The Wednesday Match Play Podcast, brought to you by Eden Mill St Andrews · Golf Radio Network

Andy Gilford, England & Wales Blind Golf | Episode No. 479

·1 hr 1 min·4 clips

At TPC Sawgrass, blind golfers hit the 17th green on a course they have never seen.

1. The Wednesday Match Play Podcast with Eden Mill St Andrews centers on Andy Gilford and England and Wales Blind Golf. 2. Andy Gilford speaks as a visually impaired golfer and charity member, while Ricky Potts hosts the conversation and asks how blind golf works. 3. The episode asks what blind golf is, who can play it, and how the charity keeps it accessible. 4. Andy says 95% of people registered as legally blind have some sight, and he says he has 5% peripheral vision. 5. He says his sight loss was picked up in mainstream school because he could not see the blackboard, and he says he fell behind in class. 6. Andy says he found golf through friends in his village, first caddied for them, and then received help lining up shots. 7. He says hearing the ball land is one of the few ways he can experience a shot, and he says he used to read greens with his feet as a junior. 8. He describes England and Wales Blind Golf as a 40-year-old charity for people with severe sight loss. 9. He says the charity runs social and competitive golf for children through an 88-year-old member, and he says guides are essential because he cannot play alone. 10. He says the social side matters because members can talk with people on the same sight-loss journey and learn from each other. 11. Andy says blind golf is played around the world, and he mentions Bob Banks and American blind golf. 12. He says the Blind Ryder Cup is played every two years between North America and the rest of the world, and he says the TPC Sawgrass edition was a special experience. 13. He says the TPC Sawgrass format used foursomes on the Dye Course and singles on the championship course, with a practice round on the championship course. 14. He says a young player named Tyler and Tyler’s granddad George made the trip especially memorable for him. 15. He says the practice-round group got to play the 17th hole, and he says blind golfers hitting that green was difficult to comprehend. 16. Andy says the British Blind Masters is a key end-of-season event, and he says Stuart Hutchinson won both the British Open and the British Masters in the same year. 17. The tone is practical and explanatory, with Ricky Potts asking direct questions and Andy answering in long, detailed explanations. 18. The format is a standard interview with examples from school, junior golf, international events, and charity operations. 19. Listeners interested in adaptive sport, charity golf, and accessibility. 20. Listeners wanting a quick entertainment segment without social-impact focus.

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