It's hard for any 45-year-old to learn to play golf. But imagine how hard it is for somebody who was born in Tanzania, immigrated to the U.S. at age 18 and is a social worker who lives in New York City. Somebody who has never been to a golf course, touched a club, or seen anybody hit a shot on TV or in person. Somebody who doesn't even know what a tee is or that a golf ball has dimples. Somebody who is as green to golf as a Himalayan yak herder would be to surfing. One more thing: the person started losing his sight at age 10 and has been totally blind since age 27.
That's the situation Suleiman Rifai was in when we asked him to get into golf this summer and let GOLF.COM document the experience. Michael Breed, a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher and the head professional at Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, N.Y., generously offered to join the project and give Rifai lessons.
"It was the chance of a lifetime, so how could I say no?" says Rifai.
Golf is just the latest sport that Rifai has taken up. Three years ago, he'd never run a mile in his life. Then he met SI/Golf Plus writer-reporter Rick Lipsey on a New York subway, and Lipsey asked him to join Achilles, a track club for disabled people. Last November, Rifai, with Lipsey as one of his guides, completed the ING New York Marathon. Also last year, Rifai started swimming, a sport he hadn't tried since he was a child, before he lost his sight. He has also been taking dance classes at the Alvin Ailey School since 1986.
Over the next few months, Rifai and Breed will write regular columns for GOLF.COM about their experiences together. The columns will include insights and details about Rifai's golf activities — lessons, trips to the practice range at Chelsea Piers, watching golf on TV, attending a tour event, even playing a round. There will also be tips from Breed.
On the following pages, Breed and Rafai describe their first lesson together, and Breed offers two tips that will be useful for all golfers.
