Two Women Say Discrimination Par for Course : Courts: Male-only golf during prime early hours illegal, lawsuit contends.

Two women who want to play golf alongside men during the coveted early morning hours on Saturdays have challenged what they say is a discriminatory practice at the local country club that restricts women from teeing off at certain times.

Linda S. Gordon and Elaine Nevin allege in an Orange County Superior Court lawsuit filed this week that the Old Ranch Country Club limits women from the golf course during some weekend hours, resulting in sexual discrimination.

“In enlightened times when women lead professional lives, a golf course is a place where a lot of deals are closed,” said Dennis Black, a lawyer representing Gordon and Nevin. “Women can’t go out on the golf course when their male counterparts can; a woman couldn’t even play golf with her husband on a Saturday morning, but that husband’s son or male guest could play with him. That’s the wrong we’re trying to right.”

The suit also alleges that the country club, owned by the Bixby Ranch Co., discriminates against women by maintaining an all-male board of governors.

A spokesman for the golf course declined to discuss the lawsuit or the club’s policies regarding women.

“I’m not going to talk about it at all until I’ve seen the lawsuit,” General Manager Bill Elvins said.

Neither woman could be reached for comment on Thursday.

According to the suit, Gordon and Nevin are the wives of Stephen E. Gordon, who has been a club member since 1991, and Edward Nevin, who has been a member since 1976.

Because the men pay dues of $340 a month, the lawsuit maintains, their wives are entitled to full membership privileges under the bylaws of the club.

“It’s very discouraging for a woman,” Black said. “All we want is for them to have equal access.”

Local women’s rights advocates agreed.

Mary Kay Tetreault, vice president for academic affairs at Cal State Fullerton and author of a book called “The Feminist Classroom,” believes that access equals power.

“Women should have access to those places that provide entertainment and business opportunities,” she said, “and certainly golf courses and private clubs are places where people of power gather to get to know one another. A lot of opportunities come about through informal networking; women in a democratic society have a right to all the cultural benefits of that society, and golf courses could be one of them.”

Paula Goldsmid, director of the Center for Women and Gender Education at UCI charges that gender discrimination by golf courses is self-defeating.

“Most organizations are coming to understand that women are movers and shakers in the business world and in public life generally,” she said. “[Discrimination] doesn’t seem like a real smart thing to be doing.”

An informal survey of Orange County golf clubs revealed a variety of policies regarding women’s access to the fairways. Some officials of golf courses contacted said they did not restrict women from teeing off at any time, others declined to comment, and one assistant golf pro said that his club imposes certain restrictions on the hours women can golf.

“It goes both ways,” said Jeremy Clevenger, a golf instructor at Yorba Linda Country Club where women are not allowed on the course before 11 a.m. on Saturdays. “We have other days during the week when the ladies just have the tee and men aren’t allowed. Sometimes women bring out guests and don’t want to feel like they’re being pushed by the men. We don’t get any complaints from either side.”

The issue of woman seeking access to golf courses also was raised six years ago when two Orange County golf courses were accused of sexual discrimination.

The California Supreme Court is considering whether country clubs are covered by the state’s anti-discrimination laws. And nationally, complaints of discrimination against female golfers have led to legislative reforms in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.