One of the Muirfield members, aged 81, who voted against the introduction of women members to their club has told The Scotsman “it wasn’t just about the women, we did not want the media telling us what to do”.

That said, the Captain of the club has called for an extraordinary committee meeting tomorrow to discuss the fallout from the decision, not least the massive loss of £45 million revenue to the local community following the R and A’s decision to withdraw the club from the Open rota. Gullane and neighbouring The Renaissance are interested in replacing Muirfield.

Rory McIlroy has spoken out on the decision “I think it is bad for golf’s image. We are trying to break out of this stuffy old image and move with the times. We’re trying to do things to  make golf faster, cooler and to include more people. It’s not right to host a major at a place that does not allow women”.

To this the club member retorted that he plays in The Masters at Augusta National which only has two female members..

The Royal and Ancient have said about Royal Troon, which is also going through a consultation process on the subject, while still hosting this year’s championship, that “we must give them time and space to carry out their review. They are aware of the R and A’s views and the consequences of a vote against allowing women members”.They also confirmed that there was no decision not to include the Trump Turnberry on the rota.

Royal Troon only require a 50% vote and have 38 members under the age of 30. Scottish Golf, the national body for the amateur game in Scotland, have said they are looking to move all their tournaments away from male only clubs.