6Augusta National Golf Club finally extended membership to women on Aug. 20, 2012, admitting Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore. Onion Sports takes a look at the club’s 80-year history of enlightenment and tolerance.
- 1935: Unknowingly admits first gay member
- 1940: Permits wives of members to sniff grass on shoes of male members after they leave the premises
- 1964: Lynching tree removed
- 1975: Begins paying black employees
- 1983: Players are no longer required to use Augusta’s all-black club caddies at the Masters, though white caddies still must dance and play the jug in between holes
- 1987: Official handicap parking sign installed, replacing previous one that just made a lot of fun of disabled people
- 1990: Ron Townsend becomes the first black member of Augusta after assuring the governing board that he is rich, unpleasant, and disparaging toward women
- 1997: Tiger Woods breaks down Augusta’s racial barriers by becoming the first Thai man to win the Masters
- 2012: Extends invitations to two women for the first time in its history, a testament to the notion that the club’s attitudes have progressed into last century
