Professional Golf: 18 Holes, 7 Justices

Re “High Court Lets Disabled Golfer Martin Use Cart,” May 30: Though I was disheartened that it came down to the U.S. Supreme Court having to intercede, as a golfer and a human being I am pleased that the PGA will now honor Casey Martin’s participation in the game.

Yes, walking 18 holes on a course places physical demands on an athlete, and it therefore stands to reason that allowing the use of golf carts could give advantage to those using them. But the advantage gained by the use of golf carts is offset by the circumstances involved in Martin’s case.

He can do everything the game demands. Even the lowest-ranked players on the tour who barely missed the cut would be hard pressed to say that Martin’s use of a cart elevated his game above their level and was the reason they were not playing in a tournament. Martin is not taking their spot away. He is making them play for it.

The PGA, in trying to establish fair, uniform standards, lost its perspective and humanity when it decided that, in Martin’s case, it could not be circumspect on the sport and flexible on the rules.

Golf is a great game. What makes it great is that on any given day we can find our stroke and rise above the level we’ve been playing. But more often, as it should, it reminds us of our humanity. On Tuesday, with the Supreme Court’s help, the game of golf did both.

Art Yoon

Hermosa Beach

There was a time, in the not so distant past, when professional sports was the eminent domain of those most physically fit to actively compete against their peers at the highest possible level.

The Supreme Court catered to the demands of someone who is not physically fit to compete at the ultimate level in professional golf and who seeks an unfair advantage over his competitors by riding in a cart over the fairways instead of walking. There are those who bravely endure their handicaps and there are some who use them for their own personal gain. Enjoy your victory, Casey; it will be bittersweet at best.

Charles Jones

Calabasas

In dissent, the Supreme Court’s puppeteer (Antonin Scalia) and his puppet (Clarence Thomas) would deny Martin the right, under the law of the land, to use a golf cart. King George III would be proud of their autocratic decision. Are these the men President Bush so fondly admires?

Paul P. DuPlessis

Diamond Bar