It was announced by Henry Fairweather, captain of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers who run the venue, that the ballot saw 498 people out of 621 vote in favour of change.

In May last year, The Royal and Ancient (R&A), who organise the tournament, axed Muirfield from their list of venues after members at the club decided to uphold their rules on not allowing women to join.

Managers at the club, established in 1744, were also criticised at the time by Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Since the result was confirmed, the R&A has confirmed Muirfield will be allowed back onto The Open host list.

"This is a significant decision for a club which was founded in 1744 and retains many of the values and aspirations of its founding members," Fairweather said after revealing the poll result.

"We look forward to welcoming women as members who will enjoy, and benefit from, the great traditions and friendly spirit of this remarkable club."

The R&A’s chief executive Martin Slumbers praised the result.

"Muirfield has a long and important history of hosting The Open and with today’s announcement, that will continue," he said.

"It is extremely important for us in staging one of the world’s great sporting events that women can become members at all of our host clubs.

"Muirfield is a truly outstanding Open venue and we very much look forward to taking the Championship back there in the future."

The competition, one of the four major tournaments in golf, has been hosted at Muirfield 16 times.

The first was in 1892 with Harold Hilton of England winning by three strokes.

Phil Mickleson of the United States won with a score of three under when the contest was last held at Muirfield in 2013.

Tracey Crouch, the UK's Sports Minister, also welcomed the result of the vote.

"I am pleased that the members of Muirfield have finally voted to admit women members," she said. 

"The decision has been a long time coming and it was right that the R&A made clear to Muirfield that the Open Championship would only be hosted at clubs that allow women members. 

"Golf has the potential to attract a more diverse audience to the game and this decision sends out an important message. 

"It is vital that clubs and sports organisations play their part in promoting equality." 

Muirfield are not the only course in recent years to be criticised for their rules on female membership.

Bosses at the Kasumigaseki Country Club, the host venue for the golf competition at Tokyo 2020, have come under pressure to allow women to become full members.

Currently, the course only allows females to play on certain days.

Club members are due to vote on the matter, having postponed a ballot last month.

No new date for the vote has been confirmed.

In 2012, the Augusta National Golf Club, which hosts the Masters, welcomed their first female members in the American course’s 79 year history.