Editor’s Note: A version of this story was originally published April 5, 2022.
As we all know, Tiger Woods injured his leg in the horrific car accident he was in 2021. It’s still an issue. He can physically play golf well, but as he’s said, walking the course is more of an issue.
This point from Woods brought up what I thought was a very valid question in my mind which was, “why would Tiger not just use a golf cart?” Yup. I asked my For the Win coworkers. I had to.
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Let me preface this by saying I don’t know nothing about golf, y’all. The closest I’ve gotten to a legitimate course was Top Golf. And I’m not very good at that. (I can hit the ball kind of far but not super far, you know?)
Luckily, my colleagues didn’t roast me there. Instead, they told me golf carts are basically not allowed. Which was news to me! I mean, golf carts exist for golf. Why would they not be allowed, right? Right.
That sent me on a (slightly) deep dive into why carts are taboo in professional golf. Here’s what I came up with.
Wait, so golf carts aren't allowed?
Well, no. But yes, also? They’re allowed in special situations, but you have to apply for a special exemption with the PGA Tour to actually get one and use it during a major tournament.
Golf carts have always been allowed for use in recreational golf, but on the PGA Tour walking the court has generally been a strict requirement. Until 2001, anyway.
So what happened in 2001?
Casey Martin, who is a former PGA Tour golfer, won a case that went all the way up to the Supreme Court that ultimately allowed him to use a golf cart on tour events.
Martin, who is currently the men’s golf head coach at Oregon, suffers from Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome which is a circulatory disease that left his right leg atrophied making it difficult for him to walk.
He requested an exemption to the PGA’s walking rule in 1997 while on a tour event. He wanted to use a golf cart but was denied. He sued the PGA and, after four years, won the case. He’s the reason why the PGA can grant golfers exceptions for special situations.
Wow. The Supreme Court? Why does walking mean so much to the tour?
It sort of makes sense when you think about it on the surface. It introduces stamina to the game. If everyone is walking the course, everyone is on an even playing field. It’s all part of the competition.
For Martin, specifically back in 1997, the tour claimed that it might give him an advantage over the other golfers in the field, per CNN.
PGA officials maintain that requiring golfers to walk, which introduces stamina as an element of the game, is a fundamental part of the competition, and that letting Martin ride would give him an advantage.
That’s only the truth on the surface, though. In reality, if you’re requesting an exemption for a cart because of an injury or an underlying disease, you’re at more of a disadvantage than other competitors in the field because of your condition.
Without the cart exemption, your only choices are to tough it out or to retire if the situation is chronic and severe. That stinks.
OK, so back to Tiger. This probably qualifies for an exemption, right?
One would think. We all saw news of Woods’ accident and we also know how severe the injury is at this point.
It kept Woods out of the game for what had essentially been more than a calendar year last season. Sure, he’d done some non-competitive events like the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie. BUT … he’s also used golf carts for those events.
The thing is, it doesn’t even matter if he could get an exemption or not.
Wait, why doesn't it matter?
Because Woods said he wouldn’t use a golf cart anyway. That’s “just not who I am,” he said. There’s legitimately a stigma that comes with using a cart.
“No. I wouldn’t, no. No. Absolutely not. Not for a PGA Tour event, no. That’s just not who I am…That’s not how I’ve always been, and if I can’t play at that level, I can’t play at that level.”
So there you have it, folks. Regardless of whether he could get the exception or not, he just won’t.
That seems kind of silly, but this is a competitor being competitive. That is what it is. Let’s just hope his leg doesn’t impact his play if he actually plays at all.
