GOLF is hard enough when you can see what you’re doing, so it must be almost impossible to play blind?
That’s what I thought until I met Blind British Open champion Mandi Large – who showed me how good she is on her local course.
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Mandi makes playing with just 5% vision look like Tiger Woods playing at his local pitch and putt.
Mandi, 51, is a former general practitioner whose life was turned upside down when she began to lose her sight in 2003.
A genetic condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa caused her to gradually lose her sight, to the point where she was forced into medical retirement as a general practitioner, something she claims made her “lose my purpose”.
But luckily for Mandi, golf was there to help her overcome the difficulties – picking up a club for the first time and learning how to play the hardest sport in the world without being able to see what she was doing.
Just two years after playing for the first time, Mandi became a British Blind Open champion – which is one of the many inspiring reasons she was chosen as one of American Golf’s Game Changers.
While a meteoric rise to the top may seem like an easy journey, Mandi has endured hardships to earn her place as one of the best blind golfers in the country.
She told SunSport how difficult it was to put herself back together after losing her sight in her 30s.
Mandi recalled: “Initially I was not aware of my vision loss. I actually pulled in front of another car and hit it.
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“So I went [to check out my eyesight] because I thought I needed glasses and that’s when the visual field test picked up signs.
“It was a strange shock and even though I was a doctor when I was diagnosed, I was devastated.”
Mandi went on to explain the mental impact that losing her sight had on her life after being forced into retirement.
“When I started losing my vision, it had a huge impact on my mental health, I was terrified.
“I felt like I might become a burden to my family and that I wasn’t sure what I would do with my life.
“But I have to be honest, now that I’ve started this sport, I have a very full life and I have amazing people that I’ve met through blind sport.”
Adding: “Golf is amazing – it gives me a feeling of freedom. I don’t need to use my white putter when I go there.
“I can just walk there and get some fresh air. It’s brilliant for mental health and fantastic physically.”
Mandi is left with just 5% vision in her right eye and only has light and dark perception in her left eye – and will unfortunately be completely blind in the future.
And surprisingly, despite studying medicine just a stone’s throw from The Home of Golf at St Andrews University, she had never bought a golf club before losing her sight.
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But thanks to the support of her family and best friend Jane, she is guided around the course and helped with her shots to play like anyone else – or better than most, as SunSport quickly learned when we headed out to the course with Mandi.
Mandi explained: “When I look at the ball to set it up, I can partially see it, and as soon as I make my backswing, most of it disappears.
“Golf cannot be played without a guide as a visually impaired person, and I was exceptionally lucky to have a great friend, my husband and children, who offered to help.”
Mandi and all other blind players follow the same rules as every other player on the field.
The only difference is that players can have a guide, who acts as a more hands-on caddy, and can land their club in a bunker.
Mandi explained, “So when a sighted golfer has a mark in front of them to aim for, the guide actually sets me up and lines up the club face.
“And I just trust them and go for it.”
Just ‘getting on with it’ is essentially Mandi’s mantra, because that’s what she’s been doing since losing her sight.
Nothing stopped her from enjoying life and playing sports, and that isn’t exclusive to golf either.
In addition to being champion of the British Blind Open and the Spanish Blind Open, Mandi conquered two other sports.
She is a three-time blind tennis world champion and is currently number one in the world in her sighted category.
Although she has also represented England at international level in blind cricket.
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And if it weren’t for injuries in these sports, she might never have turned her attention to the tranquility of the fairways.
She explained: “I got a few injuries while playing cricket, I actually broke fingers, and I was fed up with breaking fingers, so that’s when I started playing tennis.
“In tennis I also had some injuries where I needed elbow surgery, but I still play tennis now.
“But golf has taken over my life and so I don’t have time to play tennis. Golf is my new passion.”
Mandi doesn’t want to stop there either, with hopes of becoming blind golf world champion in the near future, having already secured the European number one title.
Although she has already been called up to represent the Rest of the World against the Americas in the Vision Cup, blind golf’s version of the Ryder Cup.
But it’s not just her personal goals that Mandi cares about, with getting everyone to play golf being one of her other passions.
As one of American Golf’s pioneering Game Changers, she is committed to paving the way for more people to break the barriers of what constitutes being a traditional golfer.
Gone are the days of a stuffy club that turns its nose up at new members, golf is quickly becoming an inclusive sport for all.
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Mandi is the perfect example of breaking norms in sport and wants others to follow suit.
She said: “I play golf in England and Wales Blind golf, which is a charity, and we are lucky to have a company like American Golf supporting us and promoting the fact that playing golf is available.”
Adding: “There are some players out there who used to play high-level golf, lose their vision and never play golf again.
“It would be great if they could figure this out, pick up their clubs and get back on the field.”
Mandi doesn’t just want blind golfers to be inspired by what she’s doing, but everyone.
She insisted: “Golf is changing, it’s not like it used to be. It’s for everyone.
“It doesn’t matter what your background is, whether you are a woman or any minority group.
“I think it’s an opportunity to say you can come in and join golf clubs now. You can play. It’s for everyone.”
American Golf is on a mission to grow the game of golf – and the only way to do that is to inspire more people to play.
Many people think they won’t fit in on the course and want to change that perception by encouraging everyone from all walks of life that golf is a fun sport for everyone.
To read more about the Game Changers campaign, click here.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
