Playing by the rules - disabled golfers

Parks & Recreation, June, 1997 by Saul Keeton

For years, disabled golfers like Greg Jones have had to overcome numerous obstacles to play the game they love. Chief among these is a relative inaccessibility to a majority of golf courses due to physical disabilities.

Curbs on cart paths, difficult-to-reach drinking fountains, and rugged topography are the most obvious examples. A less visible obstacle is the struggle against the preconceived notions of others. Sadly, misinformed course operators have occasionally turned away disabled golfers. Operators often fear that the golfer's special needs will slow the pace of play, while the equipment they require will cause damage to the golf course.

Jones notes that many times course operators are not properly trained to address simple requests from disabled golfers.

"When we want to play, we don't usually ask for many accommodations," says Jones, executive director of the Association for Disabled American Golfers (ADAG). "Most of the time, we are looking for something as simple as flagging the cart (indicating that the disabled golfer is allowed to disregard cart-path regulations). Course operators just don't know what to do most of the time. It's understandable, because most people in their position have never had a plan to help accommodate disabled golfers. But we are trying to change that."

The ADAG, located in Englewood, Colorado, was formed six years ago as a result of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed by President George Bush and designed to incorporate access for the disabled into all facets of life. The association pursues different ways to break down the walls that prevent total acceptance for disabled golfers. A full schedule of regional golf tournaments is held every year for disabled golfers, culminating with a national tournament held annually at Fox Hollow Golf Course, in Lakewood, Colorado. Jones is responsible for getting information to the more than 400 members of the association and is a member himself. He has used crutches since contracting polio at age three.

"Plain and simple, we encourage participation among people with disabilities," Jones says. "We are trying to expose as many disabled athletes to golf as possible. The game's benefits are tremendous and quite therapeutic in some cases."

As a result of the continuous battle for acceptance of disabled golfers, the National Forum on Accessible Golf was organized. Experts in fields ranging from the Rules of Gold and assisted electric mobility to course maintenance and club manufacturing gather annually to discuss ways to make the game more inclusive for disabled athletes. Through research, they have shown that many preconceived notions about disabled golfers simply aren't true. In one of these meetings almost four years ago, modification of the Rules of Golf for golfers with disabilities gained momentum.

In the past, it was a relative impossibility to conduct fair competitions, in which a disabled golfer could play equitably with an able-bodied individual or a golfer with another type of disability. Thanks to work done by the United States Golf Association (USGA), this particular stumbling block has now been eliminated. For the first time, there are established guidelines outlining how to accommodate disabled golfers more fairly. Trey Holland, chairman of the USGA's Rules of Golf committee, spearheaded the effort to modify the Rules.

"We had two goals in drafting the modification of the Rules," said Holland, who also serves as a vice president on the USGA's executive committee. "We wanted to ensure that disabled golfers would be able to enjoy the game within the spirit of the Rules, and we wanted to create guidelines that would allow them to compete against one another, or an able-bodied golfer, equitably."

"We want to play by the Rules," insists Jones. "No one has the right to slow play or to cause damage to the course. The modified Rules will help us inform course operators that we don't condone doing any of that."

Modified Rules Will Help

Although the modified Rules are written to apply to the highest level of competition, the recreational players will probably feel the greatest impact. Aside from outlining procedures that disabled golfers should follow during their occasional round of golf, the modified Rules will help courses and clubs better accommodate disabled athletes. Jones hopes that the modified Rules have several lasting effects.

"Foremost, I hope that the modified Rules will encourage all disabled golfers to obtain a USGA handicap," said Jones. "Currently, individual clubs and courses create their own `house rules,' which allow their disabled members the opportunity to compete equitably with other members. That works out quite well until the disabled golfer tries to compete at a course other than his/her own. Having a unified set of Rules and a USGA handicap will permit golfers with disabilities to be portable and will allow them to compete anywhere."

The Rules of Golf were modified in a way that subdivides all disabled golfers into five groups. They are: blind golfers, amputee golfers, golfers requiring canes or crutches, golfers requiring wheelchairs, and mentally handicapped golfers. The modified Rules are not intended to be a revision of the Rules as they apply to able-bodied players. The Rules of Golf, along with the philosophy set forth in the modification, are meant to aid golfers with disabilities to compete more fairly with all golfers, with and without disabilities.