Golf: Mixed day at the office for Bay pair

Henry Heather from the Hibernian RSA 1 team tees off during yesterday's first round of Clubs New Zealand's National Men's Pairs golf tournament at his Hawke's Bay club. Photo/Glenn Taylor

Talk about mixing work with pleasure ... for Hawke's Bay golfer Henry Heather it's a case of having to.

Heather, a 2.5 handicapper, and his Hawke's Bay clubmate Laurie Lambert, who plays off a 10, are the Hibernian RSA 1 team in the 256-player Clubs New Zealand National Men's Pairs tournament which began at their club yesterday. After scoring 35 stableford points, two less than Lambert, Heather, left the course at 1.30pm and worked until 8pm last night.

Today, the pair have a 7am tee off which will allow Heather to work most of the afternoon and into the early hours of this evening.

"We've got a few projects on which are keeping us busy so it's a case of fitting my golf around work," Heather, who runs a Flaxmere-based four-person engineering business, explained.

"There's a first time for everything and I didn't want to miss this tournament," he said.

The 2002 Hawke's Bay Tower team captain and now Hawke's Bay Masters representative, Heather, has been playing at the Hawke's Bay club since the early 1990s. When it was suggested all that "local knowledge" accumulated over the years should give him and Lambert the edge Heather replied:

"That didn't happen today. I don't know what the greenkeepers are up to but the greens were a lot slicker than normal ... but it's the same for everybody."

However when yours truly informed Heather he and Lambert were in sixth place overall, eight points behind the leaders, he was a happy man.

"You've given us a goal ... to close that gap and tomorrow is a new day so we will give it a good go," Heather said.

When I mentioned the possibility of 90-100km/h winds today Heather, 51, was even happier.

"I love the wind. It straightens out my ball flight."

A former Hawke's Bay Magpies rugby fullback-midfield back, Heather, pointed out he hasn't put as much time into his golf in recent years as he has in the past because he likes to spend time with his two children and three grandchildren. And with his increasing work commitments he is grateful Lambert, who has played in this national tournament in the past, has taken time off from his job as a carpetmaker.

Increasing the motivational fuel for Heather and Lambert my departing words to Heather suggested a catch-up for his victory speech after tomorrow's final round.

"If that happens there will be no work that night," he replied.

Danny Pierey and Mark Thomson from the Tararua Club in Pahiatua, who both carded 40 stableford points yesterday, will start today's second of three rounds in the National Service Club-hosted event with a two-point lead over Lyn Evans and Trevor Barnard from the South Wairarapa Club. The best of the Hawke's Bay pairs are the Taradale Club team of Allan Greeks and Robin Mohi who were third, five points adrift.