IOC vice president John Coates says the club which is set to host the 2020 Olympic golf tournament must change its policy of excluding women as full members or the event will go elsewhere.
Coates, in Tokyo to wrap up a two-day coordination commission meeting, said some progress had been made on the issue but the International Olympic Committee could only wait so long.
"At some point, there has to be a cut-off," the Australian said. "Image-wise, our position is clear. We will only go to a club that has non-discrimination."
Kasumigaseki Country Club board members met last month to discuss the issue but so far had failed to make a decision about changing their policy.
The issue surfaced in mid-January when Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike urged Kasumigaseki to admit women as full members.
Following that, the IOC inquired about the club's membership practice. The club does not allow women to become full members or play on Sundays.
"It's possible to go elsewhere but I think this is going to work," Coates said. "It's heading in the right direction for them to have a non-discriminatory membership procedure. It would appear that we would have this result by the end of June."
Founded in 1929 as a private club funded by about 300 wealthy men, Kasumigaseki is one of the oldest and most-prestigious in the country and has hosted more top-level tournaments than any other Japanese course.
To join Kasumigaseki, an applicant needs to obtain a reference from a member and pay 8 million yen ($A93,000) to become a regular member first, then pay an additional 4 million yen to be a full member.
Earlier, world No.1 Lydia Ko said she also hoped the golf venue changed its policy of barring female members.
Ko, speaking in Singapore ahead of the HSBC Women's Champions event, said golf was gradually improving in terms of equality, and the standard of women's play on the major tours was helping speed up that process.
"I think especially in past generations, golf was a men's game. And I think especially on the LPGA, you see the amount of talent level in the women's game is immense," the 19-year-old New Zealander said.
"Courses that in the past have been only men-only member ones have slowly changed, and you can see that not only in golf, but in everything that happens around us.
"The support and how popular women's golf is in Japan, I think maybe around the time of the Olympics or hopefully in the future, they will be able to change that rule."
Share
