You can end up accumulating a lot of stuff when you play golf. Go on, have a rummage in the nooks and crannies of your tatty bag – yes, that one slumped forlornly in the corner like some Victorian class dunce – and you will find balls, tees, gloves, hats, crumpled waterproofs, empty water bottles, mouldering chocolate bars, the odd torn up scorecard … Amid all this paraphernalia, it is amazing there is actually any room to fit the clubs in.
For Hannah McCook, the vessel that she carts the tools of her trade around in tends to be so jam-packed, she is in danger of getting an excess baggage charge on the first tee. There is a good reason for this hefty load, of course.
“As a type-1 diabetic, I need tonnes of stuff,” said the Scot, who was speaking as part of Diabetes Awareness Week. “I have new sensors in case the ones I wear fall off. I have needles, syringes, insulin pumps and loads and loads of snacks. If the technology I use fails, I need to have a back-up. Nothing gives me more anxiety than being somewhere without any sugar. It’s probably the heaviest bag on tour.”
McCook has lived with the condition since the age of eight. It has not prevented her pursuing a career in golf but, along this journey, the former Women’s Irish and Welsh Open Amateur champion has had a bit more to think about than yardages, club selection and pin positions.
“It can make life difficult,” she said. “And frustrating too. I was playing in a Women’s Amateur Championship a few years ago and was all-square with my opponent after 11 holes. All of a sudden, my sugar levels went low, I couldn’t focus and I lost three holes in a row. You would feel like you’d just thrown the match away.
“I remember when I was injecting and had to do one when I was in a queue at Miami airport passport control. I could feel the eyes on me and people wondering if I was doing something dodgy. When you’re younger, it can be difficult but I think it made me grow up a bit quicker. There are times you get diabetic burnout, and you think nothing that you’re doing is working. I try to remind myself that it could be much worse, though.”
These days, McCook manages her diabetes with the help of the Dexcom CGM system, a high-tech contraption that is linked to her phone and continuously monitors her glucose levels.
“I can see how my levels are trending and act before the damage is done,” added the 29-year-old of this valuable accoutrement. “When you’re too low, it’s too late. You feel drunk, you can’t concentrate and it’s just a disaster. I control things much better now.”
A professional since the end of 2018, McCook, who plies her trade on the Ladies European Tour’s Access Series, had her second season in the paid ranks wiped out by the Covid pandemic before hip surgery in 2021 just about left her requiring snookers to catch up with her peers.
“I knew there was something wrong for maybe four or five years,” she said of her niggling injury. “It wasn’t just my golf that it was affecting. If I moved in bed or on the sofa, I would make a sharp intake of breath. It was the easiest decision ever to have surgery. I had a torn labral with bone impingement. So, they shaved off a bit of bone, stitched it back together and sent me on my way.”
McCook certainly got back in her stride. A professional breakthrough on the Rose Ladies Series recently gave her a cheque for £10,000 but you could not put a price on the sense of fulfilment.
“There were lots of emotions but maybe relief was the biggest one,” said McCook, who is part of the Dexcom Warrior community of kindred spirits with inspiring tales to tell. “I hadn’t won as a pro so to see all the hard work finally come to fruition and pull it out of the bag under pressure was hugely satisfying.”
After that notable feat, McCook will reach another milestone next month.
“I’m turning 30,” she said. “Not that long ago, I didn’t want to reach 30. But now that I’ve won, I’m upbeat and looking forward to a new decade.”
Like her golf bag, there will hopefully be plenty to pack in.
