It was the first day of the 36-hole British Blind Open championship in Fife, Scotland, at the Balbirnie Park Golf Club. Roberts, 57, from London, and two other Canadians were among a field of 50 players from around the world competing last week. He spent three weeks overseas, first visiting relatives in Wales, then Scotland.

"When I walked to the first tee and heard my name called, my knees were shaking,'' said Roberts, now back home.

"It's a big social event really, because we're playing net scores. We all try hard but it's not totally serious golf, though some take it that way.''

Roberts decided to compete in Scotland after winning the Ontario Visually Impaired Golfers Championship last summer at Fanshawe Golf Club, shooting a solid-for-him 93. He has a 24 handicap. With the win came $1,000 to pay airfare for himself and his caddie/guide. Most of their expenses, including meals and accommodation, were covered by tournament organizers.

He didn't play well in Scotland, with gross scores of 108 and 109.

"The course was very hilly and I've never played on greens like that before,'' Roberts said. "They were set up to professional speed. They were hard and extremely fast. The bunkers were horrendous . . . steep sided. I just couldn't get a good lie. I took an 11 on one hole.

"They showed no mercy at all for us.''

Roberts is hoping to play better today at Fanshawe on the traditional course in a tournament for 20 visually impaired players from Southwestern Ontario, a prelude to the provincial championships this month in Cambridge. With his regular caddie still in Scotland, Roberts' wife Joyce is springing into action today. He can't play without a caddie.

Roberts has suffered from diabetes for 47 years and was forced to retire on disability from his job at GM Diesel a few years ago when his sight dropped to 20/200. He has lost central vision but has some peripheral vision. He said about five years ago he started to show signs of blurred vision, then he began to suffer blood leakage into one eye. That was corrected initially with laser treatments. He later received laser treatments on his other eye to prevent leakage.

Eventually he couldn't function at work, he said.

Golf proved to be a great morale booster.

He has been playing for more than 10 years, mostly at River Road. He has a regular foursome -- Bryan Mills, Bert Longpre and Plume -- and they play about three times a week.

He relies on his foursome to help guide him around the course.

"All three watch where my ball's gone . . . which tree I'm behind,'' Roberts said, explaining he can see at 20 feet what someone with normal vision can see 200 feet away. "We work a lot on alignment. Bill tells me which direction to hit it. He lays a club down on the ground and I can square up to that club.

"I swing along the line of the club.''

Roberts said while he has no idea about the flight of the ball, he can tell by the feel of the shot if he hit it well, thin or fat. He also said depending on the contrast available, he might be able to see a tree line and or gap in trees to aim his shots.

His best score since becoming visually impaired is 88.

Roberts said he is not on a crusade for the blind nor does he see himself as a role model but does encourage other blind people to try golf. Asked is he feels he is an inspiration to others, he says, "That sounds too grand to me.''

He said blind golfers he knows all hit the ball well.

"It's around the greens the scores build up,'' he said. "It would be wonderful if you could see some of these blind characters hit the ball.''