Speaker 1:
Tee up. It's time for the Blind Golf Canada Podcast.

Gerry Nelson:
Hello everyone. And welcome back to the Blind Golf Canada Podcast. You can tell already it's new, it's different. Your hosts have not changed. My name is Gerry Nelson. I'm president of Blind Golf Canada, blind golfer as well. And my fellow blind golfer and buddy Mr. Darren Douma.

Darren Douma:
Hi Gerry. How's it going?

Gerry Nelson:
Good. Good. Good to be back.

Darren Douma:
Nice to be back in golf and back to our podcast.

Gerry Nelson:
It has been a long time coming. Hasn't it?

Darren Douma:
Way too long. Way too long.

Gerry Nelson:
Darren, what are your positions with blind golf and its associations in Canada?

Darren Douma:
I'm VP of admin with Blind Golf Canada, as well as the president of the Western Canadian Blind Golf Association.

Gerry Nelson:
Awesome. And I can attest to what you do for blind golf and its golfers in Canada each and every day throughout the year, so it's a pleasure to be back working with you, buddy.

Darren Douma:
Here here. The same.

Gerry Nelson:
Very excited about our new relationship with AMI. Why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about that?

Darren Douma:
Yes. We're partnering up with AMI in this podcast format video, and AMI is one of our big proud sponsors that we're glad to have on board with us. And in addition to AMI, I'll just reach out to our other sponsors, CNIB Foundation and the Canadian Council of the Blind and all of our Lions Clubs across Canada and, last but not least, ISPS Handa.

Gerry Nelson:
And of course, as we go from tournament to tournament throughout each province, each city, the local volunteers, the businesses, the local sponsorship, any of the sponsors for that matter, we just couldn't do it without them. Could we?

Darren Douma:
Absolutely not. And that's why we're here. And we're thankful. And especially to the Greens that Renton here in Simcoe, Ontario, you can see behind us this beautiful green lush grass, and you can hear the nice pond in behind us and a nice creek there. We might not like that when we're golfing, but we certainly appreciate its beauty right now, right behind us.

Gerry Nelson:
Oh, it's absolutely awesome. And a nice breeze is blowing. We've got birds. And Darren alluded to the course and the setting behind us. Also what's new with AMI is the fact that people will notice that we've now gone to a video format as well as our audio format, and it'll be a lot easier to access our podcast on YouTube as well as our regular podcast carriers. Won't it?

Darren Douma:
Absolutely. So you won't miss a Blind Golf Canada Podcast.

Gerry Nelson:
Well, let's jump into this a little bit. As you mentioned, Darren, we are at the Green at Renton and beautiful, I'll say somewhat historic Simcoe, Ontario, what a lovely setting. And we couldn't be more thrilled to be here, but let's back it up for a second. We'll talk more about the Greens at Renton, the Canadian Open, that sort of thing, probably in our next podcast. But blind golf in Canada, why do we do this, Darren, and who are the people that we do it with and do it for?

Darren Douma:
Well, anybody can golf. And despite our disabilities, we have all sorts of ability and we can still play. And this game brings us together. We can still showcase our ability out there, participate with one another recreationally, competitively. It brings us together as a blind golf family.

Gerry Nelson:
It sure does. Doesn't it? And you mentioned something vitally important when you mentioned the motto of Blind Golf Canada is you can still play. And that is in fact true. It doesn't matter if you have never had eyesight before, if you lost your sight as a child, a young adult, as I did and you did, Darren, a senior, anybody can play this game. And if you are listening or viewing now our podcast, perhaps for the first time, you are more than welcome to come out. You're not obligated to play tournament golf immediately, or anytime at all, for that matter. We just want you to come out experience the pleasures and fun of playing blind golf, and you come out, we often refer to blind golf in Canada as the biggest peer support group going. And it really is that for the golfers, their guides, their families. It really is like a big family out here. Isn't it?

Darren Douma:
Yeah, absolutely. Can you explain a little bit of how you got into the blind golf because there's people today that don't know it exists, how did you go get into it?

Gerry Nelson:
Well-

Darren Douma:
How did it come about?

Gerry Nelson:
I became a blind golfer actually in 1990 when I lost... after I lost my eyesight in 1988, and I was swinging a club and hitting balls at a blind sports symposium, couple of blind golfers saw me quote, unquote, and word got around and there just happened to be a guide looking for a golfer. We hooked up and here I am 32 years later still doing it, so... And what about you? How did you find out about blind golf?

Darren Douma:
I just got introduced to it about 10 years ago out in Port Alberni, BC, a gentleman with BC Blind Sports got me involved, and I knew nothing about it. And it certainly saved my life. I golfed my entire life, but my vision was deteriorating and I almost gave it up. And then I was introduced to blind golf and all you guys out there, and I've been carrying on with it for the last 10 years of Blind Golf Canada's existence. So it certainly saved my life.

Gerry Nelson:
I have to say it really did the same for me, got me up and going again. And as I like to say, a horrible panic of me back in the swing of things. But, Darren, for our new listeners and for people that aren't real familiar with blind golf, what is it exactly and how is it different in terms of playing the game, the rules of golf, things like that?

Darren Douma:
Well, we, because of our vision loss, we require coaches, sight coaches. So we rely on them on and off the golf course and we work with them, they help us. And so we're out there with them. And we have slight modifications to the rules of golf to accommodate us in blind golf and in other paragolf sports. And therefore we have slight modifications, but we still follow the same rules that everybody else does out there.

Gerry Nelson:
Hit the same slices, the same duck hooks, leave the same put short.

Darren Douma:
Three puts, you name it.

Gerry Nelson:
Three puts, all of the same stuff that sighted golfers do, but we do also from time to time hit that long drive, sink those long puts, and the fun is out there to be had. Isn't it?

Darren Douma:
Absolutely, no different than any other golfer out there. So yeah, that's why we encourage everybody to come out and play, whether it's recreationally or competitively, come and join us.

Gerry Nelson:
And there's certainly no age limitations or restrictions or anything like that, is there?

Darren Douma:
No. And we're encouraging youth to come out in blind golf and in golf in general, we want to see more youth out here.

Gerry Nelson:
And lady golfers as well.

Darren Douma:
Yep.

Gerry Nelson:
We need more women golfers.

Darren Douma:
We have a few ladies playing, but we can certainly see a lot more and we encourage you to come out. We welcome everybody out here. Everybody.

Gerry Nelson:
So, Darren, we won't delve too deeply into where else blind golf is played around the world, but it is played internationally. But here in Canada, you live out in British Columbia, one of our fellow golfers, Boyde Stewart, lives out in Nova Scotia, so it really and truly is a nationwide sport and hobby and source of fun for all the blind golfers that want to partake. Isn't it?

Darren Douma:
Absolutely. We have golfers from coast to coast and we have a good membership of close to 60 people, and we want to continue growing that across Canada.

Gerry Nelson:
Yeah, for sure. And we have our tournaments across the country. We have our regions, the Western Canadian Blind Golf Association, the OVIG provincial association for Ontario Vision Impaired Golfers, excuse me, Nova Scotia Blind Golf Association. So yeah, we are nationwide. We'd like to get a little more into Quebec. We do have some golfers from Quebec here at the tournament this week.

Darren Douma:
Yes.

Gerry Nelson:
But we're always looking to grow the game anywhere and everywhere that we can. So we've talked about who, we've talked about what blind golf is, where we play and when. Now, being that we are Canadians all across the country, our season is a little bit limited as far as when we can play. Usually spring to late fall, right?

Darren Douma:
Correct. Yes. We don't have the luxury as some other places around the world where we can play year round or 10 months. So we have a window of five to eight months in Canada to play depending on where you're located.

Gerry Nelson:
Now, people do have the choice, the snowbirds, if you will, there are tournaments in warmer climates, but they, too, are usually more in the summer months moreso than the winter months. It seems everybody almost wants to put down the clubs or play recreational golf in the winter months. And that's okay. We don't have to play competitive golf 12 months of the year. We do need a break. But, Darren, before we skip on out of here, we'll talk about, in a minute, we'll talk about why we do this and the benefits. We talked about the benefits before and what it brings to people. But you said that you've been playing for 10 years now.

Darren Douma:
Yep.

Gerry Nelson:
Okay.

Darren Douma:
10 short years.

Gerry Nelson:
10 short years, but I'm assuming 10 happy and fulfilling short years.

Darren Douma:
Absolutely. It feels like it's been 50, but 10 great years already, experiencing a lot of great things coming out of blind golf, meeting all the people in my travels, in Canada, abroad. And that's what we all get to experience that brings us all together. And memories. So many memories already, so...

Gerry Nelson:
You know what is really crazy? I've been playing competitively for 31 years now and just playing blind golf totally for, I think 32. And it seems for me that it's gone by so fast. And I think about all the people that I've met, the places that I've been and the tournaments that I've been to, the friends that I have made, and the crazy ironic thing is none of this ever would've happened had I not lost my eyesight.

Gerry Nelson:
Now, I'm not suggesting for a second that people go out and lose their eyesight so you can play golf and join up with us in blind golf, but if there's ever a silver lining in a cloud to be had, I think blind golf is truly one of those things because I never went anywhere when I could see, and I've been halfway around the world multiple times as a blind golfer. And I know what it has done for me as a person, how it's enhanced my life. And before I recently retired, I said that I had to work to pay my golf bills. And essentially that's been true for almost 30, 31 years.

Darren Douma:
Who's influenced you or brought you into the game? Who's been our influencer for blind golf from the beginning of Blind Golf Canada.

Gerry Nelson:
Well, I remember back in those days, around 1990/91, my first coach became my first coach, Dick Aiken. He was a member of the Saskatoon Lions Club, and the Lions, as you know, Darren, have played a huge role in blind golf over the years throughout Canada. Some of the premier golfers at that time across the country, from down here in Ontario were Claude Pattemore, Nick Genovesi, who we will be paying tribute to Nick at our windup banquet here on Friday night, and moving west... there were more golfers in Ontario as well, but Nick and Claude were fairly prominent back in those days. They really paved the way in Canada for guys like you and me to be able to play blind golf the way we do. Moving out west, I was very new to the game, but there were guys like Otto Huber, Dave Wall, Chuck Koepke, there was John Eli in Manitoba was very prominent. Alberta. There were not many at the time in Alberta, and BC was also a little bit lacking back in the early days, but fortunately we were able to sustain ourselves to get to the point where we are today.

Gerry Nelson:
Before I ever came along, blind golf has been around unofficially since many of the veterans came back from World War II. Veterans that had eye injuries and were totally blinded and with the help of CNIB were taken out and either resumed the game of golf or were introduced to it. And some kept playing, some did not, but blind golf never really went away. The Western Canadian Blind Golf Association has been in place, I do believe since the late 1960s, early '70s. The Ontario Blind Golf Association before it became OVIG, the same, probably in the '70, the Ontario Blind Golf Association was an operation. Those were the two main blind golf bodies in Canada.

Gerry Nelson:
And as guys like you and me came along and just prior to you joining up, there was a now famous blind golfer from Truro, Nova Scotia, who I'm very happy and proud to call my friend as do many others, by the name of Brian MacLeod. And Brian, with the help of myself and a few others, formed Blind Golf Canada in 2012. So we're celebrating 10 years of the new and current Blind Golf Canada Association. And as you know, tournaments have been around, some of them forever. The Western Canadian moves around between the four western provinces, OVIG has a series of events that they move around the province of Ontario every summer, and since 90... or sorry, 2022, the Canadian Open Championship has been moved around on a three year cycle, all across Canada, starting in the west, going to Ontario, moving out to the Maritimes and then going back to the west.

Gerry Nelson:
And as I said, some of the tournaments have been around for a while. The very first Canadian Open was organized and hosted by myself in Saskatoon in 1997. And I'm very happy to say 25 beautiful years of blind golf in Canada later, we are celebrating our 25th anniversary here at the Greens of Renton. So, we're getting a little better organized, a little more formal, if you will. There's still a long way to go, but whether it's recreational or competitively or both, I'm so happy to say that blind golf is going strong in Canada. And thanks to you, the viewers and the volunteers, the guides, the coaches, the players, we are only continuing to grow stronger and stronger by the month.

Gerry Nelson:
I've been to numerous worldwide golf championships, including the two here in Canada. The first one was held in Winnipeg in the year 2002, I believe. And it was a fantastic event hosted by Denny McCullough, a blind golfer and resident of Winnipeg. And also in 2012, the Canadian Open was held in conjunction with the World Blind Golf Championships in Truro, Nova Scotia, hosted of course by our late friend, Brian MacLeod. And that, too, was an absolutely phenomenal event. So I'm happy to say that the field of golfers that we produce as Canadians, our own members can compete anytime and anywhere with other blind golfers around the world. But in terms of hosting tournaments, Darren, you yourself have hosted a Vision Cup out in British Columbia, as well as numerous Canadian Opens and Westerns and provincial tournaments. We really take a backseat to no one else around the world in terms of hosting tournaments. I think it's almost getting to be time that we took a crack at another big one, like a Vision Cup or a World Championships, but that's a conversation we'll save for another podcast.

Gerry Nelson:
Now, Darren, we know that blind golf does require the aid of a sight coach or a guide, whatever we want to refer them as. I know you being a partially sighted golfer, you utilize your coach or guide a little bit differently than I would mind, but why don't you tell our viewers and listeners just on a typical golf hole, tee box to green, what would your coach do for you?

Darren Douma:
Okay, good. That's a good question. My coach, I'm a B3 golfer with about 10% vision. So I rely on my coach to, at this point in time, line up my club head with the ball so it's square, and just align me, my shoulders and body to my target line out in the fairway, and just to kind of describe if there's a tree in the background that I could possibly see to get my alignment to, say the fairway, if it's a dog leg, whether or not I will hit that corner of the dog leg, and if I can see that tree or whatever in the background, pick it up, that's my target. And then the same from that shot to the green, picking something in behind the green where the flag is. So a lot less work for me versus you, but I need them to give me a lot of information as far as alignment.

Gerry Nelson:
You're still taking it over the corner of dog legs, are you?

Darren Douma:
Yeah, well, depends if I'm hooking or pulling it or pushing it or whatever. So depending on the day, the coach has to determine how I'm hitting the ball and then line me up accordingly. Sometimes they got to aim me a little bit more left based on that, too, so...

Gerry Nelson:
And I think that would go for any coach given whatever level of sight your golfer has or doesn't have. The coach has to determine, get an idea how you're playing that day. Are you hitting the ball well, maybe not so well. Maybe it's going to be a really good day, perhaps you don't really have it today. So a lot is on the shoulders of the coach. Isn't it?

Darren Douma:
Yeah. And I notice that with our B1 golfers, such as yourself, your coach has to do a lot more work, not just where you're hitting the ball, but how he has to take care of you and set you up. So maybe you can tell our listeners.

Gerry Nelson:
That's something that I don't think people, sighted people really understand or appreciate. My coach is helping me, whether we're at a tournament or at home, from the time he picks me up at my house, guides me to the car, gets me out to the golf course, gets me into the cart, onto the driving range or the first tee box, whatever it may be. But yeah, you're right, Darren, Chris, my guide does a lot for me.

Gerry Nelson:
Let's say we are about to tee off. We'll discuss the yardage on the hole. And I know what clubs to pull for certain yardages. And if it's par four or par five, most of the time I'm pulling a driver. So then he has to tee up the ball to the height that I like and prefer and hit it the best at. There's not necessarily any set height requirements or anything like that. Some guys like it lower, som guys like it higher. He, like you, has to align me using my legs, or my feet and my shoulders, rather, in a parallel line going down the freeway... hopefully not the freeway, the fairway aimed at the flag stick. Okay?

Gerry Nelson:
Now, he won't physically manipulate me. He'll just tell me open, I move a little bit to the left, close, maybe a little bit to the right, okay good, right there. And he'll say good. I'll say good. He'll back up and say good, and then I swing and hit the ball. And we drive down and do it all over again with the assistance of a GPS of some sort. I use the GolfBuddy that clips to my hat. It will give us a yardage and we go through the same process all over again.

Gerry Nelson:
Unlike you, I'm no longer able to carry the corner most dog legs, so we have to play out to the corner and then get that as direct a possible path into the green and the pin. But we'll get a yardage, we'll decide what club we're going to hit, and then, as I said, we go repeat the process. He'll set the club down behind the ball. I move into said club while he's holding it steady. And then he'll align my feet and the rest of my body follows as a result. He'll back up and say okay. I'll give a nod and say okay. And he says yeah, and I let it go. And hopefully, depending on the length of the hole, it's somewhere on the fairway, the front of the green, if not on the green.

Gerry Nelson:
And then putting. Putting is pretty unique because everybody does it slightly different that I've noticed. What Chris and I do, we will get a distance, we will both pace it off together. Chris is counting and I'm determining if the slope, if there is any, is going to be uphill or downhill, maybe there's a slight right to left slope or left to right slope. And we determine all of that and then Chris is the eyes of the operation. He has to line that putt up so that if I hit it the correct distance and wait, it's going to drop in the hole or be somewhere very close to it. So as you can appreciate, listeners, it's not a hard job, but it's a very detailed and involved job for the coach or a guide. Would you not agree, Darren?

Darren Douma:
Absolutely. We put our coaches through a lot and we certainly owe them a lot and appreciate their being out there with us. We couldn't do it without them, so-

Gerry Nelson:
Yeah.

Darren Douma:
And sounds like your coach has a lot of work.

Gerry Nelson:
Absolutely.

Darren Douma:
On his knees a lot and crouching down. They do a lot for us.

Gerry Nelson:
Now, before we wrap up and get out of here, I want to ask you the question that I get asked a lot. You played golf before you lost your eyesight. You play it now. Why do you still love the game? What is it about the game of golf that gets you up out of bed every morning and heading for the golf course?

Darren Douma:
I love to be outdoors. I love the golf course. It's tranquil and beautiful, but I love the game itself. It's challenging. And it challenged me when I had vision. It challenges me now with low vision. I see how it challenges others with no vision. And I appreciate what you do when you go out there and play, and it inspires me, even with my vision loss, what you guys do out there. I love that about the game and we can all do it. And it's great to get together with people out there, it's a social game and it just brings us all together and challenges us.

Gerry Nelson:
And in addition to everything that you've just mentioned, there's one thing I need to say that makes me love the game of golf. As you know, I don't have any sight at all, but when I hit a good shot, be it with a driver or a wedge or a putter, it feels so good off the face of the club, so much so to the point that you don't even really feel it, do you?

Darren Douma:
No. It-

Gerry Nelson:
And you hit one or two of those in around and you know for sure you're coming back tomorrow to play.

Darren Douma:
Yeah.

Gerry Nelson:
Aren't you?

Darren Douma:
It brings you back. Yeah. You want to keep doing that and it's a great feeling. Yeah.

Gerry Nelson:
And that, everyone, is why we play this wonderful game of blind golf. We hope you'll tune in for the next episode. Thanks so much to AMI and our other sponsors, Darren. And we'll see you next time on the Blind Golf Canada Podcast.

Speaker 1:
This has been the Blind Golf Canada Podcast. Don't forget to subscribe on YouTube and your favorite podcast platforms. Thanks for tuning in.