The war of words began in Dundee when a sighted member of the Downfield Golf Club wrote to a local newspaper saying he had witnessed the card-reading and flag-spotting, along with supposedly blind golfers hitting drives and sinking putts unassisted, a correspondent for The Telegraph reported.

The complaint said the incidents were "abusing the goodwill" of other players, which drew an angry response from George Derby, captain of the Tayside Blind Golfers' Society.

"All our members have been tested and they range from B1, which is totally blind, to B4, which is partially sighted," Derby said. "They have to be checked before joining."

He attributed some golfers' abilities to the fact some have been playing the same course for as long as 13 years, the report said.