With the Special Olympics scheduled for this country in 2003, here is an example of the sort of problem which can arise for the organisers. It concerns a recent Special Olympics golf tournament in Southern California, where a 37-year-old blind entrant was denied a buggy.

In making the ruling, the organisers of the tournament stated that walking was an integral part of the game and that riding in a buggy constituted an unfair advantage. According to a Special Olympics spokesman, local decisions are made on individual requests. And from what I've observed at a tournament here, blind golfers walk in this country. But extraordinary as it may seem to the able-bodied among us, there are degrees of disability in golf - even for the blind.