Kilted Golfer DENIED Play at Royal Troon because of the kilt

[ForresterModern]

Several issues to respond to, so one at a time:

First, Rover, I am not holding my breath, but also not going to sit by and let time pass, as passivity is a mark of accession to the3 existing rule. I will push this until I either recieve a full and sincere apology or a statement of fact and standards from the club to the contrary of my dress. In the absence of the former I will progress unlong the lines of utilizing those resources availabile to me to avail my position and situation to the public, because;

Althought these clubs (Troon and Muirfield in particular) do function along the "old boys" network rules (going even so far as to allow women to play only on certain days and to only allow women to enter certain portions of the club (I do NOT mean the mens locker room), the secretary does have the power to respond to a complaint promptly (even if only to state that the issue will be discussed at the next general membership meeting-----afterall the caddiemaster was able to make an independent decision without oversight), if he/she is present at the time, and if not then as previously stated I will avail myself to the mails and then the media. Eventually there will be a response to one of the avenues in some fashion or other. Or possibly not---maybe I am just a fly on the horse's **** that will be shoed away by a flick of the tail. We shall see.

It is not a matter of what the members of the club play in, it is a matter of what the members of the club have specifically restricted both members and guests to play in or more specifically to NOT play in (I wonder what their ruling might be to some of african heritage wishing to play in a dashiki, or a hindu wishing to play in homespun loincloth (would they honestly have kept Ghandi off the course?), and the kilt is in no way excluded by the published rules.

Lastly, in order to have a "private" club qualify to be used as a venue for the British Open (or just "the Open" as described here in the UK), they must open their doors to a certain number of public guests per year, hence one of the reasons that they allow tourists like myself to play there for a significant fee. The other reason is that our fees go a long way to supporting the financial well-being of the club itself, and the lack of tourists playing and paying would not only limit the overall financial status of the club but also risk their standing as a course on the "Open" rota, the rotation of courses that can be eligible to hold the "Open". So they have plenty of reason to be nice to guests and accommodating wherever possible.

As stated before, probably the snootiest of all Scots private golf clubs that have a world class course that is in the rota is generally accepted to be Muirfield, but they welcomed me with open arms, even asking to take pictures with me kilted on their course. And when I discussed my event with several members of the general membership at Troon immediately after completing my "trousered" round at Troon none of them had any issue with my playing in a kilt, and several commended me for honoring my (albeit 13 generations removed) distant scottish heritage by doing so, all saying that they could NOT imagine their club denying me play for simply being kilted. No they do not generally play kilted themselves, but at least one stated that he was now considering doing so himself after our discussion.

Other than the denial of playing in the kilt, and the rather brusk and almost insolent attitude to which I was subjected when I inquired with the caddiemaster after the round was completed, I feel it is mofre than reasonable to address this issue with the club management to its fullest extent, and if the "no kilt" policy is indeed their position, then the world needs to know about it, more than just them changing their posted rules of acceptable golfing attire.

And last to cousin Canuck, if this is the standard of "Scotland" that an American or other non-scots guest can honestly expect, it has not been repeated at similar facilities such as Turnberry, Muirfield, Carnoustie, St Andrews (both new and old courses, as well as the private Dukes course). Last round at Kingsbarns tomorrow and I have been told to NOT expect any issues with the kilt there. Must have been 50 people standing around the 18th fairway and green today when we were coming in taking pictures, and I am sure many of them snapped at least one of me playing kilted.

Home on Sunday.

This is by no means over. Keep your eyes on this page.

Thanks for all your input, pro and con. I value all opinions, but still live my life by what seem to be reasonable and realistic and important principles, by which I will stand until I am proven wrong or learn otherwise.

Jeff