the way of progress, the green jackets at Augusta National have come to see just how foolish they were.

On Wednesday, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said he wished the club would have added women members earlier, and that he will “make sure” more will be admitted while he’s in charge. That’s quite an about face from 20 years ago, when then-chairman Hootie Johnson declared that Augusta National would not be forced into admitting women “at the point of a bayonet.”

“We are a better club, we are a better organization, and we're very proud to have women among our membership,” Ridley said. “When anything happens, or any idea that you had turns out well and you're pleased about it, you might always say, `Well, why didn't we do that sooner?’ That's a fair thought.

“And so I wish, I wish we had have.”

As if that statement wasn’t earth-shaking enough, Ridley later gave a whole-hearted endorsement of the Dude Perfect comedy group and its video in Amen Corner. Praise for women and YouTubers? What’s next? A green jacket with a nose ring and hair dyed to match the azaleas?

“It was really part of our continuing effort to be relevant to different age groups,” Ridley said of the video, which featured Dude Perfect playing all-sports golf with Bryson DeChambeau.

“I think it accomplished what we wanted to,” Ridley added. “I've heard from a number of my law partners who have teenage children who said, 'This is great. My kids want to go out and play golf.’ That's sort of the idea.”

There’s a lesson here, both for the green jackets and everyone else these days who is clinging to a romanticized view of American life in the “good ol’ days.” A time when white men held sway and women and people of color were tolerated so long as they knew their place and didn’t stray from it.

The world wasn’t really that great then, for anyone. We are better – we are all better – when we acknowledge that everyone has something to offer. When we acknowledge that no race or gender, or any other classification we use to exclude people, is superior.

When we celebrate our differences, recognizing that they enrich rather than diminish us.

The changing world is frightening to some. It certainly was at one point to Augusta National, which was so deadset against admitting women that it aired the Masters without commercials in 2003. Johnson said it was so sponsors wouldn’t be targeted by protesters, but it was more likely so the sponsors wouldn’t pressure Johnson into doing something he didn’t want to do.

“We take our membership very seriously. It is the very fabric of our club. Our members are people who enjoy each other's company and the game of golf. Our membership alone decides our membership – not any outside group with its own agenda,” Johnson said in a July 2002 statement.

“There may well come a day when women will be invited to join our membership but that timetable will be ours and not at the point of a bayonet.”

But Ridley’s comments Wednesday show that even a club fiercely proud of appearing to be stuck in a 1950s time warp realizes it can either adapt, or become a relic.

After years of decline, the number of golfers worldwide has begun to rebound. Women and young golfers are helping fuel that growth, according to the National Golf Foundation. More notably, NGF data shows that diversity is increasing among junior golfers.

If Augusta National wants to continue being the Mecca of golf, certainly of American golf, it has to change with the times.

Augusta National doesn’t give details on its roughly 300 members. But it’s believed there are close to 10 Black members now as well as a handful of women, and Ridley promised the number of women, at least, will continue to rise. Given Augusta National’s love of secrecy, however, it’s not exactly clear how to keep him honest on that one.

“(The women members) have been great contributors to our organization, both I would say substantively and things they are doing to help us," Ridley said, "both with the Masters and otherwise."

Augusta National thought it was showing strength by resisting calls for inclusion. But change is inevitable. And as Augusta National has realized, it's usually for the good.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2022 Masters: Augusta looks foolish resisting diversity for so long