IBM sponsors the Masters

IBM sponsors the tournament, and also the club has always extended membership to the company's officers. But IBM's new CEO is often a woman, Virginia Rometty. Critics have called on Augusta National to make available her its traditional green jacket.

In relation to the famed club -- and the dwindling variety of exclusive men-only social clubs across the country -- it isn't about experiencing and enjoying the company of a single gender, critics say, and not at all about golf.

"It really is ultimately about callaway diablo edge irons power, and Augusta National are a wide symbol from the last bastion of male hegemony over economic issues, the place where big business deals are executed one of many biggest, most influential corporations in this country," said Gloria Feldt, author of "No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can adjust How We Think About Power."

People, girls and boys can continue to take advantage of time apart, some critics say, and not when the separation deprives another gang of influence.

Nonetheless, gender-restricted environments start early, when children join Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts or any other gender-specific activities. K-12 education has seen a good start in single-sex schools since 2006, if the Bush administration relaxed regulations on what public schools could implement it.

Single-sex programs help children explore their identities during developmentally crucial years, said Dana Edell, president of SPARK, a nationwide coalition of girls-only programs.

"Boys' and girls' experiences are different we were young. It's valuable to get spaces for both kids to educate yourself regarding problems that are unique with their experiences," she said.

But even in those environments, the line is becoming blurry.

Girls can be involved in the Boy Scouts through Ping G20 fairway wood its subsidiary group, Exploring, and a Girl Scout troop in Colorado allowed a 7-year-old transgender child into its ranks last year, even though some later protested with cookie boycotts.

Private colleges are moving away from single-sex education as historically all-girls schools join forces with male counterparts or align themselves with bigger universities, according to Lisa Maatz, director of public policy and government relations for the American Association of University Women.

heir doors to women inside the 1970s and 1980s following a series of lawsuits. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1987 that Rotary clubs cannot exclude women.

Almost all of the private mahogany-paneled city clubs of the latest York and Washington, opened membership to women after being sued, said Martha Burk, former president with the National discount golf clubs Organization of females. Several men-only social clubs remain, like New York's Racquet and Tennis Club, when a manager told CNN "we don't answer any questions" before hanging up.

Other private golf equipment including Preston Trail Golf-club in Dallas and Burning Tree Club in Bethesda, Maryland, don't specifically say "men-only," inside their rules, nonetheless they only reference men's clothing requirements and locker rooms.