- Blind golf
Blind golf is a version of the
sport ofgolf adapted for blind and partially sighted 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 and two Americans took place before the
Second World War . Organized blind golf tournaments have taken place in America since the [http://www.blindgolf.com United States Blind Golf Association] was established in 1947.The [http://www.internationalblindgolf.org International Blind Golf Association (IBGA)] was established in 1997 at a meeting held in Perth,
Western Australia .Playing blind golf
Blind golf is outstanding in the area of
disabled sport s 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:
Australia ,Canada ,England ,Germany ,Ireland ,Japan ,Northern Ireland ,Scotland and theUnited 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 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.Tournaments
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 ,Great Britain ,Canada ,Japan and theUSA .Outstanding player achievements
* The first hole-in-one recorded by a blind or visually impaired golfer in a National Open was scored on September 15, 2004 by
Jan Dinsdale , a B2 lady fromNorthern Ireland . It was on the 115 yard second hole atShannon Lake Golf Club inKelowna ,British Columbia during the Canadian Open Tournament..* In March 2005, American blind golfer
Joel Ludvicek , 78, scored a hole-in-one in the 168-yard No. 11 hole at the Twin Pines golf course inIowa ,USA .* In November 2005,
Israel i blind golferZohar Sharon , 53, achieved a hole-in-one on the 15th hole at theCaesarea golf course inIsrael .* 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. [cite news|title=Blind golfer hears shot of her career|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070820/ap_on_fe_st/glf_blind_golfer_ace|date=2007-08-20 ]ee also
*
Disabled sports References
External links
* [http://www.internationalblindgolf.org The International Blind Golf Association]
* [http://www.blindgolf.co.uk The English Blind Golf Association] including an explanatory video on the [http://www.blindgolf.co.uk/howdone.php How is it Done?] page.
* [http://www.blindgolf.org.au The Australian Blind Golf Association]
* [http://www.blindgolf.ca The Western Canadian Blind Golf Association]
* [http://www.blindengolf.de Deutscher Blinden Golfclub (Germany)]
* [http://www.blindgolf.com/Ireland/ireland_home_page.htm The Irish Blind Golf Society]
* [http://www.jbga.org The Japanese blind golf Association]
* [http://www.dinsdale44.freeserve.co.uk Northern Ireland Blind Golf]
* [http://www.scottishblindgolf.com The Scottish Blind Golf Society]
* [http://www.blindgolf.com The United States Blind Golf Association]
* [http://www.sailingblind.org.nz/pdf/Sight%20Grading.pdf Blindness Grading Form on the Blind Sailing New Zealand web site] ; includes the 3-class grading description.
*
* [http://www.edgmont.com/bobhope/index.htm Hope for the Blind]
* [http://www.guidingeyes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=help_GolfClassic] Guiding Eyes for the Blind Corcoran Cup
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
