Blind Information

Every seven minutes, someone in America will become blind or visually impaired.

You, or one of your friends may be among the more than 10 million people in North America who are visually impaired, and you know how important it is to find ways to accomplish routine daily tasks. These are the skills that enable you to:

•  Live independently and productively

•  Read and write

•  Raise a family

•  Have a social life

• Travel

• Maintain a career—or launch a new one

• Enjoy recreational sports and games - LIKE GOLF!

......In short, lead a normal life

These are goals that can be achieved. With the help of specially trained rehabilitation and mobility specialists, low-vision specialists, and vision rehabilitation therapists, or a guide dog provided by organizations like LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND® a visually impaired person can learn the essential skills for living with vision loss.

So what is the definition of blindness: Well, it is the lack of vision, or a loss of vision that cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. Blindness may be partial, with very limited vision, or complete, with no perception of light. People with vision worse than 20/200, or a field of vision of less than 20 degrees in the better eye, are considered legally blind in most states in the U.S.

Today, there are over 1,100,000 people that are legally blind in the US.  Blindness affects about 1 in 247 in the USA. Worldwide, about 42,000,000 people are blind.   Although estimates vary, there are approximately 10 million blind and visually impaired people in the United States.

How many visually impaired and blind people use dog guides to get around?

Just over 7,000 Americans use dog guides. Annually, approximately 1,500 individuals graduate from a dog-guide user program.

Are there categories of blindness? 

Yes there is!  The World Health Organization (WHO) defines impaired vision in five categories:

• Low vision 1 is a best corrected visual acuity of 20/70.
• Low vision 2 starts at 20/200.
• Blindness 3 is below 20/400.
• Blindness 4 is worse than 5/300
• Blindness 5 is no light perception at all.

Do we use these categories in golf? 

Yes! These categories are accepted and recognized by the International Blind Golf Association (IBGA) and the United States Blind Golf Association (USBGA).

Totally Blind Division:

B-1 No light perception, or light perception which is not functional, central or peripheral, with or without light projection, up to the inability to differentiate between a blank sheet of white paper and a sheet of white paper with a black symbol on it.

Vision Impaired Division:

B-2   From the ability to recognize the shape of a hand up to visual acuity of 20/600.

B-3   From the visual acuity above 20/600 up to visual acuity of less than 20/200.

Does a blind golfer play with different rules than the sighted?

No, not really. The only difference is a player uses a sighted coach or guide to give verbal information about each hole, help with club selection and then place the club head directly behind the ball. From then on it's down to the blind golfers' swing.

For more information, contact the following:

Leader Dogs for the Blind WEBSITE

Most Recent Quarterly Report for Leader Dogs For The Blind 

U.S.Blind Golf Association WEBSITE

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