I respectfully disagree with the philosophy and the logic behind Mr. Thomas A
Bowden in his
SHAME ON CASEY MARTIN
Disabled Golfer Asks Supreme Court to OK His Forced Entry into Tournaments,
via Law
That Penalizes the Able
By Thomas A. Bowden
I am saddened by the emotional title for the right of the person to compete
in a tournament by PGA which in deed is a private organization using public
funding through commercials for the products I buy and have no interest in
supporting their elitist agenda! If the PGA wishes its right to exercise to
be the private organization and then make its exhibition matches private also
so the elite few can enjoy to their hearts content.  However I take issue
with them, when they wish to use the public airwaves and to cap it off sell
advertisements to get a part of my money spent on the products. One can't
have the cake and eat it too and then cry foul when people demand equal
rights. I feel this is twisted logic. I have no objection if these great
players wish to walk hundreds of miles to practice their precision shooting
and find out who is the best in walking continuously without rest for
hundreds of miles and at the same time can shoot with precision. However if
it is done in the public domain and then entice me to view it, so they can
make their millions in prize money, then I have as much rights as anyone else
to practice in the real part of the game which is precision according to the
writer. " Golf is a game of extreme precision. Tiny variations in the swing
of a club determine whether a shot lands on the green or in a sand trap,
whether a tricky putt falls in or rims out. "
      How does precision and stamina of walking miles are clubbed together is
beyond me. Now if the rules specify that a person has to travel and shoot
from say 5th hole to 6th hole is 15 minutes, then we can understand the
advantage gained by going in a golf cart. I know of no such rule and I have
watched the golfers take their sweet time and walk back and forth to practice
their putt or shot. So to claim one is tired and has to shoot a shot right
away is not only irrational but an excuse to deny others who are not
physically the same as the writer is. It is sad to note that the player has
to resort to court action when this great organization can't accommodate such
a trivial matter and make an exception.  Though I am rooting for Casey Martin
to win the case and the GOLF GAME to motivate other individuals similarly
situated that everything is possible if one puts the mind to it. I am not
advocating an electronic sighter, (though I might suggest that for a visually
impaired person) be attached to his golf club, then the writer has really
something to complain about! If one views the ability and disability are the
restraints imposed by the environment not the human mind, then these
assistive technologies are only a prop to the real performer the human mind!
Murali