Llangollen-born blind golfer Shaun swings to victory

   

     * Blind golfer Shaun Burke, left, with his "eyes" Ian McCormack.

A blind golfer originally from Llangollen has swung his way to glory in a series of major tournaments over the past couple of months.

Shaun Burke lost his sight completely after being involved in a serious road accident on the A5 near the town in 1985 which left the then-18 year old with a catalogue of injuries to his legs, ankles and head. He also had to have his face totally rebuilt by surgeons.

But undeterred Shaun went ahead with his studies, took a degree at De Montford University and eventually qualified as a teacher.

He is now in his 29th year teaching the subject at Trinity Catholic High School in Essex, the county to which he moved and now lives with his wife.

With the aid of a sighted guide, he's been golfing for the past dozen years, switching to it as a less physically demanding alternative to the marathon running he had been heavily into since his younger days.

Going part-time at school about 18 months ago gave him more time to take his golf more seriously and take the trail to competition success.

This August, helped by his regular guide Ian McCormack, he landed himself the title of Masters Best B1 Player at the British Blind Masters tournament at the Meon Valley Golf & Country Club near Southampton - the category for players who are totally or near-totally blind.

Shaun followed that up at the Portal Golf & Spa Resort in Tarporley, Cheshire last month when he was one of two Welsh men players in the 12-strong England & Wales team which took the Great Britain and Ireland Four Nations prize with a 13-5 victory over the Scotland & Ireland team in the inaugural Four Nations competition.  

At the same tournament England & Wales also shot to success in the Auld Enemies Cup by beating Scotland 4½ – 3½.

A report by England & Wales Blind Golf which staged the competition said: "A fantastic achievement and a brilliant performance from Shaun across the championship, supported throughout by Ian.

"The partnership between player and guide is such an important part of blind golf, and this is another great example of that teamwork in action."

Shaun recalled that following his catastrophic accident, which ironically happened on the road near Llangollen Golf Club, he was cut free from the wreckage of the car by a crew from Llangollen fire station, members of which he later started to train regularly with as part of his rehabilitation.

And he eventually became so fit that he went on to run in marathons and triathlons in the UK and abroad, completing no less than 10 London Marathons between 1987 and 2003 and also travelling abroad to places like Sweden and even Siberia where he ran in temperatures of minus 30F.

"I kept running until my legs got a bit knackered and that's when I took up golf," said Shaun.

"I do this mostly with the help of Ian McCormack who takes me to the ranges and to practice and competitions. He's my eyes.

"When I started doing the competitions I didn't know what would happen but I tried hard and eventually got into the England and Wales team and now my goal is to get into more international competitions next year."