Home > Fact > Ouch Q&A #22: Blind hole in one
Ouch Q&A #22: Blind hole in one
4th September 2007
Q: A blind person getting a hole-in-one in a game of golf? Surely there's more chance of Piers Morgan becoming poet laureate?
A: Scarily, you'd be wrong. Sheila Drummond, blinded by diabetes 26 years ago, achieved the ultimate in golfing kudos by landing a at Mahoning Country Club in Leighton, Pennsylvania last week.
Q: So did she fluke it? Surely you can't get a sport that relies more heavily on having some nifty vision skills than golf?
A: In 1999, magazine claimed that the odds for any golfer getting a hole-in-one is one in . So add the blindness into the equation and the odds launch into 'Elvis found on Mars' levels.
Q: Has any blindie ever managed to do this before?
A: The believes that this is the first time a totally blind female has ever achieved a hole-in-one.
Q: Is there anywhere in the UK where blind people can have a go at the sport?
A: Of course! The has been running since 1982, and provides training for blind golfers as well as organising a huge number of national and international competitions. Their top ranking member currently has a handicap of nine.
A: In 1999, magazine claimed that the odds for any golfer getting a hole-in-one is one in . So add the blindness into the equation and the odds launch into 'Elvis found on Mars' levels.
Q: Has any blindie ever managed to do this before?
A: The believes that this is the first time a totally blind female has ever achieved a hole-in-one.
Q: Is there anywhere in the UK where blind people can have a go at the sport?
A: Of course! The has been running since 1982, and provides training for blind golfers as well as organising a huge number of national and international competitions. Their top ranking member currently has a handicap of nine.
Q: Have any blind Brits ever managed the ultimate golfing feat?
A: Sheila Drummond has joined an elite band of blind golfers who have managed a hole-in-one. Only three other people have ever done it - the first recorded occasion being Jan Dinsdale from Northern Ireland, who managed the feat in an open tournament in Canada in 2004.
Q: Let us into the secret, then. Just how on earth do blind and visually impaired golfers manage to do it?
A: Predictably, golf is less solitary for English Blind Golf Association members as players are allowed a guide who describes the terrain, gives accurate information about the direction and distance, and helps tee the player up for what could be the shot of a lifetime.
A: Sheila Drummond has joined an elite band of blind golfers who have managed a hole-in-one. Only three other people have ever done it - the first recorded occasion being Jan Dinsdale from Northern Ireland, who managed the feat in an open tournament in Canada in 2004.
Q: Let us into the secret, then. Just how on earth do blind and visually impaired golfers manage to do it?
A: Predictably, golf is less solitary for English Blind Golf Association members as players are allowed a guide who describes the terrain, gives accurate information about the direction and distance, and helps tee the player up for what could be the shot of a lifetime.
Bookmark with...
Live community panel
Our blog is the main place to go for all things Ouch! Find info, comment, articles and great disability content on the web via us.
Listen to our regular razor sharp talk show online, or subscribe to it as a podcast. Spread the word: it's where disability and reality almost collide.
More from the ´óÏó´«Ã½
All the latest news from the paralympics.
News and views for people who are blind or partially sighted.
Weekdays 12.40pm. Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.
Comments