England & Wales Blind Golf this week hosts the ISPS Handa British Open Blind Golf Championships at Belton Woods Golf and Spa in Lincolnshire, England.
Starting today [Monday] July 10th and running until Wednesday July 12th, the tournament is medal play with players and guides traveling from across the world to compete in the prestigious event.
This week’s tournament is sure to inspire a number of people going through sight loss to get into the game of golf. The sport plays a huge part in overcoming mental health issues whilst also keeping people active.
The event couldn’t happen without the help of the volunteers who guide the players around, gleaning as much satisfaction from the golf as the players competing.
Blind Golf is a special format for forging friendships through the ancient club and ball game, creating an immense sense of community and providing another fitting example of how golf truly is a game for all.
There are 3 categories for blind golf – B1 totally blind, B2 less than 5% vision, and B3 less than 10% vision.
Players and their guides will travel from across the world including England, Ireland, Scotland, Austria, Netherlands Australia and Spain. The field will also include four current world champions both male and female.
According to research carried out by the RNIB in 2021, more than 2 million people are living with sight loss in the UK. Every day 250 people in the UK start to lose their sight, this is equivalent to 1 person every 6 minutes.
For more information, please visit https://ewblindgolf.co.uk/
Sight loss in numbers – Age:
- 1 per cent or 24,000 people aged 0-17
- 20 per cent or 410,000 people aged 18-64
- 20 per cent or 426,000 people aged 65-74
- 27 per cent or 569,000 people aged 75-84
- 32 per cent or 666,000 people aged 85+
Gender:
- 61 per cent or 1,280,000 females
- 39 per cent or 820,000 males
Severity:
- 64 per cent or 1,350,000 people with mild sight loss
- 22 per cent or 469,000 people with moderate sight loss
- 13 per cent or 277,000 people with severe sight loss
Causes: The main causes of sight loss among the more than two million people living with sight loss are:
- 23 per cent or 488,000 people with AMD
- 19 per cent or 394,000 people with cataract
- 5 per cent or 97,000 people with diabetic retinopathy
- 7 per cent or 151,000 people with glaucoma
- 39 per cent or 809,000 people with uncorrected refractive error
- 7 per cent or 155,000 people with other eye problem
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