Stepping up to the ball, club in hand and mind on the game, senior Katie Beaton has been playing golf basically with one eye for four years.
Legally blind in her right eye, the only trouble she has is judging distance and aiming. Beaton was born with a disease called Optic Nerve Hypoplasia (ONH), a congenital condition in which the nerve is underdeveloped and causes blindness or Nystagmus, a twitching or shaking motion of the eyes. However, she enjoys playing golf aside from her problems and has been on varsity for three years.
“My greatest achievement in playing is when I made my hole-in-one,” Beaton said. “It was at Harbor Lakes golf course in Granbury last year.”
Although everyone tries to fit in, Beaton said she is content with her disability in fact she said it helps motivate her.
“Some people treat me differently but not in a bad way,” Beaton said. “Usually people find it cool that I can do what they do with this disability. The hardest thing about golfing for me is keeping up with the other players.”
Freshman Bri Crosier said she enjoys playing with Katie and said she inspires her to play.
“[I’ve learned] you can’t get frustrated with yourself while playing otherwise it makes you even worse,” Crosier said. “Her sense of humor is what really stands out to me. She makes jokes or funny comments about herself and being blind.”
Sophomore Mackenzie Cross has been playing two years on the team now, said she notices how Beaton has improved her game in only two years of watching her play.
“I think it’s amazing how she plays with one of her eyes and how she can do just as good as any of the other girls that see perfectly normal” Cross said. “Many of the other girls [from other teams] are really surprised and never knew we had a blind girl on the team, but think it’s pretty amazing how she plays golf half blind.”
Despite her disability, Beaton said when she is playing she has one goal in mind.
“[My goal] is to have fun and enjoy my senior year with my teammates,” Beaton said. “My favorite part about playing would be making the friends I have and seeing how much I have improved.”
