Having a handicap doesn’t have to define you. Wise words from blind golfer Tim Jackson who is competing in Wadsworth’s American Blind Golf Tournament on June 17-18, 2015.
The Columbus golfer has been playing the sport for 47 years. But something changed the way he looked at the game when he was 30 years old. It was the same year he lost his father — the person who was the drive behind his love for the game.
“I was doing fairly well until I lost my sight,” Tim said about his golf game. “I got ticked off, threw my clubs in the garage and didn’t play anymore until a buddy of mine said, ‘let’s go play golf.’” It was then that Tim shot a 98 – a score that didn’t impress him much.
“I was really mad because I had been shooting in the 70s. Again I said, ‘I’m not playing anymore.’ Then, (my friend) showed me an article that said if you count every stroke like you’re supposed to, only 15-percent of golfers in the world, including the pros, average under 100. (My friend) said, ‘you’re legally blind. Now shut up, grab your clubs and let’s go.’”
Tim’s visual impairment hasn’t stopped him since. It’s just changed his game a bit technically.
“You want to hit the ball first and pinch it between the club and the ground to get your maximum distance and spin on the ball. But I can’t do that anymore. I don’t have the hand eye coordination. That’s why I call blind golf the greatest two man sport in the world.”
Without his coach, Tim joked about how frustrating the game could be. “I’d hit my first tee shot and spend five hours looking for the ball. You need your coach. He or she is as important in a blind golf game as the golfer.”
“He called me and said, ‘will you go to Portland, Ore. with me and be my coach?’ I said, ‘Tim, I love you like a brother but I won’t carry no man’s clubs! Then he said, ‘I said coach, not caddy!’” joked Carey Dean, Tim’s coach of nine years.
“Since he doesn’t see so well, there are a lot of things he doesn’t need to know about so I fib a lot,” Carey jokingly continued. When you meet this full-of-personality pair, it’s easy to understand why they won the Most Spirited Team Award when competing in their first tournament!
Like a fraternity, these brothers and sisters of blind golf are one close-knit community. Put them on the green against each other, and it’s game on.
“When we step on the first tee, all bets are off. I want to beat you bad!” Tim said. “But when we walk off the 18th green, we fight each other to see who buys the first round!”
Tim is no stranger to Ridge Top, a golf course he describes as “tough.”
“I like this course but it has some challenges. There are some open holes,” Tim explained. “You can cut some corners on the par 5’s and do some scoring, but the par 3’s will eat you alive on this course. And the par 4’s, if they’re short, have a trap in the wrong place…or maybe the right place!”
In 2011, Tim was voted the 2011 American Blind Golf Player of the Year by his peers.
“I like how we do this, the coach and player get the award,” Tim said.
You may be surprised to learn the prize for match play champion isn’t money because all funds raised – and it’s in the thousands – goes to the Wounded Warrior Project. The big prize for winning is bragging rights, along with custom hats.
Wadsworth’s tournament – the McCulloch Memorial – is in honor of the late Dennis McCulloch, a man who accomplished much for the blind and visually impaired. Denny, as he was known, died from cancer in May of 2006.
“His speech will bring tears to your eyes,” Tim said. “When he find out he had cancer, doctors gave him support group numbers but he didn’t want them. The doctors said that’s typical, but Denny explained he already had the best support group: his blind golfers. He said, ‘I make one phone call and in a half hour, they’re all there waiting to see what they can do to help or meet my needs.’ We have a truly special camaraderie.”
The McCulloch Memorial kicks off Wednesday at Ridge Top Golf Course in Wadsworth with a 10:20 a.m. shotgun start on the back nine.
To learn more about Ohio Blind Golf: http://ohioblindgolf.com/
For more information about the Wounded Warrior Project: http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/
