EIGHT blind and visually impaired people have taken up golf thanks to a partnership between Berkshire Vision charity and Sand Martins Golf Club.

The players received lessons over eight weeks from PGA professional Symon O’Keefe at the Wokingham-based course, ending with a nine-hole Texas scramble.

The event was filmed for YouTube by John Ogden, who attended to support his friend, Colin Chandler.

“We had a brilliant time,” said Chandler.

Sand Martins is now looking at plans to hold a similar event next year to cement its links with Berkshire Vision.

The club is committed to creating opportunities for local disabled people through golf. Volunteers for the project included club member Stan Bembenek, an amputee golfer involved with the Disabled Golf Association.

The club already runs a successful junior academy that engages with local special educational needs schools and units, with scholarships offered to young disabled people.

Through this, the contact with Berkshire Vision came about and led to the development of the programme for blind and visually impaired adults.

Sand Martins general manager Andrew Hall, said: “We are committed to showing that the game can be accessible to all. Our ‘Feel Inspired’ junior golf academy for young people with SEN will continue to run next year.

“The growth to include a satellite club, which has been set up with funding from Get Berkshire Active, England Golf and The Golf Foundation, and the partnership with Berkshire Vision allows us to widen our engagement within the local community”