Andy McAulay

I’ve played sport throughout my life. Mainly cricket, but I’ve also played a lot of golf too. I’ve always loved playing sport and it has always played a massive part in my life both from a physical fitness and emotional well-being point of view.

In January 2015 I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and everything changed. Or so I thought. I instantly thought that my diagnosis would mean an end to the sporty lifestyle I’d always known. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I thought. ‘How could I possibly grip a club properly and make a good swing when my right hand is shaking?’. ‘I might as well just stop playing’. So I did, and didn’t play for 4 years as a result.

A couple of years ago I was at a meeting of my local Parkinson’s group and was chatting to my good mate Jarlath Busby. He just happened to mention that he’d been playing golf. This made me think that I’d perhaps been too hasty and that if he was able to play successfully, why couldn’t I? He invited me to have a few games with him just to see how I got on. After these, I realised the huge mistake I’d made when I’d stopped playing and that the only thing stopping me was myself. So I joined the club, bought some new equipment and threw myself back into playing social golf, competitions and striving to improve. Since I started playing again I’ve reduced my handicap by 11 shots, won several competitions and now my handicap is only one shot more than it was when I stopped playing. This only goes to show that having Parkinson’s is no barrier to doing well and participating in sport.

I’m very much looking forward to playing in the Sport Parkinson’s event at the Belfry in October and am very honoured to have been asked to be the Scottish team captain.

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Good luck Andy. Enjoy 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏌️‍♂️ Derry & June Mcdermid