Disabled golfers: Marriott must provide accessible golf carts
Two California golfers with mobility disabilities have sued Marriott, saying the resort golf management company's failure to provide accessible golf carts at its courses violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and California laws. The suit, filed last week, is being filed as a class action.
Today accessible golf carts are available which use hand controls to drive and steer, and have seats that rotate to enable a golfer to swing and strike a ball from the tee, the fairway, and on the green without getting out of the cart. But Marriott has not provided them.
"Plaintiffs repeatedly asked Marriott to provide them with an accessible golf cart as a reasonable accommodation for their disability, but each time Marriott refused," says a statement from Disability Rights Advocates, which filed the suit along with a private law firm.
"Marriott owns, operates or contracts with approximately 80 courses throughout the United States, including several at popular vacation spots in California, Arizona and Florida. Through its numerous subsidiaries such as the Ritz-Carlton, Marriot contracts with golf course owners adjacent to its hotel properties to encourage the use of those courses by hotel guests. Marriot also advertises golf as an amenity that can be enjoyed at many of its hotels."