To Ride Or Not Ride On The Champions Tour
posted in News |Wednesday, January 26, 2005 11:10 AM
As you can see, I first addressed this question in 2005. Well the riders won out in this issue. Most of the new arrivals to this tour do walk since they are fresh off the PGA. If a golfer can walk and play competitive it is probably in his best interest, this will help him stay in shape and give him a rythmn to the round.
There is a new look on the Champions Tour this year(2006). The tour decided to take away carts except for the pro-ams and two tournament sites where the terrain change is very severe. Several of the senior players have been voicing concern about this move and are talking about the possibility of legal action. A lot of these concerned players have some major health issues they are dealing with and may not be able to play if they are denied the use of golf carts. Some of these players have been on the Champions Tour for a short period of time and others have been around since the inception of the tour in the early eighties.
Ed Fiori has suffered through some heart problems and could face the possibility of not being able to play without the use of a cart. Tom Purtzer has fought back problems for many years and may be looking at a limited playing schedule if he can’t ride. And Chi Chi Rodriguez at the age of 69 says” many of the players want the use of carts”. There is talk about taking some legal action before the Florida tournaments.
A lot of the senior players have been walkers ever since their arrival on the Champions Tour and support the idea of no carts. Some players have pointed to the fact that most of the tournament winners have not used carts. This issue will probably not go away soon and could be a dividing point among several of the players.
I hate to see any issue in this game be drug into the courts. But as is the case so many times, there a going to be valid points on each side. Many years before the Casey Martin issue with carts, I asked Sam Snead about this very question-if you had been born with a handicap or had an injury and could not walk and play golf do you think the tour should make an exception for you to play out of a cart? Sam did not think that any exception should be made and that he would have missed the opportunity to play golf professionally. Again, we have our different opinions, but I for one would hate to think the talent of a Sam Snead could possibly have been missed.
I hope this problem can be worked out and the integrity of the game will be preserved.
The differences were worked out and the Champions Tour is continuing with great success.
We welcome your comments concerning this issue.
See you on the next tee.