Blind golf and single-length clubs
Darren Taylor is blind. He is learning to play golf using single-length clubs. These have been donated to the Western Australian Blind Golf Association by Cobra Puma Golf.
One-Length clubs have the same lie angle and shaft, just different lofts. The benchmark length is that of a 7-iron.
The main advantage of single-length clubs for Blind and Low-Vision golfers is that the golf ball is always the same distance from their toe-line. This allows for one setup position. In a conventional set as the length of the clubs changes so does the golf ball and setup position.
A second important advantage is that a visually-impaired golfer only has to learn one golf swing. There is no variation. The club follows the same path for each club. By reducing the variables, you simplify the swing.
Bryson DeChambeau is an accomplished winner on the US PGA tour. He uses Cobra One-Length irons, all built to the length of his 6-iron at 37.5inches. He explains that his one-plane swing is simply swinging your hands, arms, and club on a tilted circle from start to finish. His unique method worked for him again on golfs biggest stage the USPGA Tour where he secured his 2nd win in the Memorial in a playoff. He says it is so easy, it feels like cheating.
In his book “Golf in a Nutshell” John Jacobs describes how historically there have been two fundamentally opposed views of the golf swing. There are swingers and hitters. Sam Snead and Bobby Jones were swingers. Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmers were hitters.
Hitters reproduce the action of a boxer throwing a punch. They use leverage and good eye-hand co-ordination to deliver power to the ball. On the other hand swingers swing on an imaginary circle with their club collecting the ball on the way through.
For Blind and Low-Vision golfers there is no choice. Unable to see the ball they have to rely on a swinging motion for consistency. Centrifugal force delivers the power and distance rather than a deliberate hitting action.
Golf can be a frustrating game. For golfers with sight problems constant whiffs and mishits detract from their enjoyment and can cause them to quit. Learning to swing, rather than hit at a ball they can’t see, is the way forward.
Single-length clubs remove a number of variables in the golf swing. By simplifying the mechanics they offer all golfers, not just Blind and Low-Vision golfers, a better way to achieve consistency. This in itself will bring back their enjoyment in the game.
Darren Taylor’s golf tuition is funded by the WA Golf Foundation.
Author: Neville Walker has been caddying for Blind Golf since 1997. In 2014 his player Malcolm Elliott won the World Blind Championships.
Article from Inside Golf September 2018