Golf is among the most frustrating games to ever grace the wide world of athletic competition, but on greens across the world walk athletes who play an even harder version sport, making their success not only remarkable but inspirational. The first recorded round of Blind Golf occurred in 1925, when Clint Russell, a Duluth, Minnesota native, teed it up for the first time after losing his sight in an exploding tire accident. By the early 1930′s, Clint Russell managed to gradually improve his scores, recording rounds as low as 84 over 18 holes, as Blind Golf was born.Blind Golf is remarkably similar to standard sighted golf, with the only major difference being the additional of coaches. Blind Golf coaches are much like caddies in that they advise club selection and distance, but obviously go into further detail, serving as the golfer’s eyes by describing the physical characteristics of the hole and ball’s lie. Before the stroke, the coach will place the player’s club head behind the ball, but from there on the outcome hinges on a golfer’s swing consistency and talent. As far as scoring goes, only one minor change is made to accommodate blind golfers, with no penalty being assessed for the grounding of a club in a hazard. The rule change makes obvious sense as visually impaired players have little way of knowing precisely where the ball meets the sand or grass.Competition in Blind Golf is divided into the following 3 categories, consistent with the standards for blind athletics, varying by a participant’s sight capabilities:

• B1 for indiviuals with no light perception in either eye or extremely limited light perception but the inability to recognize the shape of a hand at any distance or direction.
• B2 for individuals with the ability to recognize the shape of a hand up to a visual acuity of 2/60 and/or a visual field of <5 degrees.
• B3 for individuals with visual acuity between 2/60 and 6/60 and/or a visual field between 5 and 20 degrees.

Blind Golf rules and categorization methods are revised every 4 years by the International Blind Golf Association in order to preserve fair competition and stay current with actively changing needs of blind golfers.