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THE NO-CART RULE IS MAKING THOSE GOLFING GODS LOOK FOOLISH.(SPORTS)

The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA) February 11, 1998 Byline: Bob Molinaro The court case between Casey Martin and the PGA Tour is bound to make the golfing establishment a world-class laughingstock.

Some giggling can already be heard.

Did you happen to read Arnold Palmer’s testimony? On videotape, Palmer said, “I’ve always felt and been taught that golf is a game of stamina.” Now he’s gone and done it. Arnie has offended every mall walker in America.

Golf a game of stamina?

The pros don’t even carry their own bags! Senior citizens who get their exercise in shopping centers put in more of a workout than a touring pro does over 18 holes.

Golf a game of stamina? When a friend of mine saw Palmer’s words, he exploded.

“It’s a game of slumber,” he announced.

If golf’s a game of stamina, what is soccer? Or basketball? The words golf and stamina should never appear together in the same sentence.

Last Sunday’s edition of The New York Times notes that walking five miles over a golf course in five hours works out to a grueling 88 feet a minute. here ingrown toenail treatment

Now you know why some men and women train to be triathletes. Golf is just too darn arduous.

In an attempt to keep heroic Casey Martin from using a cart in Nike Tour and PGA Tour events, the golfing establishment is making a fool of itself.

Martin suffers from a painful circulatory disorder in his right leg. He limps badly. A misstep and his atrophied leg could snap. If it does, amputation is likely.

But in a display of startling insensitivity, Tour lawyers have compared Martin’s condition to an ingrown toenail of another golfer.

Understandably, this upsets Martin. So does the callous approach of the game’s godheads.

“I’m talking about golf,” Jack Nicklaus coolly testified. “I have no opinion one way or the other about Mr. Martin.” Nicklaus contends that any golfer using a cart would “have an advantage because he isn’t fatigued.” There’s that stamina issue again. To listen to Palmer and Nicklaus, you’d think the PGA required its players to sprint to the ball after each shot. Ask the pros to carry their own bags and we’ll talk about stamina and fatigue. Otherwise, somebody tell the PGA players to kindly shut up.

Nicklaus further contributes to the PGA drivel by testifying that carts don’t look good on TV. Well, neither does Craig Stadler, but nobody’s threatened to keep him off the course.

At the hearings in Eugene, Ore., the PGA has turned legal defense into farce. When Palmer says that walking “is part of the physicalness” of the game, he’s insulting the intelligence of anybody who has ever sucked wind playing a sport that requires genuine stamina. go to website ingrown toenail treatment

The PGA stubbornly stands behind its no-cart rule, but the foundation of this tradition is shaky at best. The United States Golf Association has no rule prohibiting carts. Nowhere does the USGA stipulate that walking is a requirement of golf. Under cross-examination, Palmer admitted he did not know this.

But, then, golf purists are so intent on winning this case that they don’t seem to care how they look to the world.

What is Nicklaus even doing blathering about the telegenic quality of golf carts? As if that’s any reason to deny a brave kid his dream.

Pro golf, we know, has nothing to do with stamina. Or, apparently, with compassion.

CAPTION(S):

(Color Photo) FILE PHOTO In a display of startling insensitivity, PGA Tour lawyers have compared Casey Martin’s condition – a painful circulatory disorder in his leg – to an ingrown toenail of another golfer. Understandably, this upsets Martin.