Like 'looking through a straw': How blind golfer Kevin Frost stays the course

When Kevin Frost goes to sink a shot, he's not watching for that moment when the golf ball disappears over the lip of the hole and drops into the cup with a satisfying plunk. 

Instead, he's listening for the "yesss!" of the person standing next to him who, through their words and actions, has helped guide the ball to its destination.

If that person is longtime guide and friend Nigel Bruce, Frost might even get a happy dance. 

"Nigel's dancing and I'm going, 'I guess it went in?' That's kind of how blind golf works," jokes Frost, a world champion speed skater who decided seven years ago to take up golf, and who is now set to compete for Canada at the International Blind Golf Association World Championships in South Africa.

Frost has Usher Syndrome, a rare genetic disease that causes both vision and hearing loss. Frost's hearing faded to about 10 per cent when he was 11, and around the age of 30 he lost all but four per cent of vision.

To golf, Frost is paired with a sighted guide who assists with everything from driving the cart, to choosing the right club for the conditions, to making sure he tees off in the right direction.

He calls the guides blind golf's "secret family."

"The only thing I can see is … the ball on the tee. So I would set up and I would ask my guy what are [the] obstacles, and I go ahead and hit the ball," Frost explained. 

After he swings, he asks for a report.

"The first thing I do is I look behind me [and ask], 'Nigel, how did I do?'"

With the help of his hearing aids and lip-reading, Frost is able to communicate on the course as long as things are relatively quiet.

His vision — Frost compares it to looking through a drinking straw — presents a greater challenge, and can also affect his