Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Golf For All

This is a story that is important to us at GP Towers.



Back in the summer we invited ourselves along to the Southport Disabled Golfers’ Charity Day and what a bleeding good time it was. It was refreshing to see people just enjoying their golf, grateful to get out and have a foozle instead of crying into their course planner because they shot an 85.



Even though accessibility in golf was not something we thought about much before, the characters we met that day reminded us why we started GolfPunk in the first place. We are ‘the golf mag for everyone’ after all.

“A federal judge in San Francisco ruled today that Marriott Inc. is obligated under federal and state laws to make accessible golf carts available to disabled golfers.

U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled in a lawsuit filed against the hotel and resort chain by three disabled golfers who said they need special carts known as single-rider carts in order to play the game.

The carts have hand-operated brakes and accelerators and rotating swivel seats that enable mobility-impaired people to hit a golf ball while seated.




Hamilton said the company's refusal to provide the carts violates the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act as well as two state laws, the California Disabled Persons Act and Unruh Civil Rights Act.

The judge wrote, "Marriott's current policy does not provide plaintiffs, mobility-impaired golfers, with an experience that is functionally equivalent to that of other non-disabled golfers."

Sid Wolinsky, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the ruling will apply to the 26 golf courses owned or operated by Marriott nationwide.

Nance Becker, another lawyer for the golfers, said, "We hope today's decision will make Marriott resorts more welcoming for their potential customers and encourage other golf resorts to do the same……"

To find out more about this story click here...





1/29/2008 6:18:38 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [1] 


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