In terms of prestige and architectural merit, no one can deny the grandeur of Pine Valley. But there has always been one thing about the # 1 ranked golf course in the US: It has never accepted women as members. This is about to change.

Pine Valley allows women to become members

© Dom Furore

At an annual meeting of Pine Valley directors and members on Friday night, the club voted to remove all sexist terms from its bylaws.

As part of the move, women, who previously could only play on the course on Sunday afternoons, will now be able to use the club without restriction.

The decision was communicated to members of Pine Valley through an email sent Friday by club president Jim Davis, who began his post by saying the club had carried out a "Historical change".

"The future of golf must be oriented towards inclusion", continues the email, “And I am pleased to report that the directors and members of the Pine Valley Golf Club have voted unanimously and enthusiastically to remove any gender-specific language from our rules. "

Mr Davis said the club "Will immediately begin to identify women candidates for membership" and that he expected to have his first female members by the end of the year.

In keeping with club custom, Mr Davis said prospective members should be viewed as socially compatible, deeply passionate about golf and skilled enough to play the course. “With the level of skill desired by our founder George Crump. "

Crump was a hotelier from Philadelphia, and Pine Valley was his first and only project. The course was inaugurated in 1914 as an 11 hole course and was completed in 1922, after Crump's death.

Pine Valley has been featured in the World's Top 100 Golf Course for decades, as well as many other respected lists.

He can now be congratulated for stepping into the 21st century with his policies, a point Davis also made in his email to members.

"On a personal note, I've been thinking about it for a long time and frankly it should have been done a long time ago", wrote Davis, who went on to recount a conversation he had with another member on the course. As they came up the 15th hole, this member had said to Mr. Davis: "Remember, we don't want to be on the wrong side of history."

Mr Davis concluded by saying the club would not change "What we love most about Pine Valley".

"We are just continuing on the path of making our club more inclusive"he wrote. “We want to be proud of Pine Valley in every way, and I have no doubts that this change puts us on the right side of history. "