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BLIND GOLFERS DON’T MIND . . . Roughing It
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HELPFUL HAND: Joe Shiller, left, leads Irv Fine, who is blind, down a fairway at the Par 3 Golf Course at the Wick Recreation Area of Mill Creek Park. Fine, 87, and a group of other veterans who are visually impaired play a round of golf at the course every Friday.
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FORE-MAN: Joe Skebo, 78, of Youngstown, examines his club before teeing off. Skebo, who is visually impaired, plays with a group of golfers with similar ailments every week at the Par 3 Golf Course on McCollum Road.
Veteran golfers in Youngstown keep ear on the ball
By JON MOFFETT
Vindicator Staff Writer
Irv Fine may have lost one of his senses, but it wasn’t his sense of humor.
Fine, who is blind, and a group of friends who are visually impaired play a round of golf at the Mill Creek MetroParks Par 3 Golf Course every week.
“I’ve been golfing for 10 years now and I’ve gotten progressively worse,” he said.
Fine, 87, is the only one in the group who is completely blind. The others have poor vision and other eye ailments. Others in the group are Dante Giancola, 86; Sid Harris, 83; Pete Smith, 76; and Joe Skebo, 78, all of Youngstown.
Fine said the group started about 10 years ago when some of the men, who are all veterans, were attending a support group for the blind.
“We had a social worker who was in charge of the support group, and he was a golfer,” he said. “One day he asked if anyone wanted to come out, and a couple of us said we would go, and that’s how it started.”
Some of the men had golfed before, but others started playing only because of the group.
“I never golfed because I umpired baseball from college ball on down for 40 years,” said Harris. “I was busy with baseball, so I never golfed and I never thought I would like it. And then I started golfing when I started to lose my sight.”
The group is followed by a group of volunteers who act as coaches. Though it sometimes takes the golfers a little longer to set up their shots, they have a good time.
After slicing the ball a few feet to the right, Fine said, “The sun was in my eyes.” He added jokingly that the pressure of the cameras was too much for him.
The group has fun with the outing and doesn’t let their vision restrictions limit their game.
“I like the sound of the clubs hitting the ball. Since I can’t see where it goes, I don’t care where it goes, just as long as it sounds good.”
Harris said the golf experience is almost like therapy for him.
“It’s quiet,” he said. “There’s no telephones, no disruptions. You have to concentrate. Having not played golf before when I could see, it’s a little different today. But it’s a lot of fun, and I really enjoy it.”
Harris, Smith and Skebo will attend an annual golf outing in Iowa next month with about 200 other visually impaired golfers. Harris said the atmosphere is relaxed and offers a chance for the golfers to make friends with others who share their conditions.
“In Iowa, they come from all over the country,” he said. “Some of them come with dogs, and they’re amazing. We have such a good time.”
Activities including horseshoes, kayaking, gambling with play money and golfing.
Linda Kostka, a spokeswoman for the MetroParks, was present for the round Friday and was amazed at the group’s abilities.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “It speaks a lot to the guys. It’s just amazing that they can do what they do. I golf, so I know how hard it is. It really is inspiring.”
That sentiment is shared by the volunteers who help the golfers make it around the course.
Joe Shiller, 83, looks up to them for what they’re able to accomplish.
“It inspires me, and I think these guys are great,” he said.
After Giancola hit a drive straight up the fairway, Smith looked at him and called him a show-off.
Giancola provides the comic relief for the group. When asked which ball was his, he responded: “the round one.”
jmoffett@vindy.com