"It was brief, it was quite pleasant, and the weather was good," she said in a telephone interview Sunday. "And the people I ran into were very nice."

Ms. Burk, who is leading the fight against the Augusta National Golf Club's all-male membership, kept a low profile during her unannounced side trip from Atlanta on Saturday. She was in the state capital on Friday to meet WNBA players in support of their labor negotiations with the league and had a few hours to spare before her flight Saturday.

Ms. Burk joined some Augusta friends and a Washington organizer for lunch Saturday at the French Market Grille in Surrey Center.

But it wasn't long before the restaurant's bartender figured out who she was and spread the word.

"A couple of people came over. They just welcomed me to Augusta and shook my hand," said Ms. Burk, who heads the National Council of Women's Organizations.

She knows that not everyone in Augusta wants to shake her hand, and that's why she didn't announce her visit. Burk said she was afraid TV stations would show up.

Part of her visit to Augusta included a stop at Fat Man's Forest, which she heard had an anti-Burk T-shirt for sale. They were out, she said.

Ms. Burk was joined by her friends in looking for locations near Augusta National to protest. She said she is not ready to make her protest plans public.

"We were just looking around Augusta is all I'm going to say," she said.

Last week, the Augusta Commission failed to pass changes to the city's public protest and demonstration laws. The proposed amendments still would require protesters to obtain a permit from the sheriff but would insert time elements in the application process. The changes also would provide for a judicial review in the event a permit is denied and then appealed.

Ms. Burk joked that she would return soon if the golf club decided to admit women.

"If the club opens up to women, I'll make it down there to personally congratulate Mr. Johnson," she said, referring to Augusta National Chairman Hootie Johnson.

"All kidding aside. I hope the club does (open to women) and saves its members, the players and the city of Augusta a difficult period during April."

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (706) 828-3851 or greg.rickabaugh@augustachronicle.com.

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