"It was the right thing to do because the Masters is the public face of golf"

Lots to chew on in this provocative GolfDigest.com Q&A with Marcia Chambers, an expert on antiquated club membership policies who had some surprising things to say about Martha Burk, tokenism, the R&A and Hootie.

This view of hers on the Royal and Ancient surprised me.

Private clubs take direction from clubs like Augusta National. It should set the standard and be a leader. It has not been. Now it has put its house in order, and I expect we will see new efforts at inclusion at other clubs. I don't include the private all-male clubs that host the British Open in this category. As the late, great Peter Dobereiner once said: "The British do not appreciate change, especially from the ladies. They have been soaking in male-chauvinist piggery for 500 years, and so it cannot be eradicated overnight."

And this on IBM's woman-American CEO, Ginni Rometty.

What I want to know is whether IBM told Billy Payne, "She gets in, or it's the highway for us." I do not know how IBM could live with this insult, because no matter how you slice it, that's what it is. She is still not in, while her Augusta sponsor counterparts at AT&T and Exxon-Mobil are members. I suspect a deal was made, a deal that admits Rometty at a mutually agreed-upon date.