Links of Interests

Contact American Blind Golf

Ohio Blind Golf

ABG Facebook Page

ABG Ohio Facebook Page

Sight Categories

USGA Rules Modification

Tournament Summaries

2022 Tournament Applications

June in Ohio

Nations Cup Championship (Word)

Nations Cup Championship (PDF)

October in Texas

Tournament of Champions(Word)

Tournament of Champions (PDF)

2017 National Stroke Play Championship

Submitted by Bruce & Judy Hooper

2017 National Blind Golf Championship - Fun, Fellowship, and Fund Raising

American Blind Golf’s National Blind Golf Championship this year in Texas proved to be an event of great fun, fellowship and fund raising, and we crowned three great champions.  Since 2009, the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind has been a unique partner with ABG, and each year has gotten better.  

We continue to have fun, enjoying new and old friends who come to play or coach or support our efforts.  This year there were 25 participating golfers and their coaches, with a few new faces from the U.S., Canada and Scotland.  Everyone enjoyed the festive music, art and food on the San Antonio River scene, and the Missions that are now considered one of our World Historic Sites.   

The fellowship that all of us have when we try to “motivate, inspire and serve all those who deal with the loss of sight” is unique and rewarding.  The ABG National Stroke Play tournament had a welcome dinner, two award dinners, and a fabulous raffle and charity event, all of which offer us a time to visit with others on and off the golf course.  There were 25 teams for the Fore the Blind Charity event which followed our national championship.  We met many of San Antonio’s sighted golfers.  The community sponsors for the event often return year after year to play.  They have come to understand ABG’s mission and help the vision impaired folks who live in San Antonio.  

Thanks to the donations from the San Antonio community, our fund raising has grown in volume each year.  For several years in a row, over $100,000 has been raised.  With these funds, Mike Gilliam, CEO of the San Antonio Lighthouse reported that in the last fiscal year

Twenty blind and vision impaired golfers traveled to Ohio to compete in the 9^th annual Match Play Championships of American Blind Golf.  Players from the US, Canada, and Scotland competed for the prestigious titles in each sight category.  Many of the players described the RAWIGA Golf Club as our own Merion Golf Club because even though the course is relatively short, it is a classic design that requires shot placement, approaches to small bunkered greens, and tricky putting.  You do not want to hit the ball right or left or over the greens.  The chip shots back to the crowned greens are very difficult.

Northeast Ohio has been blessed with considerable rain this year, so the course was soft, and played longer than it measured.  If you hit the ball in the rough, the grass was deep and difficult to move the ball forward.  Although rain was predicted each day, both competitive rounds were contested with no delays!

The dates have been set for next year's event.  The Fore the Blind tournament event will be played on October 16, 2013.  The American Blind Golf National Championship will be October 15 and 16, 2013.

B1 Champion  Phil Blackwell & Coach Sybil Blackwell

B2 Champion Charles Adams & Coach Carey Dean

B3 Champion Scott Aughtry & Coach Mickey Aughtry

Senior Champion Bill Forrer & Coach Steph Forrer

Lady's Champion Johanna Camarta & Coach Ron Camarta

Men's Net Champion Harry Hester & Coach Randy Nutt

B1 Champion  Mario Tobia & Coach Matt Tobia

B2 Champion Bruce Hooper & Coach Judy Hooper

B3 Champion Art Beauregard & Coach Sue Beauregard

Senior Champion Bill Forrer & Coach Steph Forrer

Overall Stableford Champion Glenn Babcock & Coach Rick Mackiewicz

For detailed results, please visit: 

B1 Champion  Mario Tobia & Coach Matt Tobia

B2 Champion Bruce Hooper & Coach Judy Hooper

B3 Champion Tim Jackson & Coach Carey Dean

Overall Stableford Champion Glenn Babcock & Coach Rick Mackiewicz

For detailed results, please visit: 

The 2010 National Championship Story

The 2010 National Open Championship was a tremendous success in all aspects of the event.  Players and coaches ventured from as far as California to Massachusetts, as well as several provinces in Canada to take part in the tournament.  Several players recorded career rounds and the competition was fierce in all three sight categories.  When all was said and done, Mario Tobia and his Coach Matt Tobia prevailed in the B1 Division, Bruce Hooper and his Coach Judy Hooper prevailed in the B2 Division, and Bruce Peterson and his Coach Jacques Courtois prevailed in the B3 Division.  

Comments from Johanna Camarta 

The ABG 2010 National Championship held in San Antonio, Texas was a great event.  Golfers enjoyed four days of golf on a great golf course with great weather.  Organizers and volunteers did a fantastic job looking after the golfers.  They covered every aspect that was required to host a blind golf tournament. The costs for the coaches playing in the practice round were even covered.

Travis and the staff at the Brackenridge golf course were helpful and professional.  The shot gun start tournament format worked out well as the golfers completed play at about the same time and we were able to socialize immediately after playing the course. Speed of play was about 5 hours because we played the "par plus two" rule.  Good thinking.  The on course volunteers were great.  There were more than enough scorekeepers and spotters, including students from the Alamo High School Golf Team.  The students were polite and helpful, and seemed to enjoy watching the blind golfers.

On a personal note, Bruce and Judy Hooper were wonderful, gracious hosts.  It was great getting together with them and seeing old friends and making new ones.  It was also encouraging to have all three sight categories represented by a female.

The Holiday Inn was a perfect hotel location just minutes from the River Walk, the Alamo site and great food.  The tournament is on the top of my list for 2011!        Johanna 

Blind Children's Golf Clinic Reaches Out To Area Kids

by Stephanie Serna, KSAT 12 News Reporter

POSTED: Wednesday, October 27, 2010

 SAN ANTONIO -- For many, the sport of golf is hard enough, but on Wednesday, more than 30 kids played the sport without the sense of sight at the Blind Children's Golf Clinic on Wednesday.

The annual event is sponsored by the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind.

"When you see them hit the ball and their face lights up, it means everything," said Nancy Lipton, a spokesperson for the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind. "It's just a life lesson that isn't always learned in the classroom. We want these kids to try other sports not just golf."

Local PGA professionals and First Tee staff served as instructors on Wednesday, as well as American Blind Golf National Championship winner Bruce Hooper.

"We're showing them the golf stroke. We have excellent instructors out here," said Hooper. "Hopefully, someone will take up the game for recreation. So that's why we're doing it, for the kids."

Wednesday was Daniel Ingraham's second year at the Blind Children's Golf Clinic. He said that he may continue to the sport when he gets older

"I'm thinking of being a construction worker or something, but I might grow up to play golf, too," said Ingraham.

The San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind started the clinic nine years ago with just four kids. Now they have more than 30 participants and Lipton said they are hoping by next year, they can reach out to even more kids.

2010McCulloch Cup

The Ryder Cup of Blind Golf

Since 2005 the Rittman Lions Club in conjunction with American Blind Golf, has hosted the North American Match Play Championships of Blind & Vision- Impaired Golf.  The tournament was renamed the Dennis McCulloch Memorial Match Play Championships in 2006 to honor Denny McCulloch, a former World Champion B2 player from Canada.  A new tradition began in 2010...  In partnership with our fellow golfers from Canada, the first McCulloch Memorial Cup, the Ryder Cup of Blind Golf, was held.  Plans to play for the Cup every three years are being finalized.  Tentative plans for 2013 are being formulated and the Cup will be contested in Canada.  The venue will be announced sometime in 2012.

Adaptive Technology  Scholarships & FFB Donations

The charitable nature of the event continued and more funds were raised for the tournament's major beneficiaries.  Once again area students were awarded Adaptive Technology Scholarships.  This year five more students benefited.  Over the history of the event 23 students have been granted almost $25,000 worth of assistive software and hardware products.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness also received a donation from the monies raised on the tournaments behalf.  Combined with a match from FFB CEO Gordon Gund, the Foundation received a total of $3,000 check from the Rittman Lions.  Over the history of the Ohio Tournament, the total donations given to the Foundation Fighting Blindness total $6,000!

Photos from the McCulloch Cup

Canada stormed out to a significant lead after the first day of singles matches, scoring seven out of ten points.  The results were as follows:

The second day of the competition featured a scramble format pitting a team of 2 players from the US against 2 players from Canada.  The US Team stormed back to draw within 1 point, winning 4 out of 5 points.  The results were as follows:

The final day of the competition featured a scramble format pitting a team of 2 players from the US against 2 players from Canada.  The competition was closely contested; but in the end, the Canadian Team prevailed winning 3 of the 5 total points.  The results were as follows: