Sight Scotland Veterans recently organised a trip to TopGolf in Glasgow; giving a group of a blind and partially sighted veterans the opportunity to try out the high-tech golf experience.
A group of 15 veterans attended the TopGolf event, from both the charity’s Linburn Centre in West Lothian and its Hawkhead Centre in Paisely. Some of them were trying golf for the first time, others were reconnecting with a passion they thought they could no longer do.
David Macleod, a Sporting and Partnerships Worker at Sight Scotland Veterans, who organised the event, comments: “While golf is traditionally a visual sport, it also relies heavily on tactile and auditory cues, so it is a good sport for blind and partially sighted people to take part in. TopGolf also takes out the walking aspect for our veterans, many of whom are older. It was great to see the joy on their faces, some of our veterans had never played golf before and some had been forced to give it up due to their eye conditions; it was amazing to see them reconnect with a passion they thought they had lost.
“The sounds of chatter and laughter echoed around the playing area, all our veterans had a go, to differing degrees of success I must admit, but all of them seemed to enjoy it and said they would love to go back. We also had representatives from Blind Golf Scotland come along. I must thank TopGolf Glasgow for their hospitality, they did everything they could to make the event as accessible and enjoyable for our veterans. If any of our veterans are interested in another TopGolf event, please get in touch as we would love to do this again.”
Jim Tobin, an RAF veteran, comments: “I hadn’t played golf in 30 years because of my health and sight, but this gave me the opportunity to play again which was great and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Jason Duncan, Veterans Community Lead, adds: “Sport is so good for our veterans both mentally and physically. We are putting on lots of sporting events all over scotland, including bowling, archery, golf, climbing, sailing, even curling; anyone who is interested in taking part should contact our information line.”
TopGolf offers a discount for veterans who would like to go along on their own, or with friends and family.
For more information please visit sightscotlandveterans.org.uk or call our information line on 0800 035 6409.