It's been a laid-back preparation for Whakatane's Zoe Brake leading into the Danny Lee Springfield Open which gets under way today.
The No1 Bay of Plenty women's golfer has spent more time on the water than on the greens during her Christmas break.
When the Bay Times caught up with the 20-year-old she had spent the day just off the coast of Whakatane diving and fishing.
"I got a few crays and a few snapper so yeah it was a good day. I've played a couple of social days at Whakatane since interprovincials and I've seen my coach this week and that's about it - pretty laid-back preparation like usual."
Brake, a two-time winner of the Springfield Open, spent a year away from the game in 2010 to focus on her career in the Navy. Last year she made a strong comeback to the golfing scene, narrowly missing out on the Bay of Plenty Open title but managed the No1 tag for Bay of Plenty when they competed in the women's interprovincial champs in December where the team finished third behind Auckland and North Harbour respectively.
"It was a good year really until I fully got back into my golf.
"I think [the break] helped me a lot and I just take a different perspective now and take it not as seriously, although I still want to go out there and win and all that."
Brake said she was determined to get her name appearing for a third time on the winners board at the Springfield Club.
"If you don't have confidence in yourself then you aren't going to get anywhere," Brake said.
She said she hated to lose.
The open is becoming a popular tournament on the golfing calendar for many of the top New Zealand amateurs.
Victory at the Springfield Open sees the winner's name grace the same honours board as tournament sponsor Lee who was the 2008 US Amateur and 2009 Johnny Walker Classic winner.
Springfield Golf Club general manager Greg Fitzgerald said the tournament was the brainchild of Mark Smith, who captained the Springfield team to three consecutive national strokeplay championships and led the Bay of Plenty team which started the run of consecutive victories at the NZ interprovincials.
The three-day tournament gets under way today and some of the top amateurs in New Zealand are expected to compete.
More than 100 competitors are expected to take part in the event.
While Lee is on the world tours learning his craft as a professional golfer and won't be able to make this year's tournament, he and his family are still proud to sponsor this sixth edition of the Springfield Open. The 54-hole championship gets under way tomorrow with 36 holes followed by 18 holes on the Sunday.
Brake told the Bay Times she planned to do a couple of more tournaments after the Springfield Open, to hopefully get the eye of the New Zealand selectors, before she headed off for a couple of months at sea with the Navy at the end of February.