For more on blind golf, go to www.blindgolf.com. For more on Hooper’s invitation to play in the international championship in Italy, and the opportunity to contribute to that trip, go to
Imagine looking through reading glasses with Vaseline smeared in the center of the lenses. That’s how Greg Hooper sees the world. But that doesn’t keep the Powder Springs resident from playing the game he loves, golf, and at the highest level. Hooper is active in the United States Blind Golf Association and in late June, will play in the ISPS Handa Ressmeyer Vision Cup World Match Play Championship in Como, Italy. Accompanying him will be his son Alan, who also serves as his coach and “eyes,” not to mention Hooper’s biggest fan. And in August, the father/son pair is hosting the U.S. Open for blind golfers in Marietta. Hooper spoke with the AJC about golf for the blind and visually impaired, his successes at the game and why more adults and kids should give it a try.
Q: First of all, how did you lose your sight?
A: I have a collagen deficiency disease, called pseudoxanthoma elasticum, or PXE, that affects the soft tissues of the body. It affects my retinas, similar to what happens with patients with macular degeneration. I lost sight in my right eye when I was 17. At 35, blindness took over the center part of my vision in my left eye.
Q: So you are legally blind but have some peripheral vision?
A: That's right. I cannot drive. I was an engineer and my company retired me when I lost vision in my second eye.
Q: Is PXE hereditary?
A: Yes, it is a recessive gene, identified just two years ago. All four of my kids have been tested. Disease progression hasn't shown up in any of them at all.
Q: How long have you been playing golf?
A: Fifty years. I started at 8. That I have always played made it a little easier for me, unlike some of my co-players who picked it up after they lost their sight. It took me approximately two years to adapt to not being able to see the ball. I play better now than I ever did.
Q: How exactly does blind golf work?
A: It is more of team sport. Players can be visually impaired. Over half of the members of the United States Blind Golf Association are completely blind, with no light perception at all. Each of us has a coach who lines us up in the direction they want us to hit the ball. Our coach chooses the club we are going to use and tells us the yardage we have to hit the ball.
Q: What is your handicap?
A: My particular handicap is 21. I shoot in low 90s most of the time. That's pretty good. I play with sighted players all the time.
Q: How is it having your son as your coach?
A: It is great. He is a very good golfer himself. He knows my game very, very well. If I am not playing as well as I should, he is not afraid to tell me what I am doing wrong. That is exactly what I need. Not someone to pacify me. Someone to instruct me.
Q: Are there a lot of blind golfers in Georgia?
A: We don't really know. We are trying to find anyone who is interested, or who played, then lost their sight and think they can never play again.
Q: Is it fun for you?
A: It is an activity people think blind folks shouldn't be doing. Because of that, golf gives us an activity that is challenging and fulfilling. It is satisfying that we can compete on the same level as a sighted person. It also gives us camaraderie. These golfers are absolutely the best people you will ever meet.
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