How to make your golf club disability friendly

The process of making your golf club accessible starts by first identifying how your course and clubhouse present the barriers that make a person’s impairment disabling.

The options available under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) to overcome barriers to access can be a source of confusion. A priority for all golf clubs should therefore be to produce an access plan – a publicly available document that identifies and acknowledges any access issues both on the course and in the clubhouse. The access plan should identify any management procedures that have been adopted to overcome physical barriers, in addition to listing what has been and will be undertaken in terms of physical works.

The access plans for golf clubs almost invariably identifies areas where access can be dramatically improved for very little cost. In most cases clubhouses do not need to be levelled out or even fitted with lifts, but their layout should be designed such that they do not exclude players with mobility problems.  Ideally, the dining room and bar should be positioned on the ground floor but simple steps such as fitting ramps, handrails and pneumatic door openers to existing doors can help greatly. WCs, too, do not necessarily need to be replaced. The perception is that a fully accessible disabled toilet is the only WC solution for disabled people. However, only three to five per cent of wheelchair users are unable to leave their chairs independently. The simple application of handrails in standard WCs increases access for a huge number of people.

Interestingly, of the 10 million disabled people in the UK, only three per cent are wheelchair users. There are, however, 8.7 million people with some degree of hearing loss and over one million blind or partially sighted people. Despite these statistics, most efforts to remove the barriers that effect people with sensory impairment typically lag behind the adjustments that are undertaken to accommodate people with mobility impairments. Yet these can be easy wins in terms of improving accessibility – clear signage and hearing induction loops improve access to a significant number of people and yet these adjustments are often overlooked in the rush to effect substantial building modifications.

The impact of colour contrast is a key example. The lack of colour contrast between the horizontal and vertical planes of floors and walls in rooms and corridors has a major impact on way-finding. Equally, picking out objects positioned in an access route against similarly coloured backgrounds or identifying subtle changes in flooring level is a real challenge for people with visual impairments such as cataracts, diabetic retinopathy or glaucoma. A simple method to evaluate colour contrast is to photograph an environment in black and white. It is striking how, when colour is removed, the poor contrast between otherwise discernable shades of blues, greens and reds are readily apparent. If you struggle to see two objects against each other in black and white, so will many people with a range of visual impairments.

Handrails provided in conjunction with steps and ramps are an important feature for a range of people. They not only provide stability for people with limited mobility, they also provide guidance to those with visual impairments. To check you have the correct handrail configuration, simply attempt to climb the staircase with your eyes closed. The impact of having no handrails is immediate and obvious. Equally significant problems arise when handrails do not extend across landings or 300mm beyond the nosing of the last step. Even the impact of handrail mounting brackets that prevent your hand moving smoothly along the full length of the handrail become painfully clear.

The course

Out on the course, a key concern for golf clubs relates to the use of buggies. There is an important balance to be struck between providing access for all golfers and the health and safety implications of buggy use on differing terrains and in different weather conditions. The key is to audit the course and to provide guidance on buggy use including preferred routes and areas of limitation. A blanket ban on the use of buggies or mobility aides on a golf course without justification is likely to be unlawful.

So far, many golf clubs have been burying their heads in the sand, to avoid meeting their responsibilities under the DDA. Yet approximately 10 million people are disabled in the UK, with an estimated £80 billion to spend.  More than 80 per cent of these are aged 50 or over, the prime golf playing age. Thus meeting clubs’ obligations under the Act represents a huge business opportunity as well as fulfilling a legal requirement.