Disability golf classification is used for deaf golf, blind golf, amputee golf, golf for the mentally disabled, paraplegic golf and other forms of golf involving people with disabilities.

Classifications

Amputee golf

Blind golf

Blind golf is a version of the sport of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

adapted for blind and partially sighted players.

History

The earliest record of blind golf is from the 1920s in the United States: 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 The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in O ...

and two Americans took place before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Organized blind golf tournaments have taken place in America since the United States Blind Golf Association (USBGA) was established in 1947. The International Blind Golf Association (IBGA) was established in 1997 at a meeting held in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. The American Blind Golf organization was established in 2001 to promote the game of golf to blind and vision impaired persons.

Classification

The Blind golf classification existed by 1990 and was used at the Australian Open Golf Tournament for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The four classifications were B1, B2, B3 and B4. Classifications in use at the time included B1, B2 and B3. ;B1 B1 was defined as "No light perception in either eye, up to some light perception but inability to recognize the shape of a hand at any distance or in any direction." ;B2 B2 was defined as "the ability to recognize the shape of a hand up to visual acuity of 2/60, or a visual field of less than 5 degrees." ;B3 B3 was defined as "visual acuity above 20/60, up to visual acuity of 6/60 and/or visual field of above 5 degrees and less than 20 degrees." ;B4 B4 was defined as "visual acuity of 6/60 up to visual acuity of 6/46." The blind classifications are based on medical classification, not functional classification. The classification process for blind golf is governed by the International Blind Golf Association.

Playing blind golf

Blind golf is outstanding in the area of

disabled sport Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing able-bodied sports, while others have been specifically created for ...

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 that 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 A hazard is a potential source of harm Harm is a moral and legal concept. Bernard Gert construes harm as any of the following: * pain * death * disability * mortality * loss of abil ity or freedom * loss of pleasure. Joel Feinberg giv ...

. Blind golf competitions are set in classes determined by the golfer's level of sight (see above) using the same categories as in other branches of sports played by the visually impaired. ;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 The International Blind Sports Federation () is a non-profit organisation founded 1981 in Paris, France. It was formerly known as the International Blind Sports Association. IBSA's mission is to promote the full integration of blind and parti ...

, 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. ;American Blind Golf American Blind Golf (ABG) was established in 2001. ABG partners with blind charities to raise money for blind services. ABG holds annual tournaments and fund raising events in San Antonio, Texas, Wadsworth Ohio and Lompoc California. The motto of ABG is "inspire, motivate and serve all of those who deal with the loss of sight".

Governance

The

International Blind Golf Association International Blind Golf Association (IBGA) ( in Japanese) was established in 1998 as a disabled sports entity to organize, acknowledge and support international blind golf (visually impaired and blind golf) tournaments. As of 2014, it has aro ...

is an international association of blind golf playing countries. The sport is not played at the Paralympics. 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 Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, Canada, Japan and the United States. There are currently nine member countries in the IBGA: Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Ireland, Japan,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, Scotland and the United States of America.

Deaf golf

For the mentally challenged

Paraplegic golf

Paralympic Games

Golf has been submitted multiple times for inclusion in the programme of the

Summer Paralympic Games The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

, but bids for inclusion in the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Paralympic Games, Summer Paralympics (french: Jeux paralympiques d'été de 2024), commonly known as the Games of the XVII Paralympiad, and commonly known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international Multi-sport event, multi-sport paraspo ...

did not come to fruition.

Outstanding player achievements

* The first hole-in-one recorded by a blind or visually impaired golfer in a National Open was made by

Graham Salmon Graham Henry Salmon, MBE (September 5, 1954 – October 1999) was a blind British athlete. He set the world record for 100m by a blind man at the 1984 Summer Paralympics and won a bronze medal in the B1 400 metres. He competed at both the ...

, MBE. * In March 2005, American blind golfer

Joel Ludvicek Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...

, 78, scored a hole-in-one in the 168-yard No. 11 hole at the Twin Pines golf course in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, United States. * In November 2005, Israeli blind golfer

Zohar Sharon Zohar Sharon ( he, זוהר שרון) is a blind Israeli golfer who won titles in Israel as well as Europe. Biography Zohar Sharon lost his sight in a chemical accident while serving in the Israel Defense Forces. Following the accident, Sharon beg ...

, 53, achieved a hole-in-one on the 15th hole at the

Caesarea Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...

golf course in Israel. * In August 2007,

Sheila Drummond Sheila (alternatively spelled Shelagh and Sheelagh) is a common feminine given name, derived from the Irish name ''Síle'', which is believed to be a Gaelic form of the Latin name Caelia, the feminine form of the Roman clan name Caelius, meani ...

, 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. In October 2012 Andy Gardiner became the first amputee golfer to compete against able bodied golfers on a regular Professional Tour (Jamega Tour). Gardiner was the first disabled golfer to qualify through Q school and play on the PGA Europro Tour. Held #1 ranking through 2012-2014 (104 successive weeks). Gardiner scored his 11th Hole in One in July 2016 on 7th hole, Linden Hall Golf Club during Scotland V England international match play.

References

Additional sources

Blind Golf Australia

Blindness ''Grading Form on the Blind Sailing, New Zealand''
web site

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20161224042219/http://www.internationalblindgolf.org/ The International Blind Golf Association
English Blind Golf Association
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104044259/http://www.blindgolf.co.uk/howdone.php , date=2011-01-04
American Blind GolfBlind Golf CanadaWorld Blind Golf

Parasports classifications Forms of golf