Wirrall Ladies appoints male captain

A golf club built for women has elected its first-ever male captain in order to comply with the Equality Act.

The 119-year-old Wirrall Ladies’ Golf Club in Merseyside has voted that it should be jointly captained by a man and a woman, following 12 months of deliberations, after it became clear that electing one captain who had to be female was in breach of the 2010 legislation.

The club was originally funded by men so that their wives could play the game, and, while men could play the course as ‘associate members’, its first articles of association stated that no committee member could be male.

However, in recent years men have been allowed to serve on committees and today the club has more male members than females.

“Members were consulted over 12 months and they expressed the opinion that joint captaincy was the best way forward,” said Peter Greville, the club manager.

“This is a genuine mixed club. There are more men golfers than women and the men were happy to maintain club traditions.

“But this was forced on us to some extent to comply with the 2010 Equality Act.

“This historical change to appoint joint male and female club captains further demonstrates the club’s ability to adapt and move forward.”

He added that having two captains, one of each gender, will become standard practice at the club in the future.

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