Golf and MS: An Update on my Favorite Playing Partner

Ten years ago I wrote a brief post about my wife, Kristen, and her ongoing battle against Multiple Sclerosis (MS). She was initially diagnosed in 2013 when she experienced symptoms related to partial loss of eyesight and fatigue. Since that time her eyesight has returned, however she has lost some function in her left leg which makes walking a bit difficult at times. It also makes our chances of playing golf together that much sweeter and important.

Kristen has recently begun a new medication regimen that boasts impressive statistics and improves her long-term prognosis significantly. Treatment for MS — a neurological condition where the body’s immune system literally attacks itself, causing plaque and lesions to form on the brain and spinal cord — has dramatically improved over the last decade. While there remains no cure for the disease, we are encouraged by the effectiveness of new drugs and treatments to limit relapses (if not preventing them entirely). Still, it’s difficult to not think about the likleihood of what might happen in the future, and how close the “future” might be to today.

Any time that my wife and I spend on a golf course together is special, and not just because of her affliction. Most of our rounds are in the context of a golf outing scramble or quick nine holes on the weekend. Golf is one of the only sports she and I can enjoy as a couple thanks to the ever-evolving adaptive golf industry. While she only requires the use of a golf cart at the moment, it’s encouraging to know that advancements in adaptive golf technology continue on the upward trend for millions of golfers worldwide.

It’s also encouraging to hear news and read articles about golfers with MS who have recently returned to the game or even picked it up for the first time. While we are fortunate in that Kristen’s form of MS is mild-to-moderate in comparison to thousands of other patients who battle the disease, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit there is a constant “hum” of anxiety around what tomorrow might bring. Stories about people finding new ways to enjoy not just golf but everyday activities are on the rise thanks to incredibly smart doctors and scientists and the brave clinical trial patients who trust them.

As I walked the floor of the 2024 PGA Show last week in Orlando I silently kept an eye out for new adaptive golf products hitting the market. While golf carts continue to be a showcase on the Show floor, others like remote controlled “push carts” and other wheeled contraptions cause your imagination to wonder how accessible these might be to regular golfers who might need them.

Some brands, like TRUE Linkswear, already keep adaptive golfers in mind with their business-as-usual mission and vision. Lightweight, form-fitting, supporting footwear is a product any golfer will appreciate; however it’s brands like TRUE — whose leaders also have family experience battling MS — that keep the conversation going on the importance of keeping all golfer types and abilities in mind with every new product release.

These encouraging signs of treatment advancements coupled with industry innovations and a true embracement of “growing the game” are silver linings for anyone who struggles with a chronic condition that limits their participation in golf. The easy thing to do in situations like what my wife endures is to shut down, stop doing things you enjoy, become depressed and wait for the next challenge to strike. But that’s never been her nature.

A former multi-sport collegiate athlete, Kristen seems to revel in the challenge. She’ll admit to you her stubbornness when it comes to overcoming adversity, engrained in her over many years and via multiple coaches. She excelled in whatever athletic endeavor she tried and can still move the golf ball pretty damn well for someone who plays less than five rounds a year. Kristen routinely breaks 100 on a full round of golf and has a nasty habit of dropping a birdie on me when I least expect it. It’s the greatest of annoyances, and one that I love to experience as often as possible.

From a Big Picture perspective, golf is a minuscule part of what Kristen and I would like to experience together in the future. She thinks I’m nuts for caring as much as I do about stupid things like pro golf, new equipment and a budding interest in course architecture. She’s right, of course. This game is ridiculously absurd and takes up too much of my brain power.

But from a smaller viewpoint, golf remains a chance for us to connect and compete against one another. I can see the enjoyment and fire in her eyes when she sinks a long putt or blasts a drive down the middle. She is truly extraordinary in her resolve and overcoming what she views as an obstacle. There’s nothing more incredible than seeing someone at their best, and she is at hers when she competes.

Now if I can only convince her to stop with the gloating.