For the last few years, the reverential tag line by Jim Nantz on CBS promos for The Masters has been, “A tradition unlike any other.”

That is true, but not always for the right reasons.

Augusta National Golf Club, which is often described as one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, is proud of those traditions. Some are quaint, others are stupid, but since it is a private club, they can do pretty much whatever they darn well please, thank you very much.

Having said that, one of those traditions just fell like a magnolia tree on the club’s famed entrance lane. Augusta National has done what some thought it never would: admit women to its membership.

Did you faint? I almost did.

On Monday, club chairman Billy Payne stunned the golf world by announcing two new members. The fact that they would announce new members at all is unusual enough, but these two made history.

The better known by far is former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the native of Birmingham. Condi Rice is a huge sports fan — she has said many times that her dream job would be commissioner of the NFL. A perfect choice for Augusta’s first woman; I’d personally put her in Butler Cabin presenting the green jacket at the end, but I think we’ve knocked down enough traditions there for one week.

Unless you’re into high finance, you probably never heard of the other selection. Darla Moore is a former executive with Chemical Bank, she now works for the Rainwater investment firm, headed by her billionaire husband Richard. With strong ties to the Republican Party, Moore has given millions to the University of South Carolina for its business school, which it renamed for her. (Ironically, GOP favorite Gov. Nikki Haley dumped Moore off the school’s board of trustees in favor of a donor to her campaign.)

As you may recall, the club was put under pressure back in 2002 by feminist activist Martha Burk, who lobbied then-club chairman “Hootie” Johnson to admit women. Johnson basically told Burk to go back home and wash dishes, saying that the club was private and could admit whomever they pleased.

Of course, Augusta National has never been known as the most socially progressive institution in earth; far from it. Co-founder Clifford Roberts was notoriously racist, stating, “As long as I’m alive, all the golfers will be white and all the caddies will be black.” The first black golfer didn’t play in The Masters until 1975 with Lee Elder, and the club required PGA pros to use Augusta’s staff caddies — all black, of course — until 1983. The club finally admitted an African-American for membership in 1990, in large part due to Hall Thompson’s famous stand here in Birmingham at Shoal Creek.

Things move much more slowly at Augusta National than they do elsewhere in the world of golf, and the world in general. In some ways, that’s a good thing. But in matters such as this, it’s not. The club was within its rights to stay as it was, but that didn’t make it right.

Welcome to the 20th Century, Augusta National. I hope you make it to the 21st.