An Edinburgh man is playing 25 rounds of golf over five days in honour of a late rugby star who died of motor neurone disease (MND).

George “Doddie” Weir, a Scottish rugby union player, died in 2022, aged 52. Inspired by the star’s struggle, Graeme Smeaton aims to raise £25,000 for MND research through the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, a charity launched in the nickname of the player.

Mr Smeaton will walk a total of 125 miles, hit over 2,000 shots, and will have less than 25 hours of sleep over the five days. He will be joined by former Scotland rugby internationals John Barclay, Andy Irvine, and Roger Baird will join him across the week to keep pace and morale high. In memory of Doddie, he will wear Royal and Awesome’s limited-edition Doddie tartan, 15 per cent of each sale goes to the charity.

READ MORE: Huge delays on Edinburgh Bypass as drivers urged to ‘use caution’

READ MORE: Edinburgh’s ‘high rise luxury living’ of the 1970s that’s fallen into utter despair

Graeme Smeaton, founder of Royal & Awesome golf, takes on the challenge from June 2-6. His JustGiving page had already amassed over £2,000 in donations by Monday morning.

Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox

The rounds will be played on East Lothian courses Gullane, Luffness, Kilspindie and Longniddry. Ahead of the feat, Mr Smeaton said: “These courses are where I fell in love with golf.

“So to take on this challenge here, for a cause as meaningful as My Name’5 Doddie Foundation’s feels incredibly special. I’m aiming to raise £25,000 but the main goal is to raise awareness of the incredible work the Foundation does to raise vital funds for MND research.

“This is nothing compared to what people living with MND go through every day. I just want to do my bit – and hopefully inspire donations along the way.”

Join Edinburgh Live’s Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.

Also joining will be Doddie’s son Hamish Weir and friends and family of MND campaigner Scott Stewart, who lost his battle with MND in December 2024. Paul Thompson, director of fundraising and communications at My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, said: “Graeme’s challenge is bold, brilliant, and full of heart, exactly the kind of energy Doddie brought to life.

“We’re incredibly grateful for his support and can’t wait to see him take on all 25 rounds. He’s doing something extraordinary to help fund vital research and raise awareness of MND.”

Mr Smeaton will be posting about the challenge on his Instagram account. Find out more information on Graeme’s JustGiving page here.