Cite as: 532 U. S. 661 (2001)
Opinion of the Court
a bag. Then came golf bags, caddies, carts that were pulled by hand, and eventually motorized carts that carried players as well as clubs. "Golf carts started appearing with increasing regularity on American golf courses in the 1950's. Today they are everywhere. And they are encouraged. For one thing, they often speed up play, and for another, they are great revenue producers." 41 There is nothing in the Rules of Golf that either forbids the use of carts or penalizes a player for using a cart. That set of rules, as we have observed, is widely accepted in both the amateur and professional golf world as the rules of the game.42 The walking rule that is contained in petitioner's hard cards, based on an optional condition buried in an appendix to the Rules of Golf,43 is not an essential attribute of the game itself.
Indeed, the walking rule is not an indispensable feature of tournament golf either. As already mentioned, petitioner permits golf carts to be used in the SENIOR PGA TOUR, the open qualifying events for petitioner's tournaments, the first two stages of the Q-School, and, until 1997, the third stage of the Q-School as well. See supra, at 665-667. Moreover, petitioner allows the use of carts during certain tournament rounds in both the PGA TOUR and the NIKE
41 Olinger v. United States Golf Assn., 205 F. 3d 1001, 1003 (CA7 2000).
42 On this point, the testimony of the immediate past president of the USGA (and one of petitioner's witnesses at trial) is illuminating:
"Tell the court, if you would, Ms. Bell, who it is that plays under these Rules of Golf . . . ?
"A. Well, these are the rules of the game, so all golfers. These are for all people who play the game.
"Q. So the two amateurs that go out on the weekend to play golf together would—would play by the Rules of Golf?
"A. We certainly hope so.
"Q. Or a tournament that is conducted at a private country club for its members, is it your understanding that that would typically be conducted under the Rules of Golf?
"A. Well, that's—that's right. If you want to play golf, you need to play by these rules." App. 239.
43 See n. 3, supra.
685
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