NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Saturday, July 22, 2017, 1:49 PM

Fifteen years later, Martha Burk still chuckles at the response she received from William (Hootie) Johnson, then the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, after Burk wrote Johnson a letter asking him to invite a woman to join the exclusive, men-only Augusta membership.

Well, Burk technically received two responses: a private letter addressed to her and sent via FedEx; and then the very public press release Johnson issued, which said in no uncertain terms that if Augusta National was to change its membership policy, it would be done according to the venerable Georgia golf clubs timetable, and not at the point of a bayonet.

The letter (Johnson) sent to me was only a few sentences long, and it was sort of a polite kiss-off, says Burk now. It wasnt an inflammatory letter. It didnt have the bombast like the press release.

The bayonet reference alone was inflammatory enough, alluding to an artifact from the Civil War era. But Burk says that she is still surprised all these years later with how quickly things went sideways in the wake of that 2002 press release the story exploded in the media and took on a life of its own, all during a pre-Twitter, pre-social media era.

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And there was the speed with which Burks feud with Johnson escalated, along with the backlash Burk confronted, including anonymous threats via phone and mail. Burks battle with Augusta National culminated with the protest she organized and staged with others near the gates of Augusta National during the 2003 Masters.

The number of protestors who showed up that Saturday in 03 was much smaller than originally anticipated, and the rally took on a circus-like atmosphere when the media outnumbered the protestors, who included an Elvis impersonator, a drag queen and a Ku Klux Klan member. But the long-term reverberations concerning womens rights and gender equality are still being felt today, and Burk thinks her activism in 2003 played a part in pushing the conversation forward on those issues.

One need look no further than the staging of the 2017 U.S. Womens Open earlier this month at a Donald Trump-owned New Jersey golf course, and the controversy that event sparked. Or the womens march in Washington D.C. the day after Trump was sworn in as the 45th president.

Burk says she thinks Johnsons family was probably dismayed that the Augusta National controversy was revisited in the many published obituaries for Johnson after he died July 14 at age 86. But Burk, who in 2003 was the chairwoman of the National Council of Womens Organizations (NCWO), says she is still proud of the crusade she led against Johnson and Augusta National, and the doors that protest maybe helped knock open for progress in womens rights.

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I think (Johnson) was ignorant and vindictive. He brought it all on himself. He probably had some decent counsel from some family members over the years, but he refused to listen, says Burk. When that press release came out, (Associated Press reporter) Doug Ferguson called me and said, What did you think of Hooties response? I thought Doug was talking about the letter Johnson sent me. I didnt know about the press release that had gone out to the whole golf world. I didnt expect the volcano to erupt as it did.

It erupted and then some. When the protest at Augusta National finally commenced April 12, 2003, Burk and the protestors were forced to a muddy lot about a half mile from Augusta Nationals entrance. Burk says now that she should have allowed herself to get arrested, but at that time, she was worried about other protestors getting cuffed as well.

Being a Washington citizen, I know how to use an event as political theater. But word got out that there could be violence, says Burk. A lot of students who were planning to come said, No way. We didnt have a phalanx of lawyers, and if they arrested me and then arrested 10 or more others, that wouldnt have been fair to them. I decided not to go that route. Its a mild regret.

Burk later filed a federal suit against Augusta, claiming the city passed an ordinance that illegally barred the protestors from rallying near the clubs entrance. The city of Augusta ended up paying a $120,000.00 settlement to Burks attorneys, and the resolution was hailed as a victory for free speech. Augusta National, whose chairman is now Billy Payne, finally did allow two women to become members in 2012 former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and financier Darla Moore. IBM chief executive officer Virginia Rometty also became a member, after originally getting snubbed. IBM is one of the chief sponsors for the Masters.

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Burk, 75, left the NCWO in 2005, and now lives out west with her husband, Ralph Estes, a retired professor. Shes still an ardent womens rights supporter, and she is the director of a corporate accountability project, fighting for equal pay for women. Burk is also a money editor for Ms. magazine. Through her work with the Women on Wall Street Project in 2007 and 08, $79 million in settlement fees was awarded to female employees at Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley following gender-discrimination lawsuits filed against both companies.

At the recent U.S. Womens Open, none of the female golfers, including star Michelle Wie, wanted to go near the issue of playing on Trumps course, even though the president once boasted about groping women in a 2005 Access Hollywood video that became public last year. Burk says shes not surprised by how the women golfers shied away from any controversy.

The ruling bodies, the USGA, the LPGA, are controlled by men, says Burk. The only way to make any kind of statement is if all the golfers refused to play. That was the same problem at Augusta, nobody on the (PGA) Tour would speak up. These women are also balancing their livelihood against making a political statement. Were making progress in some areas, but its at a glacial pace. Given the current leadership, women are in for a rough ride for the next three and a half years.

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Martha Burk reflects on progress since Masters protest in wake of Hootie Johnson's death - New York Daily News