The situation has arisen from the dreams of Casey Martin, a golfer who played with Tiger Woods at Stanford was trying in 1998 to make it as a professional golfer. He has Klippel-Trenaunay-Webber syndrome, a congenital circulatory disorder that causes severe swelling in his right leg and foot and makes it all but impossible for him to walk 18 holes. Martin, at the time 25 years of age, wanted to ride in a cart from shot to shot, as he did in college, but the PGA had strict rules about not doing that. Golfers on the Senior Tour can use carts (not all do), but those on the regular tour and the minor-league Nike Tour "shall not use automotive transportation," according to the PGA. The PGA Tour does allow carts in the early rounds at qualifying school. Martin went to court, citing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If Casey Martin, a disabled professional golfer, gained an advantage over his competitors by using a cart then the PGA would have been correct in not allowing him to use a cart. However, if he did not gain an advantage, the Americans with Disabilities Act would require the PGA Tour to let him use a cart to overcome a painful circulatory disorder that prevents him from walking the course.
             Martin still faces some formidable obstacles. Professional golf is a grind under the best circumstances, and it's not clear yet whether the degenerative condition in Martin's leg will allow him to persevere on the Tour even with the aid of a cart. Tour officials argue that by law and on principle on outside agency has no right to interfere with tournament golf. They also say it's a technical issue. Walking is an integral part of the game, and stamina is a perquisite for success. Martin and his attorneys argue that federal law, ADA, requires the Tour to provide equal access for the disabled. To outside players it just seems that if the guy can hit golf shots, he ought to be allowed to hit golf sh...