BASICALLY, I've always agreed with George Carlin in that there are many better uses for the land cemeteries and golf courses take up. Here’s hoping Martin
plays—by the rulesGraveyards are a dead issue, but we need to talk about golf today because of the Casey Martin trial.
The heart of the matter is not Martin's obviously huge heart, but rather the eternal question: is golf a game or a sport? And while we're at it, we also need to ask ourselves if golf -- at its highest level of competition -- is a job.
If it's a game, give Martin -- and anyone else who wants one -- the damned cart and be done with it.
If it's a job, then the law says you must give him the cart.
The answer? It depends who's playing.
For millions of people worldwide, golf is a game. People who play golf recreationally are free to use carts.
But when the best in the world play, it's no longer a game. As much as part of me hates to admit, it really is a sport.
Golfers don't make diving catches, and they don't hit each other. They don't block for teammates, they don't get dirty, they don't get bloody. And they dress like they're, well, going to play a stupid game of golf.
But the players on the PGA Tour are just as competitive as any other elite athletes, and they take their sport just as seriously.
DON'T confuse the Nicklauses, Venturis and Palmers with the pompous, sexist and racist stuffed shirts who run some country clubs. Sure, their comments from the trial yesterday might seem arrogant and insensitive. But how do you think Ken Griffey Jr. or Ted Williams would react to a rule allowing hitters below the Mendoza Line to cork their bats?
Physical stamina is a factor on the PGA Tour. Walking 18 holes four days in a row is no stroll in the park, especially when it's compounded by the incredible mental pressure of tournament golf.
If you want to see something just as impressive locally, check out the Manoa Cup. I first realized golf was a true sport when I covered Ken Miyaoka, who was in his late 60s, and Kalua Makalena, a very big guy, as they battled not only their match play opponents, but also the hills of Oahu Country Club.
But is golf a job? If you want to be technical, yes, golf is a job for anyone who makes money by playing it or teaching it.
That would mean, going by the fuzzy letter of the law, that Martin is probably within his rights under the American Disabilities Act, and the Tour must make "reasonable accommodations" for his disability.
Was this law designed for elite professional athletes? Probably about as much as it was designed for world-class opera singers or Navy SEALs. If my dream is to be a nuclear physicist, but I've got this little problem with the left side of my brain, can I sue NASA?
I don't mean to make light of the problems of everyday people who are discriminated against because of real disabilities -- the people who this law is supposed to help.
However, Casey Martin is not one of them. When you want to compete with the best, you must play by the established rules.
It is a basic fundamental of sports -- and life, for that matter -- that we all have disabilities, some we are born with. Certainly they are of varying degrees.
The beauty comes when disabilities, especially serious ones, are overcome without special consideration. When a Rocky Bleier or a Jim Abbott succeeds at the highest level.
They were both severely disabled, Bleier in Vietnam and Abbott at birth. Bleier won the Super Bowl and Abbott pitched in the Olympics and threw a no-hitter in the majors.
I don't recall either of them going to court for special rulings.
It might take a miracle, but here's hoping Casey Martin makes it to the PGA Tour -- without a cart.
Dave Reardon is a magazine editor and freelance
writer who has covered Hawaii sports since 1977.
He can be reached via the Star-Bulletin or
by email at dreardon@hmsa.com.
