The Vineyard Golf Club won permission this week to convert six rooms in the clubhouse for overnight use by members and their guests.

The Edgartown zoning board of appeals voted unanimously to amend a January 2000 decision that restricted the rooms for employee use. Board of appeals member Richard Knight, who chaired the meeting, praised the private, nonprofit club for living up to its promises over the years.

“I’m very impressed with the way the golf club has adhered to all the conditions put upon them,” Mr. Knight said. “It was a troubling time back then [when the golf club was first approved]; we were all very suspicious of what it might turn out to be but I’m very impressed with how it’s been run,” he added.

The golf club was approved by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission in December 1999 with a long list of conditions, including one that prohibited member housing and others that required the course to adhere strictly to organic turf management practices. The club has done this and has been cited as the only all-organic golf club in the country.

Edgartown attorney Philip J. Norton Jr. made the club’s case before the zoning board on Wednesday night. “We found that staff couldn’t possibly live upstairs from where they worked because members would be down there thinking they were on duty,” Mr. Norton said, adding: “[The rooms] are for members here and their guests. I heard that a member’s wife didn’t want her husband’s buddies to stay in the house when they come down for golf, and he can’t have them come out here.”

He said employees, most of whom are seasonal, are housed in dormitory housing. Club general manager Jerry Daly said members would be allowed to stay overnight but not for extended periods of time.

“The idea is about member experience and ensuring as much access as possible,” Mr. Daly said. “Some members may be interested in a long-term rental and we have to sort out what’s the maximum rental, but probably no more than a weeklong stay.”

There was some discussion about whether the zoning board could amend the commission’s original condition. Mr. Norton said he believed it would not violate the spirit of the condition which was primarily aimed at prohibiting independent member housing around the club.

“We did not want it to turn into a housing resort, and that’s not at issue here,” Mr. Knight said. “Given their track record, I don’t have a problem approving this without conditions.”