ISPS Handa World Invitational
In May 2019, the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) invited Irish Blind Golf to their Iona Road centre. They were hosting a sports day for their service users. There was a variety of sports on show such as Football and Golf. Myself and my guide went along and had a chat with their service users explaining the process of blind golf. After the Q&A, we gave a demonstration with my guide lining me up on a putting mat that we brought along with us. The service users were interested in blind golf and they took shots on the putting mat. Their organiser, James Flanagan, put some pictures up on their social media channels. We left a good impression and were invited to their Shakeshifters annual day in Parnells. It is a big exercise day for the NCBI as they were involved in an exercise challenge with other groups. We set up a stand to chat to people about Irish Blind Golf. This was a good day for us because we got a few new members out of it. James also put pictures up of the event and gave us a nice write up about attending the day.
Since then, we set up a weekly session welcoming their service users up to Elmgreen driving range to get them involved with golf. Myself and my guide have really enjoyed teaching their service users in how to play the game and hopefully some of them will join us in participating in our monthly outings.
Through this work, Galgorm invited us to attend the ISPS Handa World Invitation, an event on their course organised by Fallon White. She spotted what we were doing with the NCBI through their social media channels. She contacted Irish Blind Golf to see if would we be interested in going up to do a talk explaining Blind Golf. Irish Blind Golf organised for 3 of our golfers to play in the Pro Am. This involves groups made up of professional golfers and amateurs competing against each other. Luckily enough I was delighted to be chosen to play at the event. The day before we travelled to Galgorm, myself and my guide went to Knightsbrook golf club in Trim. Irish Blind Golf got a phone call from RTE about doing a radio piece on participating in the Pro Am. I met Ed, from Irish Blind Golf, in Knightsbrook along with the producer from Morning Ireland, a radio programme on RTE Radio 1. Myself and Ed done an interview describing how visually impaired people play golf. We were recorded taking a couple of shots showing how a guide sets up a visually impaired person. It was on RTE Radio 1 the next morning. This was a great bit of exposure for Irish Blind Golf.
On the morning of the Pro Am, I travelled up to Galgorm. Myself, Adrian and Ed from Irish Blind Golf were paired with a Dutch golfer. His name was Dan Housin, he plays as a professional golfer and was easy to get along with. He was open to learning about what it was like to play golf with a visual impairment.
A late tee off meant we would have been arriving home late so the organisers very kindly let our 3 players and guides stay the night. It was a 5-star hotel which was lovely to stay in, especially for free!!! In the evening, we relaxed over dinner and a few beers. There were a few question & answer talks that included some of the Irish superstars that played in the pro am. They also interviewed former Irish rugby player Tommy Bowe and former jockey AP Mc Coy.
I got some lovely pictures after the meal with some of Irish sporting superstars that played in this event. The next day was even better for Irish Blind Golf because myself and Ed got to take a shot on a par 3. We took the shots while some professional golfers were playing this hole. This hole was recorded and had an announcer introducing each player. I felt great participating in this. After taking the shot there was a short interview with myself explaining the challenges involved in playing golf. It was amazing that this was recorded and shown on TV. It was a long 2 days, which I really enjoyed. It was a great experience for me to meet so many people. If Irish Blind Golf got invited to participate in the event this year I would love to go again. The tournament was run by Modest golf Management, founded by Niall Horan.
You can find the recording attached here: