Of course a federal judge was bound to decide that Casey Martin should be able to ride a cart while competing on the Professional Golf Association tour. Of course the Americans with Disabilites Act must supercede the PGA’s sweat-stained rulebook. It was a gimme.

Martin is a fine young golfer who happens to have a rare circulatory disorder that has withered his right leg; walking is always painful, stress presents a significant risk of amputation. He asked the PGA to open its heart.

What he found inside was something small, petty and hidebound. Pro golf hauled out its big guns, the icons Palmer and Nicklaus, to testify about tradition. The name of Hogan — he who fought back from a crippling car accident to win Opens and Masters — was invoked. Freddie Couples whined about his bad back and Martin’s potentially unfair advantage. Saddest of all was to see Paul Azinger, coming back after a heroic battle against cancer, cheapen his own remarkable accomplishment by saying he didn’t ride, so neither should Martin.

Given the inevitability of U.S. Magistrate Thomas Coffin’s ruling Wednesday, how much better it would have been for the PGA to say this: “We are big, generous and understanding. We welcome all who can hit straight and far, who can get up and down, who don’t get the yips. Tee it up, young man.”

Whether Magistrate Coffin is a golfer is irrelevant; even a horseshoe pitcher knows federal law always finishes first. But if the good judge does play, he no doubt noticed two other flaws in the PGA’s argument.

First, the unfair advantage. Anyone who reads the golf magazine how-to articles looking for the Secret of Par knows that the top pros always recommend walking over riding. It keeps you loose, it keeps you focussed, you become, in a Zen-like way, one with the course. Riding, apparently, is a disadvantage for all except promising young pros with debilitating diseases.

Then there’s the tradition angle. If the PGA cherished its heritage as much as it claims, it would have noticed that one of the game’s great strengths is its sense of honor. Pro golf is the only major sport in which contestants penalize themselves for rules infractions no one else sees. It’s as sure as a six-inch putt that if the rules said pro golfers should walk whenever possible, they would walk.

Casey Martin has a long way to go. Right now, he plays on the Nike Tour, the second-tier circuit where carts a are allowed. Whether he becomes a champion or a footnote remains to be seen, but he probably is correct in predicting that in five or 10 years everybody will wonder what all the fuss was about.

Just six months ago, pro golf was awash in inclusiveness and diversity, riding Tiger Woods’ back to a new height of popularity. With its bungling of the Martin case, golf just topped one into the creek. The choice now is this: Appeal Coffin’s ruling or just shut up and play. Take a mulligan, PGA. This time keep your eye on the ball.