Defending champion Grégory Bourdy took part in a Blind and Disabled Golf Clinic on the eve of the ISPS Handa Wales Open, and admitted it was a humbling experience to watch players with disabilities hit the ball so well.
Bourdy joined TV presenters Dan Walker and Gethin Jones on the practice range, where they attempted to hit shots with a blindfold on and with a long club designed for people with upper body disabilities, who tuck the shaft under one arm.
“It was a great experience,” Bourdy said. “It’s very difficult to hit good shots with the long club, and with the blindfold also. It is always nice to spend some time with these guys, to see them doing so well with this.
“It is very different. When you approach the ball, and then you close your eyes by yourself, you can hit normal shots, maybe all the time. But it is different when a guy is guiding you there, and you don’t know if you are really addressing the ball properly. It’s another world. You have to trust the guy who is in charge of you and maybe that’s why it’s more difficult to do a good shot.
“It is amazing that these guys can hit it so well with a long club. I missed the ball three times in a row and with the last go, I only just hit it.”
ISPS was founded by Japanese philanthropist Dr Haruhisa Handa in 2006 to support charitable causes throughout the sporting world. ISPS’s support for golf is founded in its belief in the “power of sport” and it has fostered partnerships with golf governing bodies worldwide to help develop the game at every level and promote blind and disabled golf.
ISPS’s heritage in supporting blind and disabled golf and Dr Handa’s interest and philanthropic contribution in golf has formed the foundation of its wider mission for golf to become a Paralympic sport.”
