Below are two articles from the Truro Daily News I wanted to share with everyone. The blind golf community recently lost a very valued and admired individual. I believe the stories below speak volumes about the man. Please take a read!
Daily News, The (Truro) / Sports
Daily News, The (Truro)
(23/12/2015)
Sports
Goodbye
'Like no other'
MacLeod's astonishing feats remembered by golfing buddies
Ryan Cooke
TRURO - Leading him by the elbow, Brian MacLeod walked the length of the green with his playing partner, Shane Sutherland, until they reached the hole.
As they made the 55-foot walk from where his last shot landed, MacLeod studied the surface with his feet. Without any sight, he figured the lay of the
land beneath his shoes and offered up his thoughts.
"I think it breaks a little left."
Sutherland, Mountain Golf Club's course superintendent with a life's worth of experience on the same green, wasn't so sure. But MacLeod was adamant as
he stepped up to putt.
"And wouldn't you know it - right in the heart of the hole," Sutherland recalled with a laugh.
MacLeod, the phenomenal blind golfer, had for years urged his friend, 'Stumpy' Sutherland, to caddy for him. They'd never gotten around to it.
"I regret not doing it now," Sutherland said.
On Friday, MacLeod passed away from cancer at the age of 56.
He leaves behind a wife, Joanne, daughter, Sarah, and a legacy as the best blind golfer in the world.
That title used to belong to Gerry Nelson, of Saskatoon, until he invited MacLeod to the 1997 Canadian Open. It was soon obvious there was a new Gretzky
in town.
"He could read greens like no other," Nelson recalled. "And I include sighted people in that. When he was on a roll, he could just putt the lights out."
The two dominated the sport together from 1997 to 2000, when Nelson took a hiatus. MacLeod lured him back in 2005 when he started the Nova Scotia Open
in Truro. Together, they formed Blind Golf Canada and became best friends.
MacLeod wasn't just a great golfer, but a great character, too. He'd spend hours on the phone with Nelson, with the conversations straying from golf to
hockey and on to their personal lives. They were always talking about the future - conversations that became harder as his condition deteriorated.
"It's still really fresh and surreal," Nelson said. "I've been walking around with my head in the clouds. I'll miss him a tonne."
The two will never walk the fairways together again, but Nelson has a lifetime of comical stories from their 18 years as friends. There's one memory he
can't stop thinking about. They were at a tournament in California, where they played a hole surrounded by tall houses.
MacLeod duffed a shot and tore a chunk out of the fairway, yelling a curse word after he missed. The expletive echoed off the houses the entire way down
the course. As people turned to stare at him, he cracked up laughing.
"He must have thought it was pretty funny, so he yelled '(expletive)' again and listened to it echo," Nelson laughed.
Before his death, MacLeod had discussions about hosting another tournament at the Mountain in 2016. Sutherland and Nelson both said they'd love to see
his tournament continue on and his legacy continue to inspire.
"I hope golfers take it as a challenge to be half as good as Brian MacLeod, to give half as much back to the game," Nelson said.
Sutherland will never forget the 55-foot putt, or the first time he saw MacLeod hit a golf ball. It was a 200-yard drive, right down the gully. He stared
at him, bewildered.
"Are you serious?"
"I don't know, I feel like it was about 10 yards left," MacLeod answered.
The reply left Sutherland even more astonished. It was, in fact, 10 yards left of centre - a near perfect shot for any golfer, but not quite good enough
for the best in blind golf.
A funeral service for MacLeod was held on Monday at St. James Presbyterian Church in Truro.
Along with his wife and daughter, he was survived by three brothers - Allan, Doug and James.
He always hoped to play 100 tournaments before walking away from the sport, and reached his milestone last July. His 100th start was his 67th win, and
it came at his own tournament on his home course.
Fittingly, he beat out his old friend, Gerry Nelson, for the championship.
"Someone like that comes along once in a lifetime," Nelson said. "It's going to be a long time until someone can fill that void."
Figure:
Joey Smith/Truro Daily News
Salmon River native Brian MacLeod, considered the best blind golfer in the world, passed away from cancer on Friday. MacLeod reached his goal of playing
in 100 tournaments last July at the Nova Scotia Open at Mountain Golf Course.
Nelson
© 2015 Truro Daily News (NS). All rights reserved.
Document number: news·20151223·DN·0025
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Daily News, The (Truro) / Sports
Daily News, The (Truro)
(23/12/2015)
Sports
MacLeod's daughter, wife remember inspiring hero
TRURO - To sports fans, Brian MacLeod was the best blind golfer in the world. To his daughter, he was the world's best father.
Sarah MacLeod will never forget her dad's feats on the greens around the world, or the way he guided her through life as a shining beacon of positivity.
On Monday, she said goodbye to her dad during a service at St. James Presbyterian Church in Truro. Along with a daughter, he left behind his wife, Joanne.
He was 56 years old.
"He was everything to me," Sarah said. "My own inspiration and hero in my own house. And I have to live up to that."
Her father went blind before she was born, a result of two freak accidents combined - one during a hockey game, the other at work. He was always worried
about how he'd explain to his daughter that he couldn't see her face.
But Sarah can only remember one instance where his disability was evident. She was a child and they were colouring together. She let out a sigh, and her
father asked what was wrong.
"You're colouring outside the lines," she replied.
Thinking back on it now, she laughs. The only thing he couldn't conquer then was a colouring book.
His exploits on the golf course showcased his ability to overcome obstacles thrown in front of him throughout his life.
"I never really watched him struggle," Sarah said. "He just overcame things."
There was no way he'd overcome his final battle, however. Last spring, he was diagnosed with porocarcinoma - an extremely rare type of skin cancer in the
sweat glands.
The prognosis was bleak from the start.
Still, he was never down or angry.
"He was just so inspiring and motivating," Joanne said.
Two years ago, Sarah had the chance to coach her father at a tournament in Kentucky.
In the airport on the way there, she told people what they were doing and how they were going to win.
"He'd say, 'Sarah, don't say that!' But then, of course, we won."
A proud daughter, she remembers being choked up at every tournament she went to and every trophy she saw him receive.
"We've always just been like two peas in a pod."
© 2015 Truro Daily News (NS). All rights reserved.
Document number: news·20151223·DN·0026
Daily News, The (Truro) / Sports
Daily News, The (Truro)
(23/12/2015)
Sports
Goodbye
'Like no other'
MacLeod's astonishing feats remembered by golfing buddies
Ryan Cooke
TRURO - Leading him by the elbow, Brian MacLeod walked the length of the green with his playing partner, Shane Sutherland, until they reached the hole.
As they made the 55-foot walk from where his last shot landed, MacLeod studied the surface with his feet. Without any sight, he figured the lay of the
land beneath his shoes and offered up his thoughts.
"I think it breaks a little left."
Sutherland, Mountain Golf Club's course superintendent with a life's worth of experience on the same green, wasn't so sure. But MacLeod was adamant as
he stepped up to putt.
"And wouldn't you know it - right in the heart of the hole," Sutherland recalled with a laugh.
MacLeod, the phenomenal blind golfer, had for years urged his friend, 'Stumpy' Sutherland, to caddy for him. They'd never gotten around to it.
"I regret not doing it now," Sutherland said.
On Friday, MacLeod passed away from cancer at the age of 56.
He leaves behind a wife, Joanne, daughter, Sarah, and a legacy as the best blind golfer in the world.
That title used to belong to Gerry Nelson, of Saskatoon, until he invited MacLeod to the 1997 Canadian Open. It was soon obvious there was a new Gretzky
in town.
"He could read greens like no other," Nelson recalled. "And I include sighted people in that. When he was on a roll, he could just putt the lights out."
The two dominated the sport together from 1997 to 2000, when Nelson took a hiatus. MacLeod lured him back in 2005 when he started the Nova Scotia Open
in Truro. Together, they formed Blind Golf Canada and became best friends.
MacLeod wasn't just a great golfer, but a great character, too. He'd spend hours on the phone with Nelson, with the conversations straying from golf to
hockey and on to their personal lives. They were always talking about the future - conversations that became harder as his condition deteriorated.
"It's still really fresh and surreal," Nelson said. "I've been walking around with my head in the clouds. I'll miss him a tonne."
The two will never walk the fairways together again, but Nelson has a lifetime of comical stories from their 18 years as friends. There's one memory he
can't stop thinking about. They were at a tournament in California, where they played a hole surrounded by tall houses.
MacLeod duffed a shot and tore a chunk out of the fairway, yelling a curse word after he missed. The expletive echoed off the houses the entire way down
the course. As people turned to stare at him, he cracked up laughing.
"He must have thought it was pretty funny, so he yelled '(expletive)' again and listened to it echo," Nelson laughed.
Before his death, MacLeod had discussions about hosting another tournament at the Mountain in 2016. Sutherland and Nelson both said they'd love to see
his tournament continue on and his legacy continue to inspire.
"I hope golfers take it as a challenge to be half as good as Brian MacLeod, to give half as much back to the game," Nelson said.
Sutherland will never forget the 55-foot putt, or the first time he saw MacLeod hit a golf ball. It was a 200-yard drive, right down the gully. He stared
at him, bewildered.
"Are you serious?"
"I don't know, I feel like it was about 10 yards left," MacLeod answered.
The reply left Sutherland even more astonished. It was, in fact, 10 yards left of centre - a near perfect shot for any golfer, but not quite good enough
for the best in blind golf.
A funeral service for MacLeod was held on Monday at St. James Presbyterian Church in Truro.
Along with his wife and daughter, he was survived by three brothers - Allan, Doug and James.
He always hoped to play 100 tournaments before walking away from the sport, and reached his milestone last July. His 100th start was his 67th win, and
it came at his own tournament on his home course.
Fittingly, he beat out his old friend, Gerry Nelson, for the championship.
"Someone like that comes along once in a lifetime," Nelson said. "It's going to be a long time until someone can fill that void."
Figure:
Joey Smith/Truro Daily News
Salmon River native Brian MacLeod, considered the best blind golfer in the world, passed away from cancer on Friday. MacLeod reached his goal of playing
in 100 tournaments last July at the Nova Scotia Open at Mountain Golf Course.
Nelson
© 2015 Truro Daily News (NS). All rights reserved.
Document number: news·20151223·DN·0025
-
End of Article -
Return to list of newspapers
|
Return to Daily News, The (Truro) index
Daily News, The (Truro) / Sports
Daily News, The (Truro)
(23/12/2015)
Sports
MacLeod's daughter, wife remember inspiring hero
TRURO - To sports fans, Brian MacLeod was the best blind golfer in the world. To his daughter, he was the world's best father.
Sarah MacLeod will never forget her dad's feats on the greens around the world, or the way he guided her through life as a shining beacon of positivity.
On Monday, she said goodbye to her dad during a service at St. James Presbyterian Church in Truro. Along with a daughter, he left behind his wife, Joanne.
He was 56 years old.
"He was everything to me," Sarah said. "My own inspiration and hero in my own house. And I have to live up to that."
Her father went blind before she was born, a result of two freak accidents combined - one during a hockey game, the other at work. He was always worried
about how he'd explain to his daughter that he couldn't see her face.
But Sarah can only remember one instance where his disability was evident. She was a child and they were colouring together. She let out a sigh, and her
father asked what was wrong.
"You're colouring outside the lines," she replied.
Thinking back on it now, she laughs. The only thing he couldn't conquer then was a colouring book.
His exploits on the golf course showcased his ability to overcome obstacles thrown in front of him throughout his life.
"I never really watched him struggle," Sarah said. "He just overcame things."
There was no way he'd overcome his final battle, however. Last spring, he was diagnosed with porocarcinoma - an extremely rare type of skin cancer in the
sweat glands.
The prognosis was bleak from the start.
Still, he was never down or angry.
"He was just so inspiring and motivating," Joanne said.
Two years ago, Sarah had the chance to coach her father at a tournament in Kentucky.
In the airport on the way there, she told people what they were doing and how they were going to win.
"He'd say, 'Sarah, don't say that!' But then, of course, we won."
A proud daughter, she remembers being choked up at every tournament she went to and every trophy she saw him receive.
"We've always just been like two peas in a pod."
© 2015 Truro Daily News (NS). All rights reserved.
Document number: news·20151223·DN·0026
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