More than three-quarters of the club's more than 2,400 members around the world took part in the ballot, with 85 per cent voting in favour of allowing women to join the club based at St Andrews in Scotland.

In a statement following the vote, secretary of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club Peter Dawson confirmed the overwhelming decision of members declaring it as "now a mixed membership club" with "immediate effect "and revealing that "the membership has also acted to fast-track a significant initial number of women to become members in the coming months."

Dawson, chief executive of governing body The R&A and is President of the International Golf Federation added: "This is an important and positive day in the history of the R&A Golf Club.

"The R&A has served the sport of golf well for 260 years and I am confident that the club will continue to do so in future with the support of all its members, both women and men."

Up until now women have been allowed to play golf on the Old Course at St Andrews, on Scotland's East Coast, but female players were not permitted to drink or socialise in the clubhouse afterwards.

Founded in 1754, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club is one of the oldest in the world and is considered the most influential, and the move to allow female members is likely to increase the pressure on all clubs used to stage the Open Championship to follow suit.

Currently, Muirfield, Royal Troon and Royal St Georges operate men-only membership policies on the Open Championship roster and women can only attend the clubs as visitors or guests of members.

Winner of last year's Women's British Open, Stacy Lewis of the United States, poses in front of the famous St Andrews clubhouse with her trophy ©AFP/Getty Images



Chairman of the Royal and Ancient Club's General Committee, Wilson Sibbett, had written to all members in March urging them "now is the time to ask members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club to welcome female members into the club", adding "the General Committee sincerely hopes that this rules change will be enthusiastically supported".

British Sports Minister Helen Grant urged the club's members to abolish the ancient ruling following Sibbett's letter and she warmly welcomed today's result.

"I am pleased that the members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews have voted in favour of admitting women members," she said.

"This is positive news for the sport and I hope we will now see other golf clubs that still have outdated same sex policies follow suit.

"With golf in the next Olympics there is a huge opportunity for the sport to grow and this sends out the right inclusive message that golf is for everyone."

Today's historic move comes on the back of increasing pressure from the wider golfing community, politicians and sponsors to allow female members to join all clubs that stage golf's oldest major tournament while the return of golf to the Olympic programme at Rio 2016 can also be seen as another mitigating factor in today's decision.

Last year Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond did not attend the Open Championship at Muirfield, and although he denied he was boycotting the event, he said the men-only membership of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which runs Muirfield, sent out the message that "women were second class citizens".

In January this year, global bank HSBC revealed it had raised concerns with the Royal and Ancient over the men-only policy with the firm's global head of sponsorship and events, Giles Morgan, saying "it would be much more palatable if the events were played where there was not the sense of segregation."

In 2012, the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia - home of the US Masters - invited former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and business executive Darla Moore to become its first female members, ending its 80-year policy of men-only.