Former England international Rugby player Mike Tindall admits he is hoping to achieve victory whilst also raising money and awareness at Sport Parkinson’s Four Nations golf tournament.
The 42-year-old, who made 75 appearances for England, was named as the England celebrity captain for the tournament which is being held at Brabazon golf course at The Belfry between 11 and 13 October.
Parkinson’s is something close to the heart of the former Gloucester man, whose father was diagnosed with the disease in 2003, the same year Tindall won the Rugby World Cup and he is looking forward to another successful event for people with the condition following this summer’s Try-Athlon .
“We did the Try-Athlon, and it was just amazing,” he said.
“People who had severe walking and mobility issues, slowly shuffling and then they get on a football pitch – we’re not saying Pele was there, but it was such a shift and a great joy to see.
“The triathlon was a great event, to see people just being comfortable in their own skin or being allowed to just have fun and be competitive, without being judged or questioned, I thought it was fantastic!
“That’s something that I’ve witnessed, also through my dad, I’ve seen people with Parkinson’s, it’s not that they don’t want to get out there a lot of time, it’s they just feel a little bit embarrassed and they don’t want to be a burden on someone else”
“It was such a wonderfully powerful environment to be in and that feeling is what I’m looking forward to most about the Golf Day.”
Ever since his father’s diagnosis, Tindall has always been looking to fundraise and raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease and the former England captain recognises the progress made since the turn of the millennium.
He added: “Obviously my dad had Parkinson’s and my rugby career was coming to an end, so I knew it was the right thing to do to get involved in whatever way I could.
“I wanted to help raise funds and Tom Isaacs [founder of Cure Parkinson’s] who I’d met through the Cure Parkinsons golf day was where I’d wanted my dad to be – his drive, his ambition, his passion for finding a cure and stopping it was really what I wanted for my dad.
“I’ve done some events with Parkinson’s UK, which do work in raising awareness and living with Parkinson’s, but ultimately, I don’t want another son, daughter, cousin, nephew to have to watch any of their loved ones go through the sort of 20 years that I’ve watched my dad go through, that’s why the cure is more important to me.
“I think what Charlie [Appleyard] is doing is massively important job as well, because we have to keep everyone healthy and strong until a cure comes along.
“I think what has been shown in in the years since is how much a healthy lifestyle, healthy diet, healthy mental wellbeing and how much of a positive effect that can have on you and the condition. That’s sort of why the golf day came around.”
Tindall admits he does get opportunities to play golf quite regularly, and despite an impressive 5.9 handicap, he says practice between now and the event is very much a requirement.
“I’ve been punished a little bit by this new handicap system,” he continued.
“I was 9.9, and then the new handicap system came in, it jumped to 6.6, and then I put in one card that was a good round, and I went straight to 3.1.
“I’m working my way up to somewhere that’s a bit more balanced which I think will be around seven, I’m very lucky to get invited to play quite a lot of charity events and things like that, so I get to play a fair bit.”
Sport Parkinson’s founder Charlie Appleyard will partner Tindall in the England team, and the Otley-born man is impressed the Annapurna Recruitment and Morecambe FC director’s ability on the course.
“He rang me up this year for my golf day and said, ‘make sure you put me with a celeb that is there to win’, so I had to change it around!
“I gave him the scratch handicapper Dan Walker [BBC breakfast presenter and Strictly Come Dancing contestant] because I felt he would hunt me down if I didn’t!
“What I’m interested in seeing is Charlie being the first single figured handicap golfer with Parkinson’s, he’s so competitive that I would never bet against him. I’m just looking forward to seeing the people with Parkinson’s playing – and how they react to that competition, that’s why golf is such a wonderful game, with the handicap system your ailments should still allow you to compete.”
“I’ve done events with injured veterans’ charities and it’s the handicap that allows you to compete with whoever you play against. That is all those veterans want also.
“It just gets rid of the stigma and ‘I don’t really want to play because I don’t feel I have a chance’, as long as your handicap is fair and meaningful, then you know you’re always in for a good game and that’s beauty of golf.”
Sport Parkinson’s Four Nations Golf Tournament is at The Belfry, 11th -13th October to find out more about it click here
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