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 From the News Desk...
Superintendent readies for blind golfers’ championshipby Mike BaileySheila Drummond lost her sight to diabetes 26 years ago. Eleven years later, she took up golf. “Golf is a tough enough game for sighted people,” said Drummond, who is often told by everyday golfers that they can’t imagine playing without being able to see. “You just have to have good muscle memory. “I have this picture in my mind. I never played when I was sighted, which is the most difficult thing.” Drummond is readying her game for the U.S. Blind Golf Association’s 62nd National Championship next week. Thirty-nine players will compete in a 36-hole stroke event Sept. 25-26 in Edgemont, Pa. Also is the event spokeswoman, Drummond said players come from throughout the United States to compete. One might think Glen Thomas, CGCS, and his crew at Edgmont Country Club would have to make special provisions to stage a national championship for blind golfers. Not so. Aside from making and posting some PVC yardage poles that normally are not on the course, Thomas prepares Edgmont – yes, the course and city have different spellings – as he would for any other high-profile event: He dresses it to the nines. “As much as they play, they’ve got a pretty good feel for the game,” said Thomas, longtime superintendent at the 18-hole private club. Edgmont’s Penncross greens, about 30 percent Poa annua, are the originals and in great shape, Thomas said, as are the rye/bentgrass fairways. He said good weather conditions and renovations two years ago have helped. Thomas said he sees one or two sight-challenged players on the Edgmont course a couple of times a month. And while it is the first time Thomas is readying the course for the blind golfers’ national championship, it is not the first time the club has staged such an event. Nearly 40 years ago, Edgmont was the site of an international tournament for blind golfers. Bob Hope sponsored that event and enlisted other celebrities to raise money for blind charities in the Philadelphia area. Nearly 40 years ago, Edgmont was the site of an international tournament for blind golfers. Bob Hope sponsored that event and enlisted other celebrities to raise money for blind charities in the Philadelphia area. At the time, Hope already had spent nearly 20 years promoting blind golfer programs, which started shortly after World War II to help veterans who lost their sight in battle. To qualify for the national event, players have to post three qualifying scores, according to their division and gender. For example, B-1 players, who are totally blind, must post three scores of 125 or better for men, 130 or better for women. “It’s great for the community,” Thomas said. “It gives people who don’t have a chance to play much with each other an opportunity to play competitively.” Golfers are divided into three flights according to their degrees of visual impairment, from total blindness to some limited vision. All the players who compete, however, are legally blind, even with corrective measures. Last month, Drummond, 53, recorded her first hole-in-one, using a driver on a 144-yard par-3 hole at Mahoney Valley Country Club. Players who have partial vision can see the yardage poles, which are color coded to indicate distance in 50-yard increments. Even for those players who are totally blind, the yardage poles help their coaches, who serve as the players’ eyes and help them through their preshot routines The only other rule difference is that blind golfers can ground their clubs in hazards. Last month, Drummond, 53, recorded her first hole-in-one, using a driver on a 144-yard par-3 hole at Mahoney Valley Country Club in her hometown of Lehighton, Pa. “It was very exciting,” said Drummond, who has played for 17 years and whose husband Keith coaches her. “People ask me if I ever expected to do something like this. It wasn’t like I went up there and thought about it. “If I did, I would just talk myself out of making a good swing.” |
In other news... Residents try to save Oregon course from development A representative of the course’s owner says attempts to secure long-term water rights have come up dry. Posted: 09/21/2007 Read more Garcia puts touch on TPC layout The Spaniard gets his feet wet on Greg Norman’s design under construction in San Antonio. Posted: 09/21/2007 Read more Bradley Klein to speak at California event Chapter retreat scheduled for Sept. 24-25. Posted: 09/19/2007 Read more Penn State to honor Green Section director Stanley Zontek will receive the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences’ Distinguished Alumni Award. Posted: 09/19/2007 Read more |
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