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HOT TOPIC
February, 1998By Guest Contributor Michael J. Fresina
The Right Thing - JUST DO IT
The images are stirring and inspiring. Children of all shapes, sizes, races and sexes, each handling a golf club and sporting Nike apparel. "I'm Tiger Woods, I'm Tiger Woods, I'm Tiger Woods..." begins their communal assertion. Imagine the last child, standing on a sloping green, delivering his line . . . "I'm Tiger Woods". At that moment, just before the child smiles, a representative of the PGA steps into the picture and explains to the child, "Sure kid, you can be Tiger Woods. That is, unless you suffer from a disability that might require you ride a golf cart when you play." The Professional Golf Association and the sport they govern has experienced a renaissance of late. More people are watching and playing golf than ever before. The sport has toiled to erase its image as a participatory activity restricted to the elite and wealthy. It has worked. However, the PGA's public fight to forbid an emerging young star from riding a golf cart in tournaments is alienating its newest fans.
Golfer Casey Martin, a former Stanford teammate of Tiger Woods, suffers from a rare vascular disease that limits blood flow and sensation in his lower leg. Walking great distances, like those required for participation in tournaments, is very painful for him and could lead to the amputation of his leg. Martin is an excellent player, whose talents qualify him for tour events, but the PGA has ruled that he must either walk the courses or not play. Martin, with the help of his corporate sponsor, Nike, is fighting this ruling. As their fight becomes more public and has found an ear in the circuit courts of Oregon, people who recently warmed to the PGA, its events and golf itself are outraged. Ultimately, golf and its governing body will suffer from media attention that erases any good that has been done recently to expand the game.
So why is the PGA opposed to Martin's use of a golf cart? They cite tradition, fairness and the edge a riding player might have in the battle against fatigue. Martin is fighting back with the Americans with Disabilities Act that makes it illegal to restrict the earning capability of an individual because of a disability. He is also highlighting the many negative byproducts of riding to argue the PGA's position regarding the advantages a riding player might have over his walking competitors.
Tradition is cited by the PGA as one of the reasons for rejecting Martin's request. Has not the PGA regularly altered its rules to improve the quality of play with changes for the required dimensions and construction of both clubs and balls? Tradition should have, by virtue of their current argument, stood in the way of any changes.
The irony of the PGA's insistence that Martin will not be allowed to ride, in the interest of fairness, is almost too good to be true. In fairness, shouldn't a sport trying to eradicate its image as an elitist hobby, welcome all capable participants with open arms?
The PGA insists that the advantage Martin would have, as a riding player is too great to justify. If riding is such an advantage, why do so few players on the Senior Tour, where riding is optional, choose to use carts?
Martin's condition is not the result of an injury from which he will recover. It is a disability that will never get better, only worse. Should his ability to earn a living in his chosen profession be all but eliminated because of it?
Even ardent golf fans, the kind of people who subscribe to and watch the Golf Channel, have been polled and an amazing 76% believe Martin should be allowed to ride. So again, what is the PGA doing? From a publicity standpoint, this is deadly. No one supports a Goliath in his pummeling of David. Having worked so hard to make their sport friendlier and more popular, The PGA is making a tremendous public relations error. In a perfect world, The PGA would acquiesce because it is the right thing to do. We do not, however, live in a perfect world. That said, the PGA's bottom also line benefits when anyone can stand on a tee and dream of being Tiger Woods.