THE Ladies' British Open Amateur Championships had just got under way at St Andrews when there was a cloudburst. The officials of the Ladies' Golf Union looked up at the darkened sky and huddled together under their umbrellas at the side of the clubhouse, a place they were barred from entering. From the clubhouse, a young attendant appeared and the women looked up hopefully, believing the men were about to be chivalrous and let them inside.

"Ladies," said the attendant, "I have a request from some of the members. Would you mind putting down your umbrellas? They are obscuring the view of the course from the smoking room windows."

It is ten years since journalist Marcia Chambers recounted this story in her book The Unplayable Lie - The Untold Story of Women and Discrimination in American Golf, but the sport still harbours an image of elitism and chauvinism. Golf is a game of tradition, but for years, tradition for the men has meant standing at the bar in Pringle jumpers, chatting about putts and tees over gin and tonics. For female golfers it has meant being refused full membership of clubs, being denied equal voting rights and being restricted to playing at certain times of the week.

But like any sport, golfing's clubs, organisers, presidents and unions now recognise the need to attract more people into the game, and that in order to do so, changes have to be made to encourage female and younger players to step onto the course.

Those changes have been taking place gradually at golf clubs across the country for a number of years, but one of the first signs of a seismic shift in times came in April. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club, the men-only organisation charged with running the game, made history by announcing that women would be allowed to play in The Open Championship at St Andrews. Although the move effectively opened the door for women to take part in a world class men's tournament, there was one stipulation - that they negotiated their way through the qualifying rounds just like the men, which is a feat in itself.

There are five main International Qualifying Events (IQEs) across the world, each attracting a maximum of 120 players, along with various regional qualifying events. Another way of qualifying is to win, or finish high enough, in a men's event such as the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.

One of the main arguments against women competing successfully with the men is one of physical strength - they don't hit the ball as far. But if anyone has a chance of success in men's events in the future it is the amateur American teenager Michelle Wie. The 15-year-old has broken numerous records since her first 18 holes at the age of seven, and at six feet tall, she is certainly capable of hitting the ball a long way.

In January last year, aged just 14, Wie took part in the Sony Open, a men's event in Hawaii and, although she didn't win, she beat 47 men including some of the best players in the world.

British golfer Laura Davies also made history last year when she played at the ANZ Championship in Australia - the first woman to play in a European PGA Tour. But the move to allow women to play in men's tournaments has come in for fierce criticism.

Champion golfer Greg Norman described Davies' presence as a "marketing gimmick" dreamed up by Australian bank ANZ to generate publicity about the championship.

He added: "I think the rightful place for women to play is on the women's tour and men should play on the men's tour. We can't go play on their tour because we are not female. That's the wording they have in their bylaws. I think we should have something similar."

Criticism has not only come from the male corner. Many female golfers believe that women should stick to their own tournaments.

But while the debate continues, there is no doubting that moves by the R&A and others mean that the spotlight is being shone on golf and its players, which can only be a good thing in terms of attracting new players to the sport.

There is an estimated 1.7m golfers in Britain today and women make up 24 per cent who play at least one round a year. But according to the National Golf Foundation, they account for a smaller portion of avid participants. The majority of women join the sport when they are in their 40s and the average age of the British female golfer is 61. More than half play seven times a year or less, and their average annual spending on the sport lags behind that of their male counterparts.

Interest has been boosted by celebrities such as Catherine Zeta Jones and Cindy Crawford and by positive role models such as Beverly Lewis, who became captain of the Professional Golfers' Association in April. There is also a great deal of work being done to attract younger players to the sport, with golf now being taught in some schools.

Catherine Bowerbank, 61, of Darlington, is a former chairwoman of the English Ladies' Golf Association and played golf for England in the 1960s. She says: "We want to get rid this old fashioned image of tweed and brogues for the ladies and the same for the men.

"I've played in events where ladies were not allowed in the front door, and I'm very much against that, but those clubs are very much in the minority now. There is more being done to encourage younger players, and many clubs have liaisons with local schools.

"You also find that golf club executive committees, which years ago were all male, are now quite mixed."

Today, the majority of clubs have changed the rules on the restricted times women can tee off, which opens the doors for those who work full time to play. Catherine would like to see golf become more of a family orientated sport, even with crche facilities at some clubs.

"You might get the ladies on a Tuesday, the men on a Sunday and the juniors on a Saturday but if you have a family, never the twain shall meet on a weekend. In some ways, the big hotel groups have got the right idea, it is very equal, and I think that's the way we are moving slowly."

Ultimately, the more people who can enjoy the sport, the better, she says.

"I just enjoy the friendships, you make tremendous friends, and you visit some really beautiful areas, with all the fresh air and exercise. It's wonderful and the more people who play, the better."

l The Open Championship is at St Andrews from Thursday to Sunday.