Gary Hurley still gives the ball some dig off the tee. It’s made to look even more impressive given he suffers from parsonage turner syndrome.
Parsonage-Turner syndrome is a rare neurological disorder which causes sudden, intense pain in your shoulder and upper arm followed by muscle weakness. Hurley revealed his struggles at the beginning of last year and feared he would wouldn’t be able to compete professionally. But a steady season has seen him rise above his condition and he certainly still has the swing speed with the driver to tame the beastly Killeen Castle at this week’s Irish Challenge.
The Waterford man admits he is still only at 40% with his right shoulder but he has seen steady improvement over the last twelve months.
“It’s similar to the start of the year, hasn’t got much better. I don’t know if it will get much better but I’m able to manage it. With the help of some medication I don’t have any pain, like no pain which is great. It is quite weak.
“I am happy with where it’s at if it keeps getting better every now and again, every few months I suppose before I know it I will be happy. I would say it’s working at 40% at the moment if I can get to 60 I will be delighted.”
The 33-year-old is swinging freely and had surprised himself with two top-10 finishes in his first seven starts. Despite six missed cuts in seven starts heading into the Irish Challenge he still has a solid Road to Mallorca Ranking of 56th heading into the closing stretch of the season.
Performances is one thing, with the Waterford man it’s all about health and he is happy within himself these days after a tough twelve months.
“I’m actually swinging the club quite well considering. I think my body is after compensating and has gotten used to it. It’s no excuse any more to be honest, I’m able to play and hit it. I still have the speed and I am happy with where it’s at as long as there’s no pain I’m pretty happy.”
Hurley opened his Irish Challenge week with a two-under 70 which could have been better had it not been for a double bogey on 18 and a bogey on the par-5 2nd but he feels he has everything to gain given the improvements he has made with his body.
“I can swing freely now. This time last year I wasn’t able to. I could hit six shots and I would come back in the evening and suffer with pain. It’s great that I can put it under some load. I can go to the range and hit 50 balls, hit 50 drivers and have no pain. This time last year I couldn’t hit two or three, I would be in trouble. It has been good that way. I have improved I am swinging freely, there are some things I can’t do in the gym it gets tired quite quickly, my neck and my shoulder especially dragging bags through an airport!”
Professional golf has been a turbulent journey for Hurley whose mental health struggles in the past have left him on the brink of quitting the game. A brief return to form saw him move from the Alps Tour to the DP World Tour in 2022 before losing his card the season after.
On a venture to South Africa two years ago, he found himself in contention again but unsure whether he was going to continue his playing career. His battle with parsonage turner syndrome left him in that dark place again.
“I woke up one day and couldn’t lift up my arm, six weeks later saw a specialist and she said I have parsonage turner syndrome which is where the immune system attacks your spinal accessory nerve which controls how you move your arm and shoulder.”
“In September, I was waiting for it to recover, it takes so long I will never be 100% and I decided I’m not waiting anymore and I started looking at other things and not continuing to play golf and when I did that things started to get a little better, some blue skies showing,” he admits.
“I still struggled with it and it was only three weeks ago I was working with my coach and we figured out how to load the shoulder a bit differently. It’s still the same but doesn’t seem to cause me pain anymore which is great.”
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