The decision by U.S. Magistrate Thomas Coffin to allow Casey Martin, the golfer afflicted with a congenital vascular condition that limits the circulation in his right leg, to use a golf cart on the Nike Tour may make everyone feel warm and fuzzy. But it means practically any rule in any sport that requires certain skills or physical attributes could also be deemed discriminatory and “unfair.” There are reasons dwarfs don’t play basketball and sumo wrestlers don’t race horses.
Stamina is a big element in golf. In one 18-hole day, golfers typically walk five miles. Occasionally, a tournament requires players to complete 36 holes in one day. Fatigue affects stance and swing. Jack Nicklaus, who won the Masters when he was 46 and who opposes the use of a cart by Martin, said one of the challenges for him was walking the hilly course for four days at the Augusta National Golf Club in humid Georgia.
Of course, you could let everybody ride a cart, removing one of the challenges of the game and changing its basic character. You could also lower the basket in the NBA so short people could have a “fair” chance. We could change the rules of horse racing to be “fair” to the obese so they could ride. Special poles might allow a vaulter with a bad back to get over the bar. Removing the competitive ban on certain medications known for their side effects might make asthmatic swimmers world-record beaters.
Stamina is as much a part of golf as height is a part of basketball or bulk is a part of being a football linebacker. Fitness matters. If it no longer does, then golf ceases to be a sport and becomes merely an exhibition of political correctness.
