Disabled golfer

[seabass]

Hi, I have been disabled for 20 years and took up golf, I have to use a single seat golf buggy, but from 1st November until the 1st April I am not allowed on our course, so I pay a full years fees and only get 7 months golf, is that fair, also it irritates me those golfers who say stick to the cart paths and walk at 90 degrees over to your ball, HELLO, why do you think I have the buggy in the first place, I cannot walk to the other side of the fairway, it is exhausting and takes away the little pleasure I get from playing, these golfers are usually not disabled and god forbid they never will be, I did not become disabled through choice so come on guys cut us disabled a bit of slack will you.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Welcome aboard. I can only talk for the clubs around me but nearly all have no restrictions as to where you can take a buggy. You are probably referring to hotel courses or resort courses as they are sometimes referred to. Stick to members clubs and i suspect you will be okay.

I take it there are no courses near to you that allow buggies all year round, particularly as a disabled golfer? What part of the UK are you in?

 

[Sats]

I think the club should either - let you play as you do considering you have a valid reason to use assistance, or they give you a reduced membership, or offer a caddy.

 

[spongebob59]

Can you not get.a.medical.exemption ?
I know members are allowed to use buggies if the can prove they need one at my place.

 

[jmf1488]

If the conditions in winter don't allow for a buggy to be used they certainly shouldn't be allowed for someone who is not fully abled, the risk of injury would be much higher.

I know courses around me allow for winter membership. Maybe you should enquire about summer membership? See if they can pro rota a deal for you that covers the months your most likely able to get playing.

There is a few boys I know who cant walk the course and don't play in the winter unless its dry enough and buggies are allowed out. They pay full price too.

 

[DanFST]

Hi, I have been disabled for 20 years and took up golf, I have to use a single seat golf buggy, but from 1st November until the 1st April I am not allowed on our course, so I pay a full years fees and only get 7 months golf, is that fair, also it irritates me those golfers who say stick to the cart paths and walk at 90 degrees over to your ball, HELLO, why do you think I have the buggy in the first place, I cannot walk to the other side of the fairway, it is exhausting and takes away the little pleasure I get from playing, these golfers are usually not disabled and god forbid they never will be, I did not become disabled through choice so come on guys cut us disabled a bit of slack will you.

Can you get a medical exemption? If so i'd have a word. Buggies aren't allowed round mine, but 2 members use a single seat all year round. When I broke my foot I was kindly lent one to try and play 18.


If they still say no, i'd take my business elsewhere.

 

[DanFST]

If the conditions in winter don't allow for a buggy to be used they certainly shouldn't be allowed for someone who is not fully abled, the risk of injury would be much higher.

Strongly disagree, 99% of the time it's to prevent damage to the course. The club normally isn't liable for injury if you read through your membership.

I'd much rather the course be slightly worse for wear so those who needed it (not lazy people) could get out and enjoy themselves.

 

[Robster59]

Have you spoken to the club about this? The Medical Exemption is usually the first thing to go for. Our course will allow for members who have such certification. The buggy ban is in place to protect the course but the club should be able to make some leeway for you.
Single seater buggies will, generally, not do as much damage to the coure as full two seater buggies as they tend to be quite a bit lighter.

 

[Old Skier]

You need to get your club to talk to the EG disability person either at your county or at HQ. They gave us a very interesting chat an the subject.

Obviously on some courses there will be parts of the course where it could be to danger to take a buggy and other areas that may at times become waterlogged and buggies would damage the course.

They have set up a very good traffic light system whicy can be regularly updated to show which parts of the course are safe and ok and which parts you need to steer clear of.

I disagree about the statement about members clubs, I know members clubs around here that adopt winter policies that don’t allow buggy’s and on some occasions only allow carry bags.

 

[Leftie]

Hi, I have been disabled for 20 years and took up golf, I have to use a single seat golf buggy, but from 1st November until the 1st April I am not allowed on our course,

I can understand a club not allowing buggies or even trolleys under certain poor course conditions for course protection or H & S reasons, but a blanket ban for 5 months does seem OTT. You haven't said however where you are located or why there is a 5 month ban so were are replying with only limited information.

I would say however that one of our courses has buggy paths all round and when conditions are such that buggies are banned from the grass then we are quite happy for the buggy user to play their next shot from the side of the fairway nearest the path so they don't have too far to walk. If we really like them, we might pick their other ball up for them.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Definitely sounds like a letter to the county, via the club is a starting point and have a polite and sensible conversation with the club manager, secretary or owner as a five month ban seems harsh. Would it border on disability discrimination?

 

[Old Skier]

Definitely sounds like a letter to the county, via the club is a starting point and have a polite and sensible conversation with the club manager, secretary or owner as a five month ban seems harsh. Would it border on disability discrimination?

Depends if it’s a safety issue but a blanket ban seems harsh

 

[jim8flog]

We had a new manager and course manger join our club a few years back. They tried to bring in buggy bans for winter but ended up getting so many complaints they had to back down. In the end a compromise was reached whereby a buggy route was established for all but the very worst of days when we still have buggy bans.

Most clubs in this area operate buggy bans in the 'wet season' in some form or other. The club most local to me also operates a trolley ban for most of the winter.

What annoys me is the number of selfish buggy users who ignore the buggy route when it is in place as it could lead to more days with a buggy ban.