Blind golf
Encyclopedia
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
of golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
adapted for blind and partially sighted
Visual impairment
Visual impairment is vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive...
players.
History
The earliest record of blind golf is from the 1920s in the USA: Clint Russell of Duluth, Minnesota, who lost his sight when a tire exploded in his face, began playing blind golf in 1925. Gradually increasing his scores, Clint managed to shoot an 84 for 18 holes in the early 1930s.A match between two blind Englishmen
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and two Americans took place before the Second World War. Organized blind golf tournaments have taken place in America since the United States Blind Golf Association was established in 1947.
The International Blind Golf Association (IBGA) was established in 1997 at a meeting held in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
http://www.americanblindgolf.comAmerican Blind Golf was established in 2001 to promote the game of golf to blind and vision impaired persons.
Playing blind golf
Blind golf is outstanding in the area of disabled sports in that it includes only minor modifications to the standard rules of golf. The principle of playing is that blind or partially sighted golf players have a sighted coach who assists the golfer in describing distance, direction and characteristics of the hole, and helps with club head alignment behind the ball, prior to the stroke. From this point, the golfer is on his own, and it is her/his skill that determines the resulting stroke.Other than the coach, there is only one relaxation to the standard rules: blind or partially sighted golfers are allowed to ground their club in a hazard.
Blind golf competitions are set in classes determined by the golfer’s level of sight, using the same categories as in other branches of sport played by the visually impaired:
- B1 No light perception in either eye, or slight light perception but inability to recognise the shape of a hand at any distance or in any direction
- B2 From ability to recognise the shape of a hand, up to visual acuity of 2/60, and/or visual field of less than 5 degrees
- B3 visual acuity between 2/60 and 6/60, and/or visual field of between 5 degrees and 20 degrees
Organizations
There are currently nine member countries in the IBGA: AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and the United States of America. Links to their web sites are given below.
The IBGA produces a taped version of the Rules of Golf for the visually impaired audience, when the rules of golf are revised every four years.
Blind Golf in Canada
The Canadian Blind Golf Association was established in 1951. However, it has not been a functioning association since the mid 1980s. The Western Division and Ontario Visually Impaired Golf Association continued to operate independently and are currently making efforts to restructure the Canadian Association. The Canadian association runs several events and maintains a website at http://www.blindgolf.ca.The Canadian Association uses the same standards as the International Blind Sports Federation, with one exception: level of sight classification is based on acuity only, and not field of vision. The rationale is that golf is a dead ball sport and a player with "tunnel vision" can see the ball clearly when striking it.
American Blind Golf
American Blind golf was established in 2001. ABG partners with blind charities to raise money for blind services. ABG holds annual tournaments and fund raising events in San Antonio, Texas, Wadsworth Ohio and Lompoc California. The motto of ABG is " inspire, motivate and serve all of those who deal with the loss of sight". The ABG website is www.americanblindgolf.comTournaments
The IBGA conducts a world championship every two years. The 2004 world championship tournament was held in Australia.Other tournaments sanctioned by the IBGA include National Open events in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the USA.
Outstanding player achievements
- The first hole-in-oneHole in oneIn golf, a hole in one or hole-in-one is when a player hits the ball directly from the tee into the cup with one shot. This is most possible on a par 3 hole. Longer hitters have accomplished this feat on shorter par 4 holes...
recorded by a blind or visually impaired golfer in a National Open was made by the inspirational Graham Salmon MBE.
- In March 2005, American blind golfer Joel Ludvicek, 78, scored a hole-in-oneHole in oneIn golf, a hole in one or hole-in-one is when a player hits the ball directly from the tee into the cup with one shot. This is most possible on a par 3 hole. Longer hitters have accomplished this feat on shorter par 4 holes...
in the 168-yard No. 11 hole at the Twin Pines golf course in IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, USA.
- In November 2005, IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i blind golfer Zohar SharonZohar SharonZohar Sharon is a blind Israeli golfer who has won titles in Israel as well as Europe. He lost his sight in a chemical accident while serving in the Israel Defense Forces. In 2003, he won the World Invitational blind golf tournament in Scotland...
, 53, achieved a hole-in-one on the 15th hole at the Caesarea golf course in IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
- In August 2007, Sheila Drummond, a member of the board of directors of the United States Blind Golfers Association, scored a hole-in-one on the fourth hole at Mahoning Valley Country Club.
External links
- The International Blind Golf Association
- The English Blind Golf Association including an explanatory video on the How is it Done? page.
- Blind Golf Australia
- The Western Canadian Blind Golf Association
- Deutscher Blinden Golfclub (Germany)
- The Irish Blind Golf Society
- The Japanese blind golf Association
- Northern Ireland Blind Golf
- The Scottish Blind Golf Society
- The United States Blind Golf Association
- Blindness Grading Form on the Blind Sailing New Zealand web site; includes the 3-class grading description.
- Hope for the Blind golf Tournament Edgmont Country Club 1967
- United States Blind Golf Association (USBGA) 62nd National Championship Tournament at Edgmont Country Club in Edgemont, Pennsylvania, on September 27 and 26, 2007.
- United States Blind Golf Association (USBGA) 65nd National Championship Tournament at Edgmont Country Club in Edgemont, Pennsylvania, on September 27 and 28, 2010.
- http://www.guidingeyes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=help_GolfClassic Guiding Eyes for the Blind Corcoran Cup
- American Blind Golf