May 3, 2013
MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA
Vol. 31, No. 36
Inside Low vision golfers tee up for LEADERSHIP BANQUET
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MUSC students were recognized for their volunteer commitments in the community and abroad.
charity, eye disease awareness BY CINDY ABOLE Public Relations
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n the game of golf, players may sometimes take what they can’t see for granted. Not so for golfers Jim Gilstrap and Peter Alan Smith. The duo are low-vision golfers who will play as first-time partners of a foursome at the eighth annual Charleston RiverDogs GolftoberFest charity tournament at Wild Dunes Resort, May 7. The pair will compete with College of Charleston golfers and play a captain’s choice format at the event, which features prizes and awards
RESEARCH SERVICE LINE
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See Tee Up on page 8
Nexus will enhance translational research and serve as an extended partner for medical discoveries. 2 Campus News 5 Meet The Carters 11 Applause T H E C ATA LY S T ONLINE http://www. musc.edu/ catalyst
all built around a German Octoberfest theme. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit MUSC’s Storm Eye Institute. What’s special about this tournament is that it will include a variety of golfers including sighted, blind and visually-impaired participants. Both Gilstrap and Smith have been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that gradually weakens vision. More specifically the disease attacks the light-sensitive rods and cones of the eye’s retina. As the disease progresses, people experience night blindness and a slow loss of side vision. With no cure, RP often results in overall vision loss or blindness. Smith, 53, is an executive-in-residence professor at the College of Charleston’s School of Business, and has played blind golf for years. He recently competed in the American Blind Golf Championship in San Antonio. In blind golf, the only rule difference is the use of a sighted coach who can assist a player by describing distance, hole characteristics and club head alignment with the ball. Blind or partially sighted golfers also are allowed to ground their club in a hazard. On the golf course, Smith feels comfortable with his game, and with help from his sighted coach, has choreographed a routine. For every shot, he works with his coach on his stance, alignment and swing. Just
Golfer Peter Alan Smith works with sighted coach Chris Haley to line up his putt during a practice round at Republic Golf Club in San Antonio. Right photo: Jim Gilstrap uses a club to align his feet and body with the target before swinging.