By The Associated Press

The Associated Press poll on the Augusta National Golf Club is based on telephone interviews with 1,004 adults from all states except Alaska and Hawaii. The interviews were conducted Nov. 22-26 by ICR/International Communications Research of Media, Pa.

The results were weighted to represent the population by demographic factors such as age, sex, region and education.

No more than one time in 20 should chance variations in the sample cause the results to vary by more than 3 percentage points from the answers that would be obtained if all Americans were polled.

The margin of sampling error is larger for responses of subgroups, such as income categories or those in political parties. There are other sources of potential error in polls, including the wording and order of questions.

The poll's questions:

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1. How closely would you say you follow professional golf?

-Very closely, 9 percent.

-Somewhat closely, 14 percent.

-Not very closely, 18 percent.

-Not at all, 59 percent.

2. As you may know, one of the world's most prestigious golf tournaments, the Masters, is hosted by Augusta National Golf Club. Augusta National does not have women members, although women do play at Augusta National golf course as guests. Which of the following statements comes closer to your view:

A. As host of such a prestigious golf tournament, Augusta National should have women members.

B. As a private club, Augusta National has the right to only have men as members.

-Should have women members, 46 percent.

-Has right to have only men as members, 46 percent.

-Don't know-refused, 8 percent.

3. Many members of Augusta National Golf Club are current or retired executives of some of the nation's biggest companies, which have policies against discrimination on the basis of gender. Regardless of whether a private club should have only male members, do you think ...

A. It's all right for executives of companies with policies against gender discrimination to belong to a private club that has only male members, or

B. Those executives should not belong to clubs with only male members.

-All right, 52 percent.

-Should not belong, 35 percent.

-Don't know-refused, 13 percent.

4. Does knowing that Augusta National Golf Club does not have women as members make you view the Masters golf tournament more favorably, less favorably or does that make no difference in how you view the Masters?

-More favorably, 3 percent

-Less favorably, 21 percent

-Makes no difference, 74 percent

-Don't know-refused, 2 percent

5. Some have argued that Tiger Woods, a three-time winner of the Masters, should skip the tournament this year in an effort to influence Augusta National to expand its membership to women. Woods favors admitting women, but says he should not be singled out in the dispute and will play in the Masters. Do you think Tiger Woods should play in the Masters this year or should he skip the tournament?

-Should play, 75 percent

-Should skip, 15 percent

-Don't know-refused, 10 percent

Some demographic details from the AP poll on the Masters

Some details about how different groups feel about the Masters and Augusta National Golf Club's all-male membership. The poll of 1,004 adults was conducted for The Associated Press by ICR/International Communications Research of Media, Pa., from Nov. 22-26, and has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points, larger for subgroups.

- When people were asked whether they follow professional golf, 23 percent said they follow the sport. Men were twice as likely as women, and those with higher incomes were twice as likely as those with lower incomes to follow professional golf.

- People were evenly divided when asked to choose whether they believed Augusta National should have female members or the club has the right to have only men as members. More than half of women, 52 percent, said Augusta National should have female members, while over half of men, 54 percent, said as a private club it has the right to have only men as members. Younger adults were more likely to think the club should have female members, and that opinion declined steadily with age. Those who followed golf were more inclined to defend Augusta National's right to have only male members.

- More than half, 52 percent, said it was all right for executives of companies with policies against gender discrimination to belong to Augusta National, while just over a third, 35 percent, said it was not.

- About one in five said the club's all-male membership made them view the Masters less favorably. Women were more likely than men to view the Masters less favorably by a 25-17 margin. Young adults were more likely than older adults to feel that way.

- Some have suggested Tiger Woods, a three-time winner of the Masters, skip the tournament to protest the club's all-male membership. Woods says he favors the club admitting women but plans to play. Three-fourths in the poll said Woods should play. Men and women felt about the same on this question. Those who don't follow golf at all were more inclined to think he should skip than those who follow it closely, by a 4-1 margin.