Jan Dinsdale, at 40, was in her prime, independent, with a busy social life and a responsible job in hospital administration when she got the news that was to change her life utterly.

Aware, over weeks, of sight problems — missing letters in words, as she read, lines disappearing from the page — she made an appointment at the optician, only to be referred to hospital. The test results were devastating: continued deterioration and blindness due to a condition called con-rod dystrophy.

The very word, 'blindness', was terrifying. Jan coped initially by engaging with the professionals, such as the sensory-impaired team at her local hospital, learning to walk with a white cane and getting together the equipment necessary to do her job.

She was desperate to get back to work: "I've always worked, I've never lain around or been idle. And I'm a social person, I like to be around other people. Within six months I'd got back to work — and then hit a total clinical depression."

Despite the unstinting support of medical professionals, colleagues, family and friends, and having always been one to "shoulder what you can of life's grievances", the shock, frustration and loss of independence had inevitably taken their toll. Jan was left reeling.

She knew that exercise and being out and about and sociable could only help her recuperation. Country walks were going to be a problem, the strobe lighting in dance clubs was out of the question — and, though she tried the gym, most people there were plugged into headsets, cutting them off from each other.

Then in 1999, Jan discovered Blind Golf, having heard about it through the local media.

For those of us who can barely hit a ball with 20-20 vision, the very concept seems an impossibility. But Jan had found her niche.

Blind Golf is played almost entirely within the rules of the Royal and Ancient Rules of Golf, with the golfer assisted by a sighted guide who gives verbal information on distance, direction and characteristics of each hole. Jan's guide is David McVeigh, who she describes as her "rock".

She has gone on to become vice president of the governing body of the International Blind Golf Association and is currently ranked third in the world, top lady European, US Open Champion and, since May, ladies champion in the South African all-disability golf event. She has even managed to notch up two holes-in-one ("sheer luck!") and, as tradition demands, paid the price at the 19th hole on each occasion.

Northern Ireland has been chosen to host the World Blind Golf Championships, taking place from August 10-12 at Belfast's Belvoir Park Golf Club and Jan is one of the driving forces behind bringing the championships to the city.

Held every two years, the event will feature more than 50 of the world's top blind golfers, including current World Champions Jenny McCallum from Australia and Simon Cookson from England.

Also coming are Bob Andrews from the US, blinded by a mine in Vietnam, Diana Thiselton from Australia, who has walked the Himalayas, and the world's oldest blind golfer Jim Watt from Scotland, aged 92. Says Jan: "The last two championships have been held in Australia and Japan, so it's a special honour, and something of a coup, for Europe and Belfast to be chosen.

"We're extremely grateful to Belvoir Park Golf Club and its special committee for all their tremendous support and expertise. Their course is in excellent condition and will present our golfers with a real challenge.

"We have an exciting programme of events prepared for our guests from all over the world, including tours and a special reception at Stormont. Sport NI and Belfast City Council have been marvellous in facilitating us and all our sponsors have been very generous. Dame Mary Peters was wonderful as our host for the launch."

Northern Ireland has an excellent track record both in the quality of blind players and in expertise in holding events. The Blind Golf British Open will be hosted again this year in Massarene Golf Club, Antrim, with a reputation for good golf, hospitality and craic, says Jan.

For instance, once when the two-day event was rained off for a whole day, dashed spirits were immediately lifted when someone sat down at the piano and started a mass sing-song which is talked about to this day as far afield as Japan.

Jan eventually took early retirement from the job she loved. On the plus side, it left time to develop her golf.

And she has always retained her sense of humour: "It's the best way to deal with life, if you can find a laugh in it somewhere. And there's a lot of laughter in golfing circles."

She jokes that she's thinking of writing a book, It Shouldn't Happen to a Blind Golfer. Anecdotes would include the time she and David were rushed on board a flight from London to Belfast — only to land at the City Airport, when their car was parked at Aldergrove.

Having enjoyed 40 years of sight was a blessing and she can 'see' in her mind's eye. Robbed of the view from a mountain top in Cape Town, she thinks of the Giant's Causeway or the beach at Portrush.

And, she finds, her current memory capacity has strengthened — for names and telephone numbers, where things are and for practicalities like the household shopping.

"Although blind awareness has taken a big leap forward in recent years in Northern Ireland, I find people I meet often aren't sure how, or if, to help me. But as the years have passed I find I'm better at asking for the help I need.

"You do get those who will talk ... to ... you ... slowly ... and ... de ... lib ... er ... ate ... ly. I feel like saying 'I'm just blind — not stupid!' Often, though, people forget I'm blind — that's where I like to think most people are with me."

And there is wider support. Jan's Talented Athlete Award from Sports NI helps with her guide's travelling expenses, while the RNIB has joined with the NI Blind Golf Association to help develop the sport.

In the end it all comes down to the pleasure of the game.

She adds: "It's not about being top of the world — it's about playing three or four holes, enjoying the craic, the exercise, feeling part of a community. I'm just a golfer, not a 'blind golfer'. I'm one of the girls."

For further information go to www.internationalblindgolf.com