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By Design
For people with disabilities, a round of
golf can be a daunting prospect.
By Design
looks at how golf course
architects are working to create a positive
golfing experience for all types of player.
ACCESSIBILITY
G
olf courses will naturally vary
in difficulty, and some golfers
will prefer an easier round,
whereas others may enjoy more of a
challenge. But none would want to
be presented with obstacles to their
movement around the course.
For people with disabilities, this can
be a common problem. So golf course
architects work to ensure that their
designs are accessible for people with
physical limitations. As well as making
golf as inclusive as possible, this
approach helps clubs by maximizing
the amount of people who can enjoy a
round at their courses.
Accessibility was the primary
focus for design work when Forrest
Richardson, ASGCA, was asked to
renovate features and paths at the golf
courses at Griffith Park in Los Angeles,
California for the Special Olympics
World Games in August 2015.
“Participants have a range of special
needs, but our focus at Griffith
Park was on making sure that the
golf course would be accessible for
those with physical limitations,” says
Richardson.
“The first step was an inventory
of any area where we had problems
getting a regular golf cart. We looked
at stairways and steep grades. This
formed a foundation for developing a
plan, and from there we created plans
to show every point of access.”
Richardson identifies a number
of practical things any golf course
architect can do to make their design
more accessible to all players.
“One of the simplest things we can
do is to remove impediments around
tees and greens,” he says. “Many
courses have added curbs and borders
to cart paths, and often these have
no openings where someone with
a mobility limitation is able to get
through. These curbs also hinder a
golf cart from accessing tees and green
areas. What we strive for is a 5-foot
wide access area to allow easy access
from a path to the tees and greens.”
Combining tee surfaces to a single
level is another easy step, according
to Richardson.
“By choosing a level where there is
little to no grade difference from a
path, you are able to provide access to
the entire tee area,” he says. “This can
also ease maintenance by eliminating
slopes from one tee to the next.
Sometimes you are not able to provide
access to a particular tee. This is the
nature of golf across natural terrain.
When this occurs, it’s important to
make sure there is access to at least
one tee on the hole, and to make sure
staff know so they can accommodate
players who need access.”
Richardson adds that even players
who may not consider themselves
Courses
for
all