Blind golfer hits his first hole-in-one after 36 years
A GOLFER who only took up the sport when he was registered blind has hit his first hole-in-one – after 36 years of trying.
Gerry Kelly was diagnosed with Stargards disease – a progressive disease of the retina – in 1971 and was registered blind in 1980.
Rather than let his blindness define him, inspirational Mr Kelly decided to throw himself into the game of golf – even though he’d never picked up a club before.
And now, at the age of 75, he has finally notched a hole-in-one.
It’s an achievement for which the odds are an estimated 12,500 to 1 – even for a fully sighted golfer.
Yet modest Mr Kelly, who achieved the feat at Montrose Links in Angus with a six iron, shrugs off praise and insists his loyal wife Mary should take the credit.
For it’s Mrs Kelly, 70, who takes him to play, directs his aim on each shot and spots where the ball lands on the course. Mr Kelly, from Troon, said: “We walk on to the tee and I have the club across my chest. Mary takes hold of the club and then directs me where to hit the ball.
“She then puts the club behind the ball and then gives me a rough idea of the distance of the shot I’m attempting.
“Once I hit the shot, Mary will watch its flight through the air and spots where it lands for me. If I’m in a hazard such as a bunker, her help is really valuable to me as obviously I can’t tell where I am aiming.
“When we get on to the green, Mary will tell me the rough distance to the hole and will judge the line I should putt.
“She then places my putter behind the ball again and I take the shot. Then we just repeat this process for all 18 holes.”
Mr Kelly, a member of the Troon Welbeck club, finally realised his dream of getting a hole-in-one while playing the par three 12th hole at the Grampian Blind Golf Classic.
His family are praise for achievement.
Mrs Kelly said: “Golf gave Gerry something to put his heart and soul into after he retired and it has been an amazing journey for him.
“I only hope there are more visually impaired people who want to take up the sport and keep going.
“To see him get a hole-inone after all these years was a little bit special.” full of his