‘You don’t have to see it to tee it’: Winnipeg golf club hosting tournament for blind athletes

The Western Canadian Blind Golf Championship kicks off this week in Winnipeg.

About 20 visually impaired golfers are playing in this year’s tournament at the Transcona Golf Club, including nine Manitobans.

Monday is a practice day before the event officially begins Tuesday.

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The tournament runs through Wednesday and is played under regular PGA rules with every golfer getting a coach to guide them.

Doug Penner is one of the local golfers and is also organizing the event this year. He’s part of the B3 category of golfers, which means he has about 10 per cent of his vision. There’s also a B2 category for golfers who have about five per cent vision, and B1, for those who are completely blind.

“For me having the most amount of sight, I can still get around, so I don’t get in as much trouble,” said Penner.

He said he’s always encouraging people to come out and give the sport a try.

“If you golfed before when you were younger, and all of a sudden you’ve lost your sight, don’t give it up. C’mon out and keep going. There’s a saying, you don’t have to see it to tee it.”

Penner’s wife Charlotte is his sight guide. They’ve been on the course together for nearly a quarter century.

“I try to tell him as little as possible, because what they can’t see they don’t need to know about usually,” she said. “I try to help him pick a target in the distance, and then I’m looking at the club head and making sure that the face of the club is lined up right. And then he makes his decision based on what I say, and does or doesn’t do it.”

Charlotte said despite golf already being a challenging sport, being visually impaired isn’t the worst thing for golfers.

“We have heard professional golfers say, people should practice with their eyes closed, to feel the rhythm and make sure their swing is on play, it should contact the ball, so we are kind of proving that that works.”

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Some golfers also use bright yellow balls instead of the traditional white ones.

The tournament changes cities every year.

Some of the golfers at Transcona this week, including Doug Penner, will go on to compete at this year’s national championships in August in Truro, Nova Scotia.