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15.11.05 
GOLF CLUBS GEAR UP FOR ACCESS EQUALITY

The National Golf Clubs Advisory Association is teaming up with Configure, the UK’s largest commercial disability consultancy, to prepare the golfing industry for the obligations imposed by the revised Disability Discrimination Act.

Over a hundred delegates, including representatives from the Ladies Golf Union, PGA European Tour and Royal Lytham & St Annes will meet at the De Vere Belfry on November 29 to discuss the changes.

The new Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (DDA 2005) comes into force on December 1. From that date, clubs and competition organisers will be under similar obligations to high street shops and other service providers. They will need to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to facilitate equal access, removing barriers that might prevent a disabled person from accessing the facilities of the club.

Legal director of Configure, David Driver, laid out the challenge: “Private members clubs have previously been entitled to an exemption from key obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. These exemptions are removed by the DDA 2005, entitling disabled people to fully participate in a private members club’s activities. The Act obliges clubs to address potential discrimination in a number of key areas ranging from membership and admission criteria to physical access to club facilities.”

The aim of the seminar is to explain the Act and its implications, and give practical advice about how clubs and organisations can meet their obligations. Michael Shaw, national secretary to the NGCAA, said: “Members are becoming much more aware of their legal rights and an expensive court case could bankrupt a club. So far, many golf clubs have been burying their heads in the sand about this issue but this is no longer an option. They must act now.”

The seminar also explains the commercial, as well as legal, case for widening access. Approximately ten 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 too.

Many clubs wrongly assume that the majority of disabled people are wheelchair users, when in fact only three per cent are. The vast majority of disabled people have sensory impairments, such as hearing or sight loss. Configure helps clubs prepare for the Act by providing all the products and services needed to meet their requirements under the DDA. These services include access audits, auxiliary aids and equipment, building adjustments and staff disability training.