The decision by Muirfield in East Lothian to vote against allowing women members on Thursday has shocked both sexes around the world.

While more than half of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers voted in favour of the move, it required a two-thirds majority, with the 64% falling short.

Many have lambasted the decision, comparing current members to dinosaurs and delusional, while very few others have stepped out in favour of the vote to uphold Muirfield's traditions.

Those who hit back at the ballot also praised the R&A for saying the course would no longer be in contention to hold the Open Championship. There is still a lot to be done for equality in golf, however.

"The women who are there as wives of husbands, they get all the facilities.

"If somebody wants to join, well you'd better get married to somebody who's a member.

"I believe clubs were formed years ago by people of like spirit: doctors, lawyers, accountants, bakers, butchers, whatever they like.

"And they joined in like spirit to talk amongst them and to do whatever. I want to join the WVS (Women's Voluntary Service) but unless I have a few bits and pieces nipped away on my body I'm not going to be able to get in.

"It's a very emotive subject. I don't think all the true facts have come out.

"I was at the Open Championship two or three years ago and I used to go in for a coffee every morning.

"There's a very nice drawing room in the clubhouse at Muirfield and it was full of ladies who were all chatting - 'Hello, Peter how are you doing?' - and me in my usual, jocular, quiet way suggested, 'What great times are coming, you'll be able to join the club'.

"And there was a look of horror on the faces of the ladies, ladies whose husbands were members, and I was met with 'Good Lord, no we don't want to be members. If we joined, our husbands would have to pay thousands of pounds for our entry fee and our subscriptions. We can come and play and do pretty much what we wish for nothing'."

"I think the most significant thing about what's happened is the R&A's decision to not let them host the Open.

"Had the PGA done what the R&A has done now, I think Augusta would have opened much sooner.

"I don't know how clubs work over there, but my guess is Muirfield will have another vote in a reasonable period of time and it will be successful because they aren't going to want to lose the British Open.

"It took ten years and the lawsuits did not get near the publicity that the original protests, which were not successful in opening the club, got.

"So many of the people in the United States did not know until the (Augusta National) club opened why they opened. They thought it had gone away. But it was actually working its way through the courts for ten years."

"The Honourable Company is a members' club, and, as such, the members decide the rules of the club, including its membership policy.

"Women will continue to be welcome at Muirfield on the course and in the clubhouse as guests and visitors, as they have been for many years."

"I probably had the worst professional week of my career at Muirfield so I don't feel that bad not going back, to be honest. My memories of Muirfield aren't very good.

"They can do what they want but in this day and age it's not right to host the world's biggest tournament at a place that does not allow women to become members. Hopefully they can see some sense and we can get it back there one day.

"The R&A did the right thing. It's 2016 and we have to move with the times. It's taken long enough.

"Bigger picture, it's a great golf course but there's so many other great golf courses that we play on the Open rota that we're not going to miss one."

"As a Scottish woman golfer from the East Lothian area I am really embarrassed by Muirfield's decision to continue to exclude women as members. It is pathetic and damaging.

"I have only seen snippets from that letter sent out by 30-odd string ringleaders of the "no" campaign. It sounds appalling and insulting.

"They are supposedly worried that females would not be able to keep up with their pace of play and would affect their lunch plans. Goodness me.

"It defies belief that here we are, in 2016, even talking about this. How do they tell their daughters and wives that they are not fit to join their club?

"It must be remembered that the decision to award Troon the 2016 Open was made in 2012 when the Royal and Ancient was still an all-male club.

"We had hoped that its lead would be followed by the other male-only clubs on the Open roster and, indeed, Royal St George's has followed suit in the last year and now Troon will have its own vote.

"But Muirfield has chosen to close itself off from the game and it will be interesting to see how many guests play the course now it is out of the picture. As I indicated, I will not be one of them."

"It's hard to believe there are so many people who are very much in favour of what Muirfield have done and it's hard to work out whether they're in favour of keeping women out of clubs or if it's about clubs having the right to exercise its democratic privilege.

"A lot of people seem to be hiding behind the fact it's a democracy and it's a private members' club who can do as they please.

"From my point of view I don't recall democracy being intended to discriminate against people. A lot of people are saying it's politically correctness gone mad but my question is when was it bad to be politically correct?

"It's hardly a bad thing and the whole matter just frustrates me, to be honest. I think it misrepresents golf quite badly and it reinforces a lot of quite negative perceptions of the game.

"People who don't know golf are maybe looking at it from a distance and forming perceptions about it and justifiably guess it's dominated by rich, old, middle-class men who are snobby or fuddy-duddy.

"What Muirfield did was reinforce that misconception, and I must stress it is a misconception. Golf's not like that - it's a remarkably inclusive game with a lot of clubs and individuals trying to make it so.

"There are a lot of great initiatives for juniors that show it's a game for all irrespective of background, gender, ethnicity, wealth. And all of that hard work has been totally undermined.

"In terms of how we actually influence change I always get quite frustrated when I hear politicians come out and say how terrible something like this is.

"The defence Muirfield can put up is that they're doing nothing illegal - these clubs are allowed to exist in the eyes of the law.

"A lot of people say they're doing nothing wrong but I disagree completely I think they're doing something fundamentally wrong.

"They're damaging the image of the sport, damaging the local economy taking away from businesses and hoteliers.

"Fundamentally, the sole issue is they're doing nothing illegal and until such a time the legislation tabled - whether it's an amendment to the Equality Act or something else - then these clubs will be able to continue to exist.

"My personal message to any politician who wishes to go on record outraged at what HCEG have done is make the legislation and don't be outraged in public as that comes across as electioneering.

"Actually having the discussion and tabling legislation is a far better way to help influence change."

"Notes that while a majority of members did support a change to the club's rules, regrettably a small minority were able to block the two-thirds vote required to admit female members...

"Further notes that as a result of this retrograde step, the sport's governing body, the R&A at St Andrews, has said that Muirfield will no longer be eligible to host the Open Championship; further condemns this decision for sending entirely the wrong message to the rest of the world regarding Scottish society, as well as undermining years of collective effort and public support to attract visitors to Scotland's historic golf coast in East Lothian...

"Condemns the decision for signalling to women that their interest in golf is being discouraged, while it sends a very wrong message to young men about treating women as equals..."