About ten years ago, my friend, Pat, who is also legally blind, came up with the idea that she wanted to take up golf and asked if I'd be game to try it. Now me, I never showed interest in the sport. As a matter of fact, when a golf game was on TV, the announcers sounded so blasé and bo-o-o-ring, that just listening to them just about put me to sleep. The thing that would wake me up was the whoosh-crack! From the golf club hitting the ball, then that same, boring announcer put me to sleep again!

When Pat entertained the idea that both of us take lessons, I kind of hesitated and said, "Hmm! I dunno. I have to think about it." After some pondering over the possibility, (being outdoors, enjoying the exercise, etc.) I told her "yes." So we, along with John Casolo, took some lessons, from an instructor from the Physically Challenged Golf Association (which unfortunately no longer exists) and we had a great time and learned a lot.

Finally, I decided to take more lessons on my own from an instructor at the Western Hills Golf Course and I started liking it more and more. He had a little driving range in his office. When I signed up for the course, my blindness was no problem for him and he was very patient.

Then spring came and we had to do some serious work out on the course instead of in his little office. I was really excited about being outdoors again. My instructor told me that being out on a course was going to be entirely different than the little office setting and wow! Was he right! I felt as though I hadn't had a lesson in my life and felt as if I had to start all over again. He kept encouraging me, though, so I trudged on and it was great. Sometimes it could be very frustrating, trying to swing and hit this little ball. He would first have me do practice swings and I would do fine, but then when it came to hitting the ball, it was entirely different. When that little ball was on the tee, forget it! Then with more practice, I started hitting the ball on the first shot and couldn't believe I was doing that. My distance, even to this day, isn't great, but the feeling of having contact with the ball is wonderful.

My Dad used to drive me to my lessons and this one hilarious memory always comes to mind. When my instructor was coaching me during one particular lesson, he and my Dad started laughing hysterically and when I asked them what they were laughing about, my instructor nudged me and said "Tell ya later." When the lesson was finally over, the suspense was killing me, so I asked again. Being out there with other players, anything could happen. My instructor told me that a particular player decided to go behind a tree to relieve himself. When he came back out, he saw me, thinking that I saw him go behind the tree, so he ran the other way and didn't finish his game.

Playing golf blind is quite a challenge. It took me a while to master the swing and to get the flow of both the swing and what's called the follow-through. It's not just a matter of hitting the ball with the club, then stopping, but the club has to be swung out even further so the ball can get distance and height, and that takes practice and patience to master that as well. The blind person also needs a "coach", someone who will line the ball up with the club and selecting the right club for the hole distance, depending how short or long the distance is from the tee to the cup. It also can be frustrating because it's difficult to always find someone who will go out with me to play. I do have a couple of friends who enjoy playing and we go out, just for the sport of it all, during the course of the spring, summer and fall.

What was also very interesting was the turf we played on. The grass is longer at the starting point, or where one would place the tee into the ground. The ball is placed on top of the tee, and we hit the ball from there. One always starts out with the longest club, which is commonly known as the driver. The closer one gets to the cup, the shorter the clubs because the distance is less. The grass is also longer on the fairway which is between the starting point and the green. The grass on the green is extremely short and it almost has the consistency of indoor/outdoor carpeting and they vary in size. To get the ball into the cup, one uses a putter which is quite different from the other clubs in the set and when the ball does go into the cup, it's a glorious sound!

Since 1999, I have been playing in the CIB/OakHill Annual Golf Tournament and I've had the same coach every year. It's a whole day of 18-hole golf, and very energizing. What I look forward to every year is even driving the golf cart-of course, under the direction of my coach. Ha, Ha!

I never dreamed I'd love knocking that little ball around, but there are other benefits as well-the beautiful weather, hearing birds, even bullfrogs in ponds, and just the camaraderie of being with wonderful people is so rewarding. During tournaments playing 18 holes, a golf cart needs to be used, but on a short course, I love walking and there's a whole new perspective to exercise and staying fit. I'm even enjoying golf tournaments on TV a little more now-just listening to the whoosh-crack gives me more of an appreciation of the pressure the professional players are under and hearing the reaction from their audiences. And, … the announcers don't put me to sleep anymore and I pay more attention to the terminology. Golf has changed my life for the better!

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