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Blind golfer makes hole-in-one on par-3 in Pennsylvania

Sheila Drummond didn't need to see her hole-in-one -- she was able to hear it.

Drummond, who was blinded by diabetes 26 years ago, experienced the highlight of her golfing career on Sunday when she recorded an ace on the 132m, par-3 fourth hole at Pennsylvania's Mahoning Valley Country Club.

While playing with her husband and coach, Keith, and two friends in a steady rain, the 53-year-old Drummond hit a driver on the hole.

DROPPING IN

The shot easily cleared a water hazard, flew between traps and landed on the green, where it hit the pin before dropping into the hole.

"They were saying, `It's a great shot,' and then I heard it hit the pin," Drummond said.

"For a hole-in-one, you have to hit it onto the green, so it's a little bit of skill and a lot of luck," she said.

ONE IN 12,750

In 1999, Golf Digest said the odds of an amateur getting a hole-in-one are one in 12,750.

That number, no doubt rises, for a blind golfer.

Drummond is a member of the board of directors for the US Blind Golfers Association and the organization believes she is the first totally blind female to record a hole-in-one.

"We've looked everywhere, and haven't been able to find anyone else," she said.

FIRST FEMALE MEMBER

Drummond took up golf about 15 years ago and three years later qualified as the first female member of the association.

"I just try to do the best I can," said Drummond, who carries a 48 handicap. "I get nervous."

"But I wasn't nervous [on Sunday]; I just don't like playing in the rain," she said.

Drummond's hole-in-one was first reported on the Web site of the Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania.
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