Blind Golf

I couldn’t believe it when shortly after I retired, I got a call from a friend I’d known for 45 years, Michael, asking me if I’d like to play golf every week for free. I said, “Sure, what’s the catch?” “It’s blind golf,” he replied, “and it’s fun.”

For the past 30 years, a group in my community has teamed blind people with local, sighted volunteers for the sheer joy of playing the game. Meeting weekly in the fall and spring, each member of the blind group is paired up with a volunteer who helps with every shot and drives the golf cart. Before the players head out on the course, a golf professional from the pro shop provides an hour-long lesson, covering putting, chipping, pitching and driving.

The dozen men and women in the program are young and old, all wanting to learn to play golf despite their obvious handicap. Some are blind from birth. Others have played golf for years, but due to injuries, accidents or disease, have lost some ability to see, and don’t want to give up the game.

On a typical day, before the lessons, players and volunteers assemble on the patio of the clubhouse to greet one another as each arrives. The comradery is immediate and genuine. The warm greetings, handshakes and hugs, are like they haven’t seen one another in a long time – although it may have been just last week. Then, the club coordinator assigns each blind player to a volunteer for the morning round and each pair is assigned to a group to tee off in an assigned order.

Volunteers load the blind players and clubs into the carts, and drive to the practice range for an hour-long lesson. The players and volunteers warm up on the practice range before teeing off, practicing what they’ve learned in the morning’s lesson. Some will go to the putting green for practice, before teeing off.

The sharp clank of a putter repeatedly hitting the base of the flag pin commands the immediate attention of all players on the green. The pin is in the hole, manned by a volunteer steadily making a tapping noise, ready to pull the pin. Set in position by another volunteer, one player, Joe, leans over his ball and asks how far to the hole.

Macular degeneration took Joe’s sight years ago, but not his will to play golf. Listening intently to the clanking sound, he putts with a confident stroke and the ball rolls straight into the hole. “Joe,” I ask, “how did you do that?” “It’s easy,” he says. “Just close your eyes.”

Once on the tee, blind players hit first. The banter between the instructors and the volunteers, while technically encouraging, can be comically chiding as nerves mount for the first swing of the round. They know each other well enough to kid around, sometimes unmercifully. Blind jokes abound! A favourite is “If you can’t see the ball, why don’t you play at night?”

The groups play a 9-hole round on shortened fairways. Each blind player needs personalized help depending on their skill level and visual acuity. For example, out on the fairway, each visually impaired player has a volunteer to drive the cart, help with club selection, set up the ball for each tee shot, and locate the ball after each hit.

Our bonding intensifies as we become increasingly aware of the close coordination and communication required for success on the course.

Most players own a set of clubs. If they don’t, the pro shop provides them. If necessary, the volunteers share their own clubs. One player, blind from birth, has a fascination with all things Star Wars. When I’m paired with her, she loves using a lightweight, large-headed club, the length of the shaft fitting her height perfectly. She calls it the “Millennium Falcon.”

The “Falcon” makes a loud, hollow “pop” or “ping” when she connects well with the ball. When she hears this sound, she says, “That felt good.” For blind golfers, hearing the club connect with the ball is especially rewarding.

The players’ abilities range from beginner to advanced. An 18-year-old player, Travis, whose mum drove him to the course for many years, learned to play from a local high school coach who took a guiding interest in him for several seasons. Now Travis plays regularly with his uncle, a volunteer with the Club.

While playing on the course, volunteers and players rotate hitting the ball with every other stroke to ensure the game moves along at a fast pace. Rotating their shots like this ensures a dynamic dialogue between player and volunteer. Hitting out of the trees or from a sand trap requires the blind players and volunteers to work as a team and to listen to each other.

This close teamwork forms a bond that makes each participant look forward to the following week. The round concludes back at the clubhouse with refreshments served on the patio, typically ice-cold lemonade, potato chips and biscuits. Here the real results of their rounds are revealed.

One good shot or solid stroke on the putting green fulfills each player emotionally enough to proudly share his or her experience. This rewarding feeling encourages them to return, week after week.

New blind players are always welcome and, likewise, new volunteers with golf knowledge or skill. The volunteers receive training before the program begins in spring and fall.

This training familiarizes the new and veteran volunteers with what they can expect and what they need to do when playing with vision-impaired golfers. The training, ironically, is best done by the blind players, who candidly describe what they need from volunteers on the course. This is one instance when “the blind leading the blind” – and the sighted – actually works.

Over the years, the players and volunteers have developed great comradery. Our combined sense of humour and relentless kidding of each other makes playing nine holes tremendous fun.

A volunteer with the program for eight years, I continue to find each outing rewarding and enjoyable. Yes, it’s free, but it’s fun, and I thank my friend, Michael, every year for introducing me to “Blind Golf.”

List of resources:

Organizations for visually impaired golfers exist throughout North America and around the world. To learn more about how you can start a blind golf club in your community, visit these resources:

Blind Golf Canada http://www.blindgolf.ca/

United States Blind Golf Association https://www.usblindgolf.com/

International Blind Golf Association https://www.internationalblindgolf.com/

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