Stuart Duff puts his prowess down to keeping things in the straight and narrow. PHOTO/Duncan Brown
STUART DUFF doesn't mince words when you ask him what sort of temperament he takes on to the golf course every time he tees up in an amateur tournament.
"I'm a steady player, generally," says the 53-year-old Lindisfarne College schoolteacher sitting on a plus-one handicap.
It's that sort of mettle that earned him an enviable treble of crowns at the Ohope 10000 Men's Open last weekend.
In his own self-effacing sort of way, Duff plays a hook shot to underplay his prowess at the Ohope International Golf Club.
"The first day I was lucky because I teed up in the morning at 8.18 so I got reasonable conditions for nine holes and then it was windy on the back nine," he says with a laugh, having sympathy for those who started later because links courses tend to be tricky near seasides.
Duff led by three shots on Saturday to hand in his card for a par 71 before a one-under on Sunday but the telling factor is his whopping nine-stroke victory over runner-up Dave Izzard, of Muriwai Golf Club, on a 2.2 handicap.
While there was a field of 124 he deflects his achievements by revealing that there are a few top amateurs but most of them are social hackers.
Duff is unaware of who else has carved up milestones on the course but believes it'll be etched on the silverware.
A spokeswoman for Ohope club, Margaret Greer, says there were 24 single-digit handicappers in the mix at the weekend practising for the New Zealand Senior Open in February next year.
For the record, Greer says an N Johnson won the Ohope title four consecutive years, from 1984 to 1987.
"No one seems to know much about Johnson because he played in the eighties," she says, after consulting other staff and members at the club.
Jordan Rangihika, of Ngaruawahia, has won the Ohope crown three times - in 2008-09 and 2011.
Duff, who won a chainsaw as prize, describes it as not a particularly long course "but it makes it very interesting".
"It's a really good links course because it's undulating and you get different sorts of rises and the greens are elevated so you feel you've got to play a lot of half and three-quarter shots because of the winds.
"You can't play the same shots all the time because of the nature of the terrain so you get side hill, downhill and uphill rise."
The former Bay amateur representative simply followed the old golfing edict of keeping the ball in the straight and narrow.
Duff carded 73, 68 in 2014 and 76, 73 last year to claim the bragging rights.
The Hastings Golf Club member says the 76 last year was due to wet and windy weather.
However, while he is a "steady" player he had a bad day at the Hastings club championship final against Mark Tasker a fortnight ago.
"I'm still smarting from losing that one so it's nice to win one since losing two weeks ago," he says with a grin, succumbing on the 38th hole of matchplay competition.
He adheres to the old adage that a golf ball doesn't know how old you are.
"So you might lose a little bit of distance to the young guys but it's about keeping them on the fairway and honing in on the greens.
"If you can do that often enough and make the odd putt then it doesn't matter how old you are as Gary Player still shoots a good score and he's 80."
The beauty of golf is that when someone is in reasonable condition then they can still play.
Playing to his limitations has been the key to the former first-class Central Districts and New Zealand A cricketer's success.
"I try to assess situations, play the shot I think I can play so if I can't play it I'll just take a more careful route probably and live with that," he says when asked if he has any tin-cup traits in his template.
The former Bay amateur captain enjoys mixing it with the younger generation of swingers these days and following their progress.
"I have no desire to play rep nowadays, getting in a van and travelling for four to five hours," he says, revealing he plays just as much as he did in his peak years but entering slightly different events.
Because of his fulltime teaching job he is unable to compete in pro-am circuits.
For a bloke who tees off from the mound relatively straight as well as on fairways, he sees that as his major strength.
"I hit long enough to reach greens but not short, just average lengths."
His next goal is to ensure the Hastings club's division one men's Greenwood Cup team will win their last four games on November 12-13 at the Hawke's Bay Golf Club next door.
The Hastings Open in January and NZ Seniors at Ohope also are on his agenda.
His best finish at Ohope was third and top seven several times.
"I'd love to win the tournament, full stop, but there are a lot of very good players in there."
Hastings PGA professional Brian Doyle coaches Duff.
"He's very passionate, works hard and deserves his successes. Consistently, he is still the best amateur player in the Bay, I believe," says Doyle of his protege.
Duff's appraisal of his former Bay rep coach is equally complimentary.
"I'm just continually grateful for my coaching from Doyley who has been coaching me since 1992 and I see him about once a month and he's brilliant," he says, putting his enjoyment of the game down to the mentor who bolsters his technical and mental fortitude.