men and women were separated at the club , the women animatedly playing mah-jongg , the men silently chewing on cigars over a hand of cards ; women still had special tee times so as not to interfere with the breadwinners'-i.e. , their husbands'-precious leisure moments ; there was tennis too , but that was more for fashion than exercise , giving everyone an excuse to wear sweatsuits that rarely encountered sweat , couples sometimes sporting matching ones ; a men 's grill , a women 's lounge , the oak boards memorializing golf champions in gold leaf , the same man winning seven years in a row , now dead , the large locker rooms with masseur 's tables , the bathrooms with combs sitting in blue alcohol , the pickle-and-cole-slaw bar , cleat marks on the rug , the founders board with his grandparents ' names still on it , immigrant dining room help , all referred to by their first names , always smiling too hard and at the ready .