Accessibility answers
Making renovations to meet new ADA
guidelines
shouldn't take away from the fundamental nature of the game.
David L. Ginkel
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Americans
with Disabilities Act guidelines were developed to make the game
of golf accessible to as many golfers as possible, not to take
away from the fundamental nature of the game.So your golf course has just been through another tough season. The tees, greens, fairways and bunkers are all in need of repair and renovation. You begin to map out how to complete this work when you learn about the proposed Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). So you stop planning because you are unsure how the proposed guidelines will affect your changes.
The answer is simple: The guidelines will only minimally affect the redesign of your course.
The ADA guidelines were developed merely to make the game of golf accessible to as many golfers as possible, not to take away from the fundamental nature of the game. They respect the underlying foundation that "the game of golf was never intended to be fair" and that hazards are designed not only to challenge the golfer but to be the heart and soul of every golf course. The ADA guidelines do not try to diminish the need for these hazards; rather, they try to work with them so players of all ability levels can enjoy the game.
Following these guidelines need not adversely affect the golf course in any way. In fact, they often improve the playability of a course and reduce maintenance time.
The renovation
process
Before renovation begins, assess the scope of
the project and determine the type of alterations your course needs.
This step is especially critical when working within the ADA
accessibility guidelines, because they do not apply to every
alteration. For instance, the ADA guidelines do not affect resodding,
reseeding or changing the irrigation system. You must change the
actual physical dimension (i.e., length, width or elevation) of a
given golf course feature for the guidelines to apply. The following
examples show how ADA accessibility guidelines affect or don't affect
the redesign of golf course features.
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Tees
If you are altering one or more of your existing
tees on a given hole, that hole must have at least one tee that is
handicap accessible from the golf car path. The accessible tee need
not be the tee that you altered, nor must you alter the tees on every
hole because you altered the tees on one. Altered tees 75 feet or
longer will require two points of access rather than one, and
accessible teeing grounds must be wide enough to allow for the
entry/exit of a forward-moving golf car.
Bunkers
Bunkers are an integral part of the challenge and character of
any golf course. Because trying to make them ADA accessible would, in
effect, change the nature of the game, no proposed guidelines or
special design requirements apply to bunkers. This does not mean that
a creatively designed and challenging bunker cannot be ADA accessible,
because it can. Therefore, the guidelines suggest that bunkers
designed to meet accessibility standards should have a minimum of one
point for entry/exit.
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Fairways
Fairways are typically laid out to accommodate the contour of the
land, drainage needs and the creative freedom of the golf course
architect. For this reason, it was considered impossible to make
fairways ADA accessible without ruining the character and integrity of
a course. Therefore, no proposed guidelines or special design
requirements related to the fairways themselves apply. Access to a
fairway, however, is addressed: to ensure accessibility, curb cuts are
required every 75 yards where continuous car paths are used. Because
car paths are rarely curbed continuously on a golf course, this
provision does not affect fairway design in any way.
Greens
Because greens are designed to be challenging and have character,
the ADA guideline of a 1:20 maximum slope was deemed limiting.
Designing a green surface to fit within this constraint would make the
greens flat and uninteresting and take away from the fundamental
nature of the game. The only guideline that applies to the green area
itself has to do with access. Greens being renovated must have at
least one accessible route. The exception would be when the terrain or
an environmental issue, such as the presence of a wetland, would
prevent construction of a passage to the green surface.
Car paths
Because golf courses have no defined route, the ADA definition of
accessibility does not apply. The rationale for this decision is that
golf car paths usually are routed to follow the contour of the fairway
or surrounding land. In most cases this land exceeds the 1:20 slope
requirements set forth by ADAAG.
The car paths themselves are not subject to the guidelines, but the amenities -- bathrooms, halfway houses, tees, greens, etc. -- that they lead to are. When relocating or designing a car path, give consideration to the location of access points to these amenities.
Practice bunkers
When practice bunkers are renovated or added to any golf
facility, at least one bunker must be designed to comply with ADA
accessibility guidelines. This decision is based on the rationale that
not all courses have practice bunkers, and making them accessible will
not destroy the integrity of the course or the nature of the game.
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Practice putting/chipping greens
When practice putting/chipping greens are renovated or added to
any golf facility, at least one of each shall be designed to comply
with the ADA accessibility guidelines. Even though greens on the
course are not subject to any requirements, practice greens are. All
golfers, no matter what their ability, need an accessible place to
practice. Because these types of greens are not part of the playing
field, designing them for accessibility will not take away from the
integrity of a golf course.
Practice teeing grounds
If practice teeing grounds are added or renovated at any golf
facility, a minimum of one teeing station or 5 percent of the total
teeing area, whichever is greater, must comply with ADA accessibility
guidelines. Again, the rationale is that all golfers should have a
place to practice and that making the teeing ground accessible will
not take away from the course itself.
New construction
The proposed guidelines for new construction of
golf courses are identical to those for renovations/alterations
projects.
Conclusions
The guidelines detailed above have been compiled
with input from persons with disabilities who play golf, golf course
architects and organizations that administer the game of golf.
Designing or renovating a course to meet these guidelines in no way
adversely affects the integrity of a course or the nature of the game.
Course tees, greens, bunkers and fairways can be designed or
redesigned to meet the guidelines and still provide a challenge for
even the most accomplished golfer, while still providing a playing
field for golfers who love to play the game but happen to be disabled.
To date, the proposed guidelines are simply that -- proposed. This does not, however, stop golfers from challenging golf clubs in court regarding accessibility issues. My answer to this dilemma is to design your course with the guidelines in mind, and it will be more playable, easier to maintain and more profitable.
David L. Ginkel is president of the Gilroy, Calif.-based golf course design firm Golf Designs Unlimited Inc.