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Casey Martin vs. the PGA
One person's view and an opportunity to share your own.

BY JOHN N. MCGOVERN

Is walking fundamental to the game of golf?

The Casey Martin story took over the media acrossthe country in January and February. The complaintstirred a lot of emotion and interest in both thedisability community and the golf community. Thiseditorial examines some of the reasons why anddiscusses whether the Martin decision has anyimplications for public golf courses across thecountry. Background Isn't it interesting that the media call Martin agolfer? Not a guy with a disability, but a golfer. Andthat is what he is. An accomplished athlete, heteamed with Tiger Woods to lead Stanford to the NCAA championship. Going to the next level, as a young professional golfer he has had to struggle through tournaments and competitions as do other aspiring golf pros, His tale is different than other golf pros,though. Martin has a rare and severe congenital circulatory disorder in his right leg. Living with pain his entire life, the condition has worsened to the point where he cannot walka golf course. However, he is a consistent, skilledshot-maker on the course. Now, separate yourself from the news. How wouldany rational person solve the problem of a golferwho cannot walk the course? It's obvious. Let Martin ride a golf car totravel between shots. Most recreational golfersuse a golf car. In qualifying rounds of professional golf tournaments, golf cars are permitted.And, in the showcase Senior Tour, golf cars are permitted.

The problem? The Professional Golfers Association(PGA), the body which governs golf in the UnitedStates, says walking is fundamental to the game ofgolf. Therefore, it took the position that it could notalter its rules for Martin, as the ADA asks, because todo so would be an unfair change.

The PGA said:

• Martin would have an unfair advantage againstother golfers who have to walk the course; and

• Martin would be playing a different game, sincewalking has been part of golf since its inception.

The PGA also warned that if it allowed Martin to ride, the "floodgates" would open and tournamentorganizers would be deluged with requests for golfcars.

For the PGA

The PGA says walking is fundamental to the gameof golf. The PGA says a golfer who does not walk hasa competitive advantage against a golfer who doeswalk. It cites the difference between Woods, the topmoney winner last year, and the 26th place moneywinner, as a cumulative one stroke average. It claimsthat if Martin receives the equivalent of a one-strokeadvantage because he can ride, not walk, then hecould vault to the top of the money earning list.While these arguments have some merit, the PGAcould not back them up with information showingthat if golfer A rides, competing against golfer B ofequal skill who walks, golfer A will win.

Is it because walking does not count as a score in

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golf? Walking does not result in a score? Anopponent in golf gains no advantage if hecan prevent you from walking?

The PGA argued it should set the rulesfor golf, not the court. It made somereferences to other sports. Let's do look atthree other sports: football, basketball andbaseball.

Football

Assume I use crutches and cannotindependently move the ten yards infootball to gain a first down. After fourtries I surrender the football and have notgained the first down. Movement ISfundamental to football. Evading ladders,following blockers, and throwing passes toswiftly moving receivers produce scores.Defensively, the team that limits opponents yardage gained is the best defense,and we all know defense wins games(thank you, Mr. Lombardi). A team whichstops your movement benefits from thelack of mobility or speed on your part.

Basketball

Assume I have a cognitive impairment,and that I do not recognize strategicsituations well. As I dribble the ball upcourt, your team traps me. Had I recog-nized the trap, I might have avoided it. Ididn't. At worst, you and your teammatecause a turnover, which you take in for alayup. Instead of me being in position toscore two points, you have reversed thatopportunity for me and have scored twopoints yourself. At best, if I don't get theball across half-court in 10 seconds Isurrender possession to you anyway.Clearly, my awareness of the position ofyour teammates on the floor is fundamental to the game, as would be movement toavoid your teammates.

Baseball and Golf...Strike Three!

Assume I use a wheelchair. Assume I amquite skilled and very strong. And, I havegreat eye-hand coordination. You pitch, Iswing, connect, and send the ball hoppingto deep short. I don't care how fast I am ina wheelchair road race: dropping the bat,grabbing my wheels, and beating inertiawill take time. It is likely to be enoughtime for you to throw me out at first. Howcan my team score runs? By getting batterson base and advancing runners to home. How can I get on base? A walk, a hit, andan error. Beating out your shortstop'sthrow to first gets me on base.

Here again, movement, as it is infootball and basketball, is fundamental tothe game in the sense that with movement, you score, and without movement,the opponent scores or you fail to score.

The PGA also raises the issue of walking and endurance. Few of us would disagree that someone who is accustomed to walking 6,000 yards with 125 pounds ofmetal and leather strapped to their back would have greater stamina than someone not accustomed to such a burden walking the same course.

But, if you take the PGA argument that walking equals endurance which equal swins in tournaments, then the tour should be dominated by younger golfers. It isn't,Woods excepted. Instead it is dominatedby pros who don't crack under pressureand consistently send a little ball to within very short distances of an only slightly larger hole. Endurance is not everything ingolf. To paraphrase candidate Bill Clintonin his 1992 debates against then-PresidentBush, "It's the shots, stupid!"

For Martin

Martin, rightly so, disputes the PGA claims. Golfers don't go homeand say "You should have seen the walk I had on the 15th hole!" Instead, they talk about that putt on 12, or that drive on 3, or that fair way wood on 9. The shot makes golf, not whether you walk or ride to the ball after it has been struck.

Implications

Just as parks and recreation golf courses across the country saw a surge in golf interest by young children and African-Americans after Tiger Wood scrashed the scene, the same will happen with Casey Martin.More courses will get calls from people who want to play in a wheel chair. More courses will get calls asking if a one-persongolf car is available. More courses will get calls asking for free golf car use for golfers who say theycannot walk the course.

For our readers, whether you are atherapeutic recreation or public recreation professional, the result will be a need for better awareness of golf as a game, better awareness of adaptive techniques for golf,and better knowledge of technological changes which make golf products more usable by people with disabilities.

Conclusion

I think Martin is right. In the absence of proof by the PGA that walking is fundamental to golf, the PGA should make a reasonable accommodation and change one rule, the rule prohibiting Martin from riding in tournaments, for Martin. If the PGA wants to "level the playing field," it can also invite other golfers to choose touse a golf car.

The ADA moral to this story? Rules,when they inadvertently or unfairly discriminate against a person with adisability, shall be changed.

JOHN N. MCGOVERN
is the executive director of the Northern Suburban Special Recreation Association in Northfield, Ill. he is a member of the Joint Legislative Committeee and enjoys reading, writing, and talking about the application of the ADA to parks and recreation.

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