Whaleback tees up inclusivity
Posted on: 2 September
Whaleback Golf Course will proudly champion inclusivity when it hosts two national level tournaments next month: the Blind Golf Australia National Stableford Championship (15-16 September) and the West Coast Blind & Inclusive Golf Championship (18-19 September).
Both events cater for golfers with visual impairments and/or physical, sensory or intellectual disabilities, and attract players from across Australia.
City of Canning Mayor Patrick Hall said he was proud to welcome the events to Whaleback Golf Course.
“We are delighted to be hosting these championships, which showcase the City’s longstanding commitment to the value of inclusivity,” Mayor Hall said.
“These championships highlight the skill, determination and sportsmanship of blind and inclusive golfers, and remind us that golf is a sport where everyone can compete on equal footing. It is fantastic to see players of all abilities enjoying the same course, facing the same challenges, and sharing in everything the sport has to offer.”
Blind golfers play in one of four classifications, based on their levels of vision impairment, and are assisted by a sighted caddie who describes the hole, helps with club selection, aligns the golfer and ensures that the clubhead is positioned directly behind the ball. Golfers then take on the course the same way as any other player. The only concession allowed under the rules of golf is that they may ground their club in the bunker.
“Without our caddies, we would not be able to play golf,” said Glenn Niciejewski, a fully blind golfer and last year’s B1 champion in the WA Blind Golf Open. “We need complete trust and understanding because they are our eyes.”
Niciejewski, who has claimed titles in Victoria, South Australia and Queensland over the past year, is looking forward to returning to Whaleback to defend his B1 title. He explained that the course is well suited to visually impaired and inclusive golfers.
“It’s nicely set up for blind golfers because it is not too long or hilly, and has wide fairways with not too much trouble either side,” he says. “The greens provide the main protection here at Whaleback, because they have lots of contours and can be quite quick.”
Last year, it was Queenslander Stephen Art, a B4 category blind golfer, who claimed a Western Australian double by winning the overall competitions in both the West Coast Blind & Inclusive Golf Championship, played at Wembley Golf Course, and the BLK Cabinets WA Blind Golf Open, played at Whaleback. He’ll return to defend his titles against strong fields of talented and determined golfers.