And for guys like Shoee, once you have had a taste of it, you're, excuse the pun, hooked.
The 2021 EC Open lived up to its history of success courtesy of a superbly presented course, predominantly balmy autumn weather, views of Waipiro Bay and Hikurangi to inspire greatness from artists and poets, manaakitanga (hospitality) only the Coast could deliver and an eclectic bunch of likeminded individuals in pursuit of good golf and a good time.
The good time? Well, that was easily achieved. Not so much the good golf.
Out on the battlefield, the action ranged from calamitous to stupendous.
Paul Mullooly raised the white flag after contracting an aggressive variant of the shanks — 15 on Saturday alone.
It became a contagion someone named the “Sureshank Convention” because of the number of players — including overall champion Anaru Reedy — who suffered the ignominy of a ball firing off the hosel at 45-degrees-plus.
Mullooly passed the virus on to his Sunday morning matchplay victim Gray Clapham.
Mulla's self-deprecating reaction to those patting him on the back for his win was one of the quotes of the weekend.
“It's like congratulating a bed-wetter for having a dry night.”
At the other end of the quality scale were the first-16 big boys.
Champion Reedy started his Friday practice round with a high-sky drive, a fatly struck second and a bogey-5.
That woke the dragon. He slammed his next drive on to the par-4 second green, then slotted the six-foot putt for eagle.
From there, Reedy stamped his class all over a Springs track he had dominated four times previously and there was a sense of inevitability when he clinched his fifth with victory over William Brown on Sunday afternoon.
Former first-class cricketer Mark Jefferson contributed to the brilliance with a birdie-birdie finish to stun the highly accomplished Peter Kerekere in the first round.
Dwayne Russell rattled Reedy with his birdie-eagle start (driving to three feet from the hole) in their quarterfinal but was eventually yippee-ki-yayed by his diehard adversary.
Former Gisborne golfer Tim Trowell returned to his Whakatane home happy to be nursing only minor wounds.
Sitting on a seat next to the third tee, Trowell heard the cry “fore” from the fifth tee, 260 metres away. Seconds later, “whack”, a ball struck Trowell on the arm, leaving a surprisingly small red mark,
A hole later when Trowell went to check his distance on his GPS golf watch, he saw the bottom of the face was smashed, suggesting it had taken the brunt of the blow.
Trowell also rolled his ankle during the round and was stabbed in the leg with a branch one of his playing group had recklessly tossed away while looking for a ball.
He wasn't the only casualty.
A stray Clapham shot hit a playing group member's caddie in the back of her head. Apologetic Clapham “was going to sign a glove for her” but didn't think she would appreciate that PGA custom.
One of the beauties of golf in New Zealand and tournaments like the EC Open is the range of people it attracts, from Joe Bloggs to household names.
Among the 2021 field was a knight (Sir Matiu Te Rei, who in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Maori), All Black greats Ian Kirkpatrick and Joe Stanley, and former Springbok Joggie Viljoen, who played alongside the likes of Jonah Lomu and Christian Cullen during a stint with the Hurricanes.
Palmerston North-based Viljoen, married to Tania Pepere from Tikitiki, lost in the final of the fourth 16 in his first time at the EC Open.
“It was a brilliant tournament,” said Viljoen, who put his defeat down to “eating too much at lunchtime”.
Clark Karanga, from the Tuhoe rohe and a member of Opotiki, crossed Te Puia off an interesting achievement list. Having played at the most northern, western and now eastern courses in New Zealand, Karanga is to head to Stewart Island to play the most southern.
East Coast kaumatua and Te Puia member Nehe Dewes spoke of the tournament's “wonderful wairua” (spirit).
At its heart was the 19th hole, where $5 drinks flowed, stomachs were filled by hakari fit for royalty and the aftermatch fun and games inevitably led to a guitar and beer-induced renditions of '60s or '70s classics.
Five players and one special golf club achieved 100 percent records over the weekend.
The five were the division winners, while the club's perfect feat was sending every player home with an experience to remember — an experience summed up perfectly by first-timer Viljoen.
“I can't wait to return.”
