Or… A day in the life of a blind veteran in a Blindness Rehab Center (BRC).
A page from my personal journal.
2015-07-08 – Hines Day 23. Wednesday
The golf outing is today. Didn’t do squat as far as training. Went to the first class, Kitchen Skills, but since the outing would head out before the end of it, we practiced playing checkers. Does that sound kind of lame? Remember, the Blind Rehab Center is about accessibility for the blind. Not to mention with neuropathy in my hands, it was actually a challenge to play, and have to rely on feeling the shapes of the special checkers and board. Plus having to keep a mental map of the board after every move, or having to explore the board with every move. Weird, difficult, but with practice it just might work out.
The checkerboard is plastic, with alternating squares indented to keep the checkers in place. The set we used had wooden checkers. Red ones round, and black ones square. When a piece reaches the king row, since they don’t stack well, special , taller checkers are substituted, and each color comes with 4 or 5 of them. I don’t know what you would do if you got more kings than that.
We didn’t finish the game, and I couldn’t even say who was ahead when the call came to hop on the bus. It doesn’t matter. It was just for fun, and to occupy time.
Every year several country clubs donate their course, provide a few volunteers, and a lunch in the clubhouse, so a small group of blind veterans can spend a few hours on the course. The vets come from all branches of service, from all walks of life, and range in age from the eras of World War 2 to the Gulf War. Some, like me have never been on a golf course that didn’t involve aiming for the alligator’s mouth or dodging the windmill blades, while others were avid golfers who didn’t think they could ever step a foot on the greens again. That fact alone makes the donation of the volunteers and clubs deeply appreciated, and inspirational.
When the bus arrived, we were paired up, and each pair of vets were introduced to their volunteers. The time for an outing like this is short, and usually only 3 or 4 holes can be played. With a minimum of introduction, away we went in the golf carts. Don’t worry, no blind vets were allowed behind the wheel of the carts.
There’s a lot involved in golfing. Things you might not think about until you can’t see what to do. Our volunteers weren’t just caddies, they went the extra step to place the ball on the tee, get us lined up on the shot, help make sure our feet were in the right place, the stance right, then after a practice swing or two, get the club positioned next to the ball. Sounds like maybe we had an advantage over your typical, run of the mill, sighted golfer, What other kind of golf partner would do that much for you? and I have to say that without that help, my shots would have been all over the place.
The rest was up to us. Wind up, take a good solid swing at the spot where your club just left the ball on its tee. Then focus on trying to bring your club back to that sweet spot as you swing through. In that brief moment you hope for that satisfying snap sound of a ball well hit. Not the sad thud of smacking a chunk of sod into the air, and having to fix the divot you just left on the course. Or totally whiffing the ball. Which means the ball is either left on the tee, or just as embarrassing, you just made a nice, wimpy 30 foot putt off the tee.
Once having the basics of the stance and swing down, I trusted that my helper did a good job in lining me up. He did. Our first hole was a par 4 at just over 400 yards. I made it in 7. Hey, I’m a blind guy. I’ll take what I can get. Once we made the shots, and drove down the fairway on the golf carts, we got to know a little about each other. Good conversation, good exercise, and in between, smacked that little ball around a little. Isn’t that what it’s about? Conversation and exersize? The thing with the clubs and ball is just something to keep your hands busy… right?
I think the volunteers may have been cheating for us a little bit. Somehow we managed to stay on the fairway, no sand traps, no water hazards. My helper, Jeff, says it was all me, once he placed the ball, and got the shot lined up.
I managed to get to the putting green, or at least on the fringe of the first hole. That’s close enough for me to switch to a putter. I dug my long ago memories of putt putt courses out, and was able to tap a long 40 foot putt to about 10 feet or so to the hole. The next shot was in. OK, well maybe an inch away. But it sounded suspiciously like it was a bank shot off somebody’s foot. I told you, they were being nice to us, but Jeff vehemently denied it.
With some of the kinks worked out in communication, and the kind of help we needed with accessibility, the next two holes got a little better. Good ball placement, solid shots, and though all the putts seemed to start from the fringe, or involved having to struggle with uphill shots, or ones that broke around a hill, my putts got me within 12 feet, and even a nice 5 footer for my final hole. With every hole, I found I got there in one less stroke than the hole before. I didn’t know this until later, or even that Jeff was keeping track for me.
The final hole was a short par 3, and though my drive was fairly solid, it fell just outside the fringe of the green. Still, we decided to go for another long putt. That’s the one that came to about 5 feet away, and the next shot dropped it in the hole… no banking foot shots required. My one and only par outside the realm of a putt putt course,, or the electrons of a video game.
Time was up, and we were called to the clubhouse for lunch.
After the very nice meal, each of the helpers and golfers had the chance to say a kind word about their game, and Our instructor who was in charge from the Blind Rehab Center shared a word with the club about the various kinds of training we receive there, and in learning the daily skills of life. Kitchen skills, computer and technology training, adjustments to having low vision, mobility training using the white cane and GPS for vets who are willing to use it. There’s also plenty of shop classes for manual dexterity. Lettercraft, wood shop, small engine repair, and even music class for those who want to learn something like the guitar, or piano
With that, we parted ways, and returned to carry on with the training.