Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: I am a senior citizen who plays at the Ala Wai Golf Course with friends as often as I can. Two friends are handicapped and have handicap parking passes -- one has a bad knee and the other, a bad heart. But there are eight holes where they say handicapped people cannot drive their carts onto the fairway. I think this is against federal law. What can be done to allow them to play in a way that won't harm their health? Is golf cart policy
unfair to disabled?Answer: It is not against federal law, but there is disagreement between the city and the state Commission on Persons with Disabilities about the city's current golf cart policy.
The city said its policy is open and reasonable, but the commission believes the policy should be "significantly more generous" than what is now in place.
"Right now, (the matter) stands with our office continuing to try to work with them (the city) through some individual meetings," said Francine Wai, the commission's executive director.
All courses have rules regarding access to fairways, and they are not meant to punish handicapped golfers, insisted city golf course system administrator Dave Mills.
In fact, he said, the city "opened up two golf courses (Ewa Villages and West Loch) to (cart) access and that was a large concession."
But there, as at the Ala Wai and other courses, carts are banned from certain holes to preclude wear and tear of the greens, to ensure uniformity of turf conditions, and to remove the potential of them accidentally entering hazardous areas, he said.
At the Ala Wai, carts are restricted to paths at five par 3 holes where, traditionally, golfers don't drive onto the fairway, Mills said. "A par 3 is a hole where you should be on the green on your first shot and if you're not, you're close to it."
The other three holes are par 4, where cart access is restricted because of various "circumstances."
"But it changes; it's not like those three holes will be restricted all the time," Mills said. They may be opened to carts based on an assessment of fairway conditions or maintenance programs, he said.
Wai acknowledged that golf course operators have "some legitimate concerns" about the use of carts. But "that does not mean that a prohibition on them is appropriate." The city needs "to look at the conditions under which a person can use a cart, but they were not willing to even do that."
Also, Wai said, there are newer carts that are more maneuverable and not damaging to the greens.
She was on a committee studying proposed federal guidelines regarding handicapped accessibility on golf courses. The proposals, which came out in July, deal with cart paths, teeing areas and amenities along the way, such as weather shelters.
"One of the basic assumptions under the design guidelines is that the person with the disabilities will be using a golf cart," Wai said. That's because courses, by the very nature of the game, cannot be designed flat. "Therefore even the golf cart path doesn't have to meet your typical requirement for an accessible route," she said.
"I can't say it's illegal" to prohibit the use of carts at certain holes, she said. "But it may be challenged and (the city is) very likely to lose because the latest guidelines presume use of a cart in the design" of a course.
(The U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding golfer Casey Martin dealt with the PGA's prohibition against him using a cart in a tournament and did not deal with golf course rules, Wai said.)
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