It’s safe to say that Aidan Donohue is pumped to play in the Drive, Chip & Putt competition.
Aidan, 13, won the Drive, Chip & Putt competition in the 14-15-year-old division in the local qualifier at Green Hill Municipal Golf Course on June 27. He placed first in chipping, second in driving and third in putting to finish first overall. So he advanced to compete in the sub-regional qualifier on Wednesday at Pease Golf Course in Portsmouth, N.H.
The junior member at Green Hill Municipal Golf Course carries a 4.8 handicap, but another number is more important to him ‒ his blood sugar level. Aidan has type 1 diabetes and has been on an insulin pump since he was two.
A blood sugar level of 200 milligrams per deciliter or higher suggests diabetes. A level of 70 or lower leads to hypoglycemia and necessitates consuming a high-sugar food or drink.
“Sometimes when I’m low, I hit worse shots,” he said.
So he drinks a tangerine or berry Juicy Juice box or eats a Nerds Gummy Cluster to boost his sugar level.
“He’s resilient,” his father Brendan Donohue said. “He doesn’t realize it yet. He’s too young, but diabetes is making him tougher for sure.”
PGA Tour golfer J.J. Spaun won the 2022 Valero Texas Open the year after he was diagnosed with late onset Type 1 diabetes. Aidan looks up to him.
“When he’s on the leaderboard,” Brendan said, “I call Aidan into the living room and say, ‘Hey, J.J.’s on.’”
The 5-foot-2, 100-pounder said he considers himself to be a role model for others with type 1 diabetes. Two friends who were in his seventh grade class at Auburn Middle School this past year were diagnosed over the last few years and he showed them that he’s dealt with it for most of his life.
Aidan was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 18 months old when his parents noticed their only child was thirsty, urinating too often and losing weight.
His mother, Kelly, is a nurse and her father was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 2 years old and passed away from complications of the disease in 2009 at age 50. So when Aidan was taken to the doctor, Kelly insisted that his blood sugar be tested. His reading was so high, his father said, the family was told to take him to the hospital immediately.
Aidan spent four nights at UMass Memorial Medical Center on Lake Ave. and had been under the care of specialists at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston ever since. He received injections for six or seven months before switching to an insulin pump. His parents fill the pod with insulin and move it to a different part of his stomach or back every 72 hours. The pump helps regulate his blood sugar levels.
On his left arm, he wears a continuous glucose monitor that tracks his blood sugar levels 24 hours a day. His levels are also monitored on his cell phone and the cell phones of his parents and the school nurse.
Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile onset diabetes, occurs when the body’s immune system destroys the insulin producing cells in the pancreas, preventing the body from making insulin. Daily insulin injections or use of an insulin pump is required to survive.
Type 2 diabetes, also known as adult onset diabetes, occurs when the pancreas produces less insulin or the body resists insulin. Type 2 is linked more to family history and being overweight. Proper exercise and diet can help type 2, but not type 1.
Asked if living with diabetes bothers him, he replied, “Sometimes.”
His father pointed out, “He doesn’t remember life before it because he was 18 months old. It doesn’t really stop him from doing anything.”
In addition to playing golf, he plays soccer and basketball, and he snowboards and rides Jet skis and tubes on Lake Quinsigamond and Stiles Reservoir.
Aidan competed in the 14-15-year-old division at Green Hill even though he won’t turn 14 until February because the age category is based on how old participants will be as of April 6, 2025. That’s the date of the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, home of the Masters. April 6 is the Sunday before the Masters begins.
Asked why he’s such a good golfer, Aidan replied, “Because my dad taught me at a young age.”
Aidan hits his driver very high and likes to play a draw.
“I hit my wedges and irons high too,” he said. “I don’t know why. I like hitting it high better than low.”
Aidan plays golf at Green Hill two or three times a week with his father.
On Sunday, July 21, he played the back tees at Green Hill for the first time and he shot a 2-over 38 on the front nine. His best 18-hole score from the red tees is a 1-under 71 and his best from the white tees is a 2-over 74, which included a 1-under 35 on the front. He also plays a handful of times a year at Pakachoag Golf Course where his best scores have been a 1-under 35 from the forward tees, 38 from the middle tees and 39 from the back tees.
Last October, he won the 12-year-old division of a U.S. Kids Golf Foundation 18-hole tournament event at Green Hill. He carded a 9-over 81 with a quadruple bogey 9 on the par-5 third hole. On July 1, he shot a 6-over 78 to finish second in a U.S. Kids Golf event at Wenham CC.
“I’m proud of the person he is and I’m really glad he gets a lot of enjoyment from golf,” his father said.
Brendan, 47, won a match play event while attending Golf Academy of America in…
