And the blind shall walk

With the Special Olympics scheduled for this country in 2003, here is an example of the sort of problem which can arise for the organisers. It concerns a recent Special Olympics golf tournament in Southern California, where a 37-year-old blind entrant was denied a buggy.

In making the ruling, the organisers of the tournament stated that walking was an integral part of the game and that riding in a buggy constituted an unfair advantage. According to a Special Olympics spokesman, local decisions are made on individual requests. And from what I've observed at a tournament here, blind golfers walk in this country. But extraordinary as it may seem to the able-bodied among us, there are degrees of disability in golf - even for the blind.