Elite Australian golf club suspends members over sexism row

Three members of an elite Australian golf club have been suspended over a sexism row related to membership fees.

Three members at a prestigious Victorian golf club have been suspended over a sexism row.

The 13th Beach Golf Links, which hosts the Victorian Open each year, has been undertaking a membership drive to encourage more women to join the club.

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Earlier this year, the club introduced new membership categories giving women unique access to two courses and the move led to a stunt by a group of existing members.

In a video published by the Herald Sun, a male member is filmed wearing a skirt and a blonde wig and inquiring about the new deals at the club.

The man in the video, the man filming and another member have since been temporarily suspended by the club.

“It’s not Jerry? Kerry is it?” the man filming the video is overheard asking in a clip you can see below.

“Yes, I’m identifying as a female now and I’m just about to inquire about the new membership deal,” the man on camera replies.

The male golfer attempts to get a women's membership.

After filming the man walk to the front desk, he has an awkward conversation with two women working at the club.

“Hi there, I’m fantastic. Look I’m now identifying as a female. I just wanted to inquire about the new membership deal,” he said.

After some awkward laughs, one of the women replied: “If you want to have a discussion, you need to go to the right people.”

The men are believed to be in their 70s and a source told the Herald Sun a petition of club members was calling for the removal of 13th Beach chairman Grant Phelps, “primarily over this issue”.

13th Beach Golf Links general manager Rob Hurley confirmed the temporary suspension of three members for allegedly breaching club policies, “in that they treated staff with disrespect, filmed them without their consent and then published that video on a messaging service”.

“The suspension did not relate to the chosen attire of the members,” he said.

“13th Beach has a clear process for dealing with complaints related to member behaviour and the process for this matter is still ongoing.

“13th Beach is committed to protecting and providing a safe work environment for its staff.”

Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland also released a statement condemning the actions of the men involved.

“We want golf to be a sport for all,” he said. “We strongly believe that all of us can be golfers and people should feel welcome and included in our golf community.

Champion Australian golfer Minjee Lee. (Photo by Paul Devlin/Getty Images)

“There are some incredible success stories over recent times where clubs have transformed themselves in line with the ambition for golf to be a fun, welcoming community sport.

“As such, we strongly support the initiative of 13th Beach Golf Links in seeking to grow and diversify its membership base.

“Behaviour that opposes golf’s ambition to become more inclusive, whether it be with women, juniors, people with a disability or those from culturally diverse backgrounds, only reinforces the perception that golf is stuck in the past and refuses to change.

“Such behaviour should not be tolerated and should be challenged by the broader golfing community.”

Originally published as Elite Australian golf club suspends members over sexism row