Golf Club Stands by All-Male Policy Despite Complaint

Officials at Bear Creek Golf Course say they have no plans to change the club’s all-male policy, despite complaints by a female attorney who was barred from playing there in an upcoming fund-raiser for the University of Colorado golf team.

“Not as long as I’m president of the board,” attorney Leo Bradley said Thursday. “She can’t play. She can donate her money if she wants to.”

Bev Nelson, a Boulder attorney, was told by Bear Creek officials earlier this week that she would not be allowed to play in the fund-raiser because the club does not allow women.

“I’m outraged the University of Colorado, which supports women’s athletics, is holding a benefit where I can’t participate, in light of the fact I spent several hundred volunteer hours running a benefit for one of their teams,” Nelson said.

“The university has an obligation not to support a course that discriminates against women. You can’t tell me that if they discriminated against blacks they would have the tournament there.”

Nelson recently directed a similar golf tournament that raised nearly $4,000 for the Lady Buffs basketball team. She said she is not contemplating any legal action over the issue.

Bear Creek was founded with an all-male membership policy. Club pro Danny Harvanek said the club has black and Latino members and female employees, but still provides no dining area for women.

Registration is down for Monday’s Buffalo Golf Classic, and at least one foursome is boycotting CU’s participation at Bear Creek. But Colorado athletic director Bill Marolt said the fund-raiser would not be canceled.

“The club has been very generous to our program and provides a place for the team to practice,” Marolt said. “They have generously donated the facility for our use to hold this fund-raiser.”

Marolt, who is among the 150 men signed up for the tournament, said the university is looking into another site for next year.