Scully (72), a retired butcher from Melbourne, started playing squash in 1990 when his wife Pat told him ''to get out and do something''.
''I had done nothing physical for 10 years and my wife kept nagging me to get off my backside.''
His weight had ballooned to 114kg and he found it difficult to get out of his own way.
Squash has made a big difference to his life and he has reduced his weight to 88kg.
''I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be alive today if I hadn't started playing squash,'' he said.
''It was the best thing I've ever done.''
Scully has competed at 14 Masters Games in Australia and this is his third in Dunedin.
He sewed up the gold medal in the men's over age 65 class when he beat Invercargill's Russell Read (76), the oldest squash player at the Games, 3-0.
Read, a retired educational psychologist, has played squash all his life.
''Squash is a great sport because in a cold climate like Invercargill it can be played any day,'' he said.
''Squash enhances perceptual and motor skills and reaction time.''
The heyday of squash in New Zealand was in the 1970s and early 1980s.
''There were 1200 people playing squash at Invercargill in 1980 and we had three clubs,'' Read said.
''We now have just one club and 300 players.''
Read has competed in all the Dunedin Masters Games, his three gold medals having been in the 10km road race.
He has a best marathon time of 3hr 15min.
Marty McKelvie (Invercargill), who did not drop any games during the competition beat fellow Southlander Darren Fairweather 3-0 to win the gold medal in the men's elite final.
Helen Brownlie (Dunedin) won the over 55 women's final when she beat Pat Taylor (Tauranga).
Barry Werth (Sydney) won the men's over 55 gold medal when he beat Rod Waugh (Tauranga) 3-1 in the final.
Rangi Clark (Dunedin) won the men's aged 45 to 54 gold medal.
