An appeals court ruled
today that federal disability law entitles the golfer with a painful leg condition
to use a cart during PGA Tour-sanctioned events.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals upheld a magistrate's 1998 ruling that allowed Martin to become the
first golfer to use a cart in PGA Tour events. The court rejected the tour's
argument that requiring competitors to walk was an essential part of professional
golf.
"The central competition
in shot-making would be unaffected by Martin's accommodation," said Judge William
Canby in the 3-0 ruling.
"All that the cart does
is permit Martin access to a type of competition in which he otherwise could
not engage because of his disability. That is precisely the purpose of the ADA
(Americans with Disabilities Act)."
He also cited a federal
magistrate's findings that Martin has to walk to about 25 percent of each course,
which is not accessible by cart, and that he suffers more fatigue during a cart-assisted
round than his competitors endure while walking.
Roy L. Reardon, a lawyer
for Martin, called the ruling "a great result for the millions of other disabled
in the United States who are simply looking, through the Americans with Disabilities
Act, for an opportunity to just participate."
The PGA Tour said it was
studying the ruling, and declined further comment.
Martin has a circulatory
disorder in his right leg that makes it painful for him to walk long distances.
He sued in 1997 after the PGA Tour refused to let him use a cart in the final
stage of its tour qualifying school.
U.S. Magistrate Thomas
Coffin issued an injunction under the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against
the disabled in jobs and public accommodations. Martin first used a cart on the
PGA Tour's satellite tour, the Nike Tour (since renamed the Buy.com Tour) in
1998, qualified for the regular tour this year and made his debut as member in
the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in January.
The appeals court ruled
that golf tournaments were covered by the ADA and that Martin's cart was a reasonable
accommodation that would not change the "fundamental nature" of a tournament.
Accommodations that would change the fundamental nature of goods or services
are not required by the ADA.
Canby noted that the general
rules of golf do not require players to walk, and that the PGA Tour allows players
to use carts in its Senior PGA Tour and the early stages of its qualifying school.
He said there was ample
evidence to support Coffin's finding that fatigue -- the reason for the PGA Tour's
ban on carts during tournaments -- was not a significant factor in golf, compared
to factors like stress and motivation.
Because such questions
are "intensively fact-based," Canby said, today's ruling is not a precedent for
allowing a disabled golfer to play a shorter course than PGA Tour competitors,
or giving a disabled runner or swimmer a head start.
