News
Civil rights complaint filed against Pine Valley GC for ‘pattern of gender-based discrimination’
Three weeks ago, Golf WRX reported on a press conference held at Augusta by Fred Ridley, where he commented that, “Women members are a very important part of our membership, and you will continue to see over the years, if you look, more green jackets that are women. I’m going to make sure of that.”
Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case at all golf clubs.
This week, New Jersey Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed an eight-page civil rights complaint against Pine Valley Golf Club based on ‘a pattern of gender-based discrimination’.
Platkin states that the club, which only started admitting female members last year, has 700-plus members of which only 0.5 percent are women.
Further allegations state that the Camden County Club considered one of the greatest golf courses in the world, prohibited women from becoming members and, “with extremely narrow exceptions,” prohibited them from playing golf or otherwise accessing club facilities.
As a private club, Pine Valley has lived under the premise that its exclusivity meant it could choose who it wanted to be members, but nj.com report that:
“State officials in announcing the complaint acknowledged that clubs that are distinctly private are exempt from the Law Against Discrimination’s protections from discrimination in places of public accommodation. But they said an exception could be invoked regarding the Pine Valley Gulf Club because the club was so deeply intertwined with the former borough of Pine Valley.”
“The borough was a legally incorporated New Jersey municipality where all the land was owned by the golf club and served no other purpose than as gatekeeper for the club. Essentially, the club was the borough. Pine Valley, the borough, merged into the neighboring Pine Hill around the beginning of 2022.”
Further allegations against the club include the barring of women from owning one of the 19 homes tucked around the course, unless they did so with a member – in effect, a man.
Whilst the club’s officials say their rules were relaxed in April 2021, the State claims this was only after they had launched their investigation, a part of which has looked at the employee ratio.
Reportedly, less than four percent of the club’s staff were female. In real terms, just six women.
The complaint states, “Based on their job titles, the six women appear to be in positions that have little contact with club members.”
“Gender-based discrimination has no place in New Jersey, period,” said Platkin in a statement.
Pine Valley has yet to respond to reporters’ request for a statement.
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Bettinardi BB1 Wide putter review – Club Junkie Reviews
Bettinardi has long been known as one of the best putter manufacturers in golf. The BB line is considered the company’s flagship. This year, Bettinardi took more input from the tour in order to optimize CG placements and refine the feel in the lineup. To optimize the CG and ensure that the sweet sport is in the correct location, Bettinardi engineers reshaped the shoulders and bumpers on the back of the head for better weight placement. The face also features a brand new Perpetual Flymill milling that enhances feel and feedback as well as gets the ball rolling more consistently. You can check out all of the details on the 2024 Bettinardi BB line of putters in our launch report. For a full review check out the Club Junkie podcast on all platforms or on YouTube below.
I have been using a Bettinardi BB8 Wide for the past two years, both previous generations, and really loved those putters. They were the first blade putters I have actually gamed in well over 10 years, so you know I was excited to see the 2024 BB lineup.
The BB1 Wide jumped out to me immediately, because it is similar to the BB8 Wide, just a little softer and with more rounded edges. Out of the box, the BB1 Wide looks great, and I think the new Black Pearl PVD finish has a slight shine to it that looks a little nicer and more high quality than the matte grey from the last generation. The gloss black stepless shaft and bright blue Lamkin grip are solid editions to the whole package and give the putter a little glitz that doesn’t distract. Finally, Bettinardi updated the BB covers to magnetic closure, and I am way too happy about that!
Out on the green, the BB1 Wide frames the ball well and you can easily see that it has a shorter heel-to-toe measurement than the BB8 Wide. From face to back the putter is wide, but I think the stubbiness of the head makes it look a touch wider than it really is. The look from address also greets you with a softer and more rounded look from the bumpers and overall shape of the head. As you would expect the flange is longer and includes a single site line for alignment. I like this setup as a single, longer, site line tends to be what I line up the best. A thicker topline is slightly rolled for a softer and thinner look that blends in well with the profile of this putter head. If you like the larger mallets that have been trending lately then I think you will enjoy looking down at the BB1 Wide.
On the course and the putting green, the Bettinardi BB1 Wide offers a great soft feel at impact, softer to me than last year’s BB8 Wide. Bettinardi’s Perpetual Fly Mill face has deeper grooves that provide this softer feel while still putting a nice roll on the ball. The greens up here in the north are still long and bumpy, but the BB1 Wide provided as smooth of a roll as it could under the conditions. Some playing partners were dealing with big hops and jumps in the first foot of their putts, but I never had that problem with the BB1 Wide. The initial roll limited the hop and skip more than I expected, and I felt like it started the ball on line very well. Aiming the putter was simple and easy as I had the same single site line on my previous putter.
The sole of the BB1 Wide is a little unique as it has a sound slot that runs the length of the cavity from heel to toe. We don’t see a lot of sound slots on retail putters but they are used to fine-tune the sound of a putter at impact. The use of the sound slot on the BB1 Wide definitely increases the audible sound at impact and gives it a slightly more metallic sound. I was a little worried that the sound would have too much “ting” to it or be offensively loud, but I was impressed that it was much more dialed down. Feel off the face was soft, definitely softer than the previous BB line. Now while that softer face is great, it does reduce a little of the feedback on where you struck the shot. You can tell the misses are there but they are a little softer than you would expect from a fully milled putter.
Forgivness with this putter is pretty good, and it will allow you to get away with less-than-perfect strokes. The amount of mass out on the toe and heel make the putter much more stable than a lot of blades. While it isn’t high mallet MOI stable the putter will show you that shots off the toe or heel will stay online well and come to rest right next to the hole. Distance control is precise and you won’t be stunned by a ball that jumps off the face with too much speed or the opposite. Putts on the putting green from the same spot just consistently toll to the same finish line, if they don’t drop into the cup.
Ultimately, a new finish, face milling, and design keep things fresh and high-performance but in a very classic package. Bettinardi did a great job mixing those things to keep the traditionalist and the gear junkies both happy. While the lineup doesn’t feature a massive amount of head shapes, it nails some core designs and should be a big hit for Bettinardi.
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Chad Tyrone
May 1, 2022 at 11:02 pm
Feminism = Cancer
C
Apr 29, 2022 at 8:47 pm
So it’s time men just joined women’s clubs like Needlework but go in stinking to high heaven after having not bathed for a week and if they complain about a man in a women’s club well we should all sue them for sexism too
Paul Runyan
Apr 29, 2022 at 5:11 pm
Pretty soon they’ll want their own schools!! ?
Have a drink. This too shall pass…
Paul Runyan
Apr 29, 2022 at 5:10 pm
Pretty soon they’ll want their own schools!! ?
Have a drink. This too shall pass…
T-Bone
Apr 29, 2022 at 3:55 pm
Should I file a complaint against the Woman’s Golf Association at my local muni?
Tony
Apr 29, 2022 at 2:48 pm
7.62 is going to solve a lot of problems soon. Bankers, bureaucrats, politicians, lawyers, wokesters, transformers… all gone.
We have a subversive and parasite problem and the pot is boiling.
Tom Kay
Apr 29, 2022 at 12:24 pm
The problem will solve itself as more woke women become men.
Kevin Thatcher
Apr 29, 2022 at 7:13 am
Women and their beta orbiters will keep on pushing and pushing to destroy all of our established institutions. A line in the sand has to be drawn by the strong. Women will be happier for it, because that is really what they want. They’re begging for Western men to stand up to them and put them in their place. It’s human nature for them to be this way. It’s man’s fault for allowing women in the west to become the degenerate nightmares that they are.
Ryan
Apr 29, 2022 at 12:00 pm
What in the world are you talking about Kevin this is a golf course. What will happen when women being sharing your fancy little sporting field?! Oh no! Your huge balls might fall off and drop right into their purse. I hope they don’t beat you in golf
Dale
Apr 29, 2022 at 12:31 pm
Unless Pine Valley, or any other private golf club for that matter, receives some sort of public funding or operates with some sort of concessions, what business does anyone have telling them what they can and cannot do? It is flat out as simple as that. To say otherwise is naïve at best and at worst, disingenuous and intellectually dishonest. What else would you expect from people who say men can be female and get pregnant…
Ryan
Apr 29, 2022 at 12:57 pm
Sorry to be “disingenuous and intellectually dishonest” but I’m trying to understand how these private golf clubs of USA waive these laws everyone else (incl private businesses) follow. I need to learn more from you old hacks defending them. Are you playing at Pine Valley sometime?
Jimmy
Apr 29, 2022 at 3:17 pm
It’s the “places of public accommodation” part that binds a US entity to our antidiscrimination laws. NJ is saying that Pine Valley’s “borough” status makes them beholden to these laws. I’m sure PV’s lawyers will disagree.
Besides Pine Valley, the few men-only clubs that are left avoid AD laws by not opening themselves up to the public at all, ie they don’t host weddings, charity dinners, public tournaments etc. The only people allowed access are members, their invited guests, and employees.
One only needs to read these comments to get a feel for what we’re dealing with over here. You can’t even mention a legal proceeding against an iconic golf institution without hyper-masculine bell-ends jumping in to whine about wokes, feminism, and transgender people. A significant portion of the right is obsessed with maintaining the man/woman binary, with men holding pretty much all of the power.
geohogan
May 1, 2022 at 8:09 am
Dont forget the widespread secret fraternal orders
Mark
Apr 29, 2022 at 2:20 pm
I have a family member who belongs to an all mens club. Most have had to add women because they can prove as a member, you are an owner and if you do any business with a govt. entity, and can be proven you talked on your phone while at the golf club, you lose that exemption. That is why his club has a no phone policy while at the club.
Jimmy
Apr 29, 2022 at 3:20 pm
The incels have chimed in.
Stefan Molyneux
May 1, 2022 at 11:06 pm
Not an argument Jimmy!
Donny Barclay
Apr 29, 2022 at 6:57 am
Feminism = Cancer