As a younger man with sight, Leo Le Blanc of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada was an avid golfer who actually won several tournaments. But as he got older, he began to lose his eyesight. With eye problems he was forced to retire in his early 60s and by 65 had lost most of his sight. Today he retains only about five percent of his sight.
In the beginning he thought he might have to give up playing his favorite sport, but that did not prove to be so.
Naturally, he has a little difficulty seeing where the hole on the golf course is located. But his wife, Lisele, accompanies him when he plays. While she does not golf herself, she walks with him and points him in the right direction. Then she tells him about how far away he is from the hole. After he swings she walks him to where his ball landed so he can take another shot.
"He is absolutely amazing to watch," said golfing friend, Carol Cazer of South Dakota. "Last year he won low putt more than anyone else in the group." The group she referred to is a group of Winter Texans from Texan Mobile Park in McAllen who play twice a week at the Shary Golf Course.
The Winter Texan Times asked him how he did it. Because he had played so much before losing his sight, he had learned how hard he had to swing to get the ball where it was going. Although he does not have scores as low as he used to, which he sometimes finds frustrating, he still enjoys playing the game for exercise and to be with his friends.
"There are three categories of blind," Leo informed me. B-3 includes those who are legally blind and cannot drive a car or read but they can still see. B-2 includes those who have five percent or less of their sight. This is Leo’s category. B-1 is for those who are totally blind.
The tournament is conducted in just the way Leo plays with his wife. Each player has someone to guide him or her and point him or her toward the hole, tell them about how far away it is, and warn them of hazards.
Lisele said she enjoys being Leo’s eyes on the golf course. She gets her exercise by helping him play and has learned just what to say to help him get the ball into the hole of each green.
“Many blind people play golf,” Leo stated, saying there are many golf tournaments for the blind across the United States and Canada. He had played in several of them including the World Blind Golf Tournament held at Lake Manitoba.
Leo is modest about his ability to play golf. "A lot of golfers have some kind of handicap," he states. "I just happen to be blind."