So Casey Martin wants to ride in a golf cart instead of walking, as he has a disability which makes it painful to walk long distances. He says that walking from shot to shot is not a significant part of the game, and that through the Americans With Disabilities Act he should be allowed to ride a golf cart between shots.
Other professional golfers (including Tiger Woods, Casey’s former Stanford roommate), in court, proclaimed that walking endurance is one part of the game, and one or two instances were produced wherein walking endurance altered the course of the game (I recall reading about them, but don’t remember the details).
The Supreme Court just announced it would take up the case. But, what I wonder, is why, before this went to court in the first place, didn’t anyone think of allowing him to get around in a wheelchair?
Would a wheelchair tear up the grass or be too tough to use on the turf, that would make it infeasable to use on a golf course? What about a specially-made wheelchair with wider wheels, giving a broader distribution of the weight?
That way, he could get around the course under his own power, which seems to be a minor, but allegedly noninsignificant, part of the game, making the other pros happy, while allowing him to travel most of the distance off of his legs. Can anyone with better knowledge of golf and/or wheelchairs say why it wouldn’t be a reasonable solution?
I think this is the point. He is not asking for the game to be made easier, but to avoid walking to avoid the strain on his legs. In a wheelchair, he would still have to travel under his own power to get between holes. He just wouldn’t be doing it on his legs. Therefore, the endurance requirement of golf could be met while making an allowance for his disability.
I submit that riding in a cart does not prevent one from playing the game of golf properly either. (If it did, courses would not rent them to golfers.) It does prevent one from following the current PGA rules. Some may say that’s a distinction without a difference, while others may think it is a significant difference.
The suggestion is probably one that would merit consideration as a compromise, assuming it’s not an electric wheelchair. It would limit the courses he could play on, of course, to those with some sort of paving for carts.
This does hit a point of being silly, of course. There’s always the so-called “Special Olympics” and similar arenas where persons with disabilities can compete in a more friendly setting.
Coming next: Just because I’m blind, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be on the Olympic volleyball team.
Depending on how wet and sort the ground was, yes indeed, the chair could really mess up the turf, perhaps even with wide wheels. But the real problem would be overexertion of the player. Wheelchairs are hard enough on a level paved surface. To go hundreds of yards on a bumpy uneven terrain is murder. Nuff said.
I understand that the PGA needs to be able to make its own rules, but I don’t see what the big deal is from a competitive standpoint. Martin still plays in varying degrees of pain, even with a cart; I would think that his pain and discomfort would cancel out any advantage he might get from not walking. Of course, I’m not a doctor or a professional golfer, so that’s just my opinion.
[opinionated rant]And speaking of opinions, I’d like to invite Tiger Woods and all of the other professional golfers who are complaining about a competitive disadvantage to play a round with me one August afternoon at some of the muni courses in my city. A true test of “walking endurance” is trudging through woods and underbrush in 95 degree heat with your clubs slung over your back, looking for your errant 6th shot on a par 4, wondering how you are ever going to judge the distance to the flag because it’s hidden behind a pine tree, dying of thirst because the beverage girl/guy hasn’t been by in about an hour and a half, and wondering why you just shelled out 65 bucks to spend the afternoon embarrassing yourself. Professional golfers are well-paid, well-known, and pampered every step of the way during a tournament, and if they can’t walk 3 or 4 miles without getting exhausted then they need to hit the damn StairMaster. Even a no-talent duffer like me knows that the biggest challenges in golf are mental and not physical. If Casey Martin can swing a golf club that’s good enough for me.[/opinionated rant]
Frankly, I don’t see why the PGA can’t just give every golfer the right to ride in a cart if they want. Martin would be happy, the complainers would be happy (or should be happy, since they can have the same “advantage” as Martin), and the PGA would win some brownie points with the public. Too logical, or am I missing something?
A wheelchair would be very hard to use with any degree of mobility or ease on a typical golf course. So this idea is probably a non-starter.
A physical disability that does not allow you to follow the physical rules This is one of those sympathy inducing situations where (mostly non-golfers) will say “Well gosh! If he needs the cart let him use it” and the professional golfers will say "You don’t understand. This is a serious high stakes professional athletic event. We’re sorry for his disability but using a cart undermines the level playing field aspect of the competition insofar as endurance is a significant factor.
This is a slippery slope. At some point you have to say “This is silly”. If Casey wants/needs to ride let him work to establish a “riding” Tour Circuit (might be quite popular) but to insist that, what is in it’s essence a walking game, be specially tuned for him to allow him to not just play but COMPETE is really a bit much.
This thread reads as if it is headed towards GD – that is, should the PGA be forced to change their rules to accommodate a handicapped golfer? Before that happens, I’d like to respond briefly to the original question. I believe it was something to the effect of ‘would a wheelchair be an acceptable compromise?’
Were I Casey, I don’t think I would accept it as a viable solution. I believe Casey’s point is that walking, though it puts a great strain on him, has at best a marginal effect on other golfer’s performance. This is because the strain is not that great on their legs, and though important, the strain does not take too much of a toll on their score. But a golfer’s arms have a much greater influence on the quality of the shot than the legs do. And, after an afternoon using his arms to roll up and down hills, his performance would be degraded far beyond that of other golfers. It is a good thought, though, and there may be some other alternative that would avoid the need for legal intervention.
I’m a lousy golfer, so I think I should be allowed to join the tour & take 40 strokes off my score. It’s only fair. I’m even willing to walk the course.
There is a big, BIG difference between the PGA Tour and Olympic volleyball or pro football tryouts. To put it simply, golf is an individual sport; football and volleyball are not. No competitive football or volleyball team would let a disabled player on because it would severely hamper the team. Note that such an athlete would probably still be permitted to try out for the team; [s]he just wouldn’t make it (along with many good but not good enough hopefuls).
So in order to prove to any degree of satisfaction that giving Casey Martin a cart is detrimental to the sport, the USGA (or whoever’s acting on their behalf) needs to show that a cart gives him an unfair edge over the competition. Judging by his recent results, it certainly hasn’t, so they got their work cut out for them.
Anyway, going back to the OP, no, I don’t think a wheelchair would be practical if he had to push it himself (which he probably would). His arms would probably get so tired that he woudn’t be able to swing effectively. And of course it could damage certain surfaces (which by rule cannot be repaired during play, IIRC).
Sorry, no cites ahead…
There was a case of a ‘profesional’ weight lifter not being allowed in competition, who had no legs, because he did not meet the requirement of mandatory footwear. His specialty? Bench pressing. In his weight class, he had an obvious advantage because his upper body (minus his legs) was much larger than his opponents yet he complained bitterly that he wasn’t allowed to compete because he couldn’t wear shoes.
And there was the NFL kicker who WAS allowed to play even though he only had half a foot. Not much was made of the steel plate in the front of his specially made ‘shoe’ that allowed him to kick a 64 yard FG.
I think the point is if they let him golf, what will be the next handicap that further degradates the rules? Or who else will have too much ‘pain’ to walk? Where do you draw the line? Well, at the rules! That’s what they are there for.
I feel just as bad for the guy as everybody else, but the playing field should remain level.
You can only participate in “Special Olympics” if you are developmentally disabled. It is not for the physically disabled unless accompanied by “mental retardation”
From the Special Olympics homepage… herehttp://www.specialolympics.org/about_special_olympics/index.html
darkcool - We don’t know whether Tom Dempsey’s steel plate actually permitted him to kick farther (it definitely wouldn’t have helped his accuracy, which is something else a place kicker needs), so this isn’t really a debatable issue (and let’s not forget Jason Elam accomplished the same with NO special gear). As for the weightlifter, since he was denied the chance to compete, I don’t quite see what your beef is.
Again, if the PGA…not the USGA, sorry 'bout that…is so confident giving Casey a cart will give him a massive unfair advantage, let them prove it in court. I have a few choice comments on how they’re absolutely trashing a wonderful opportunity in doing so, but that’s for another thread.