IN A significant triumph for the "Women in Golf" pressure group, the Irish Ladies' Golf Union will be obliged to actively lobby for equal rights legislation in future.

The relevant change to their constitution was passed overwhelmingly at the union's a.g.m. at the Riverside Centre, Dublin yesterday.

The first move towards change came at the a.g.m. of the Eastern District of the ILGU last November. From a proposition by The Island, seconded by Beaverstown, it was decided that the district propose a motion at the next annual general meeting of the Irish Ladies' Golf Union pursuant to Rule 31 that the Rules of the Union be amended by the addition of Clause 4 of a further Object as follows:

"(G) to actively support and promote Equal Status Legislation and, in particular, voting rights for Women in Golf Clubs." It had the potential to cause a major split in the union - and this appears to have been the outcome.

A two-thirds voting majority was required to change the union's constitution but I understand that at a packed meeting, those in favour of change were as many as 75 per cent. Many supporters were from Northern Ireland clubs, which are subject to British legislation.

Though debate was heated, I understand there wasn't the acrimony which characterised the district meeting. In describing the outcome, a leading member of the ILGU and a staunch defender of the status quo, said last night: "They put their case articulately; it was a fair fight and we lost."

She then went on: "The problem is that I can't see how we can do anything to help them. When the Government wrote to the clubs on this matter, they were largely ignored. Experience leads me to believe that if equality is imposed on the men, it can only lead to an unhappy situation."

Under the rules of the ILGU, there is a three-month breathing space before the change in implemented. In the meantime, it is expected that the Minister for Equality and Law Reform, Mervyn Taylor, will have presented his second Equal Status Bill to the Dail.

Unlike his first Equal Status bill, which dealt essentially with employment, the second bill has to do with membership of recreational facilities, including golf clubs. The indications are that it will include legislation prohibiting the disbursement of public funds to organisations which are deemed to be discriminatory.