"Life Doesn't Come to a Halt When You Go Blind"

Joe Nessinger's story of his athletic accomplishments is one of several stories being told in the new sports exhibit, "Leave Nothing On The Field" at the Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum.   

Joe's sports story is a little different from the others -- he earned his honors while blind. He defeated 48 top blind golfers from eight countries and won the World Blind Golf Championship in Plymouth, England in September 1991. For several years he was among the top five blind golfers in the world.   

Nessinger was born on Nov. 13, 1929 in Chicago where he attended Tilton High School. He later moved to Grayslake and was a member of the Grayslake High School Class of 1948. He was the class treasurer.   

A reckless childhood accident left him blind in his right eye when he was 9 years old. The eye infection spread to his left eye while Joe was in high school. He became completely blind in his mid-30s.   

In an interview after winning the blind golfer tournament in 1991, Nessinger said, "I was in the prime of my life when I lost my right eye, but I found out life doesn't come to a halt when you go blind."    

Nessinger learned to play golf as a child, but as his blindness progressed, he became less interested, until a friend encouraged him to return to the golf course. His first effort took him three hours to complete three holes, a challenge that earlier took him only 12 strokes. He said he probably had 1,000 strokes for those three holes.   

He was back to his love of golf and was coached by his wife Merry and his son Jerry. As he approached the golf ball, he was told distances, angles and the location of traps, bunkers and other obstacles on the course. On the putting green, he relied on the sound of his wife's voice for the direction and distance for the putt.   

In the prime of his game while blind, Nessinger shot in the low 80s. His best round was 81. He could drive the ball more than 260 yards, but his short game was his strength. He carried a 26 handicap.   

He was always accompanied on the golf course by his Leader Dog named Sport. He moved to Arizona in 1984 where he became involved in several blind golfer activities. He became a member of the Blind Golfer Association and participated in blind golfer tournaments throughout the country, helped found the Leader Dog for the Blind Classic and helped organize and promote similar tournaments.   

He became the top blind golfer in the world when he won the Cosmomate World Championship at St. Mellion Golf Club in Plymouth, England. While living in Grayslake, Nessinger was an active member of the Grayslake Lions Club, was president of the Lake County Baseball League which was connected with the National Pony League. He coached youth baseball teams and was a substitute teacher. He was a familar sight making the rounds at Brae Loch Country Club.

Joe Nessinger died on May 13, 2009 in Arizona where he had lived since 1984.    The sports display is open to the public in the Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum, 164 Hawley St. from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.

Contributed by Grayslake Historical Society