A new perspective on the ancient game
An Ireland/Scotland golf international was already underway, the Scottish pair had just hit off, immaculate drives that defied the trees down along the left side, each shot beautifully shaped to cut the dogleg corner and finish in the A position, 110 yards from the green.
Watching the shots was Lee Valley 2014 captain Declan Ryan, himself a nine-handicapper. “On a Sunday morning here, the club members would find it daunting to take the tiger-line these guys just took — right around the corner, tight to the trees. If any club member does it they think they’re wonderful, these guys just walk up and hit it, put it down there.”
Then came the Irish pairing. The first drive was pushed out right, the second came too close to the trees on the left and rebounded back almost to the point from which it was struck. And from among those waiting their turn to tee off, with a reference to an occasional male golfing custom when a man fails to reach the lady’s tee, a distinctly Scots-accented voice called out — “Do you have to pull your pants down now?”
Vaguely sexist, but very much part and parcel of the kind of banter you get when golfers get together. Except this was no ordinary such gathering.
This was an international between two teams made up entirely of visually-impaired golfers, some almost entirely blind but all with only 10% vision or less.
The two who had just hit those perfect tee-shots were Bennett Ward and John Emery; the man who had called out was their captain, Ian Prime.
“The barracking is exactly the same as in any golf match,” he explained, “No sympathy expected or given.”
And that’s the thing. They don’t want each other’s sympathy, they don’t want anyone’s sympathy. The beautiful vista from that tee-box? “We’re not here for the views,” says Prime, “We’re here to play golf.”
Why? Why take up a sport which in itself is so visual, a sport that is more demanding than most in terms of hand-eye coordination, a sport in which hazards abound?
Wally Roode, South African native but now an Irishman through marriage (his wife, Catherine Walsh, is a multi-Paralympian), explains. “It’s the buzz. We’re like anyone else, we too have the competitive juices and golf is a unique sport in that with the handicap system, everyone is on a level playing field. My handicap is 24 and I can play with or against anyone — as long as I have someone to guide me, or a very understanding opponent who can help you with your lineup, and help you find the ball!”
Every golfer in this competition has a guide and Eamon McGee is the man travelling with the very affable Wally. “I line him up for his shots all the way from tee to green; I line up his feet, the direction he’s facing, the club-face. I direct him how to hit, I know what kind of shots he plays, a draw or a fade. We’re both members of the same club and play together every Sunday. When we get to the green, I’ve got to be able to read the slopes, the speed, uphill or downhill, whether to open or close the putter-head, and give him the distance. Usually I’ll get him to walk to the pin with me, that way he has a better idea.”
A kind of super-caddy then, but does Wally follow all those instructions? “No, he does not! It would be too easy if he did!” Eamon laughs. “Overall though he’s very good, a great golfer, a great guy. I have the height of admiration for Wally and for the rest of the golfers. They’re an inspiration to all of us. We moan about life but we don’t know how lucky we are; nothing gets these guys down, absolutely nothing, they have a great attitude.”
This is confirmed by Ian Prime; the wisecrack on the first tee-box drew a laugh from those in the immediate vicinity but that didn’t mean this was just a social event. Most certainly not.
“All of us on this team play in our national golf events at home, but this is the ultimate for us. There’s banter all the time, always good craic out on the course and it wouldn’t be golf without that. And of course we have a great time in the evening, a great social mix. But we can’t play rugby or soccer for Scotland — this is it. It’s fun but it’s not a joke; we’re here representing our country and we want to do as well as we can.”
This is the sixth year of the competition, The Celtic Cup, and currently Ireland trail 2-3. Considering however that Scotland have a much bigger ‘pick’ than Ireland, several times more golfers in their ranks, considering also that with an even bigger annual match against old rivals England (which Scotland also currently lead), they are vastly more experienced in international competition than Ireland, we’re not doing so badly.
We could, however, be doing a lot better and that’s the aim of Paul O’Rahilly, honorary secretary of the Irish Blind Golfers Society and himself also a very good player.
“We would love to publicise this more, get more people involved,” says O’Rahilly.
“We meet people halfway, put the development systems in place, working with various other organisations. If someone is prepared to get the gear, organise their transport and a guide, we’ll take them all the way from training to world championships, or to whatever level they want to reach. We get great support from Vision Support Ireland, they get financial support from the Irish Sport Council and National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) to provide sport and recreation for visually impaired and blind people across Ireland. Without their assistance, this wouldn’t be happening and we’re very grateful for that.”
As we were talking, adjacent to the par-3 third, Ballymena’s Sam Smyth hits a majestic tee-shot to about 20 feet, Newry’s Tommy Reidy sinks a raking putt, and the cheers fill the air. Just another fourball? Yes. And No.
* www.irishblindgolf.eu
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