Golf: Big-hitting cane toad swinging way to NZ

Driving 400m is no problem for Queenslander Scott Hend. Photo / Getty Images

One of the longest hitters in golf has signed up to play the New Zealand Open next month.

Queenslander Scott Hend, the first foreign player to win the driving distance title on the PGA tour (in 2005), will be one of biggest drawcards at the Queenstown event.

He has always been renowned for his heavy hitting and has recorded staggering distances of more than 400 metres off the tee during his career.

"Back in my younger years, I've hit a couple of long ones," Hend told the Herald on Sunday. "I think about 450 yards plus (411m) [was the longest] but of course that was downhill."

While distance off the tee is always advantageous, it is often decried, with the adage of 'drive for show, putt for dough' one of the most enduring in the sport.

"I totally disagree with that adage," laughs Hend. "If you bomb it down the fairway, it usually leads to shorter irons into the green, therefore you get much better chances to get shorter putts for birdies. [Hitting a long drive] also makes those par fives a little easier."

Though there is often mystique associated with those men who thunder the ball immense distances - remember the fascination with John Daly - Hend says there is not a huge mental edge to be gained from regularly out-driving playing partners.

"I don't think being the longest in a group is a psychological advantage," says Hend. "If you are playing with other professionals, it really doesn't make a difference. We are all out there doing our stuff and playing to our strengths."

Anyway, Hend is far from a one-shot wonder. The 40-year-old is coming off his best season, after winning three tournaments on the Asian Tour (Chiang Mai Golf Classic, Mercuries Taiwan Masters and the Venetian Macau Open). He finished second on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, pocketing US$598,000 ($739,550) in prize money.

"It was nice to convert good positions on Saturdays into wins on Sundays," says Hend of his stellar 2013. "I have been playing well for a long time now and, with golf, you need a little fortune to go your way."

Hend has played all across the golfing globe, on all the major tours, including the PGA Tour in 2004 and 2005 (both times gaining his card through qualifying school). He is one of the most travelled players in the sport, which has led to some interesting experiences.

"Playing a tournament in Pakistan was 'different'," says Hend. "[There was a] bit of gun fire around and some other goings on there. Crans Montana in Switzerland is a unbelievable place to play golf. Dubai is also a different place, seeing pictures before the course was built and seeing the development there was amazing."

Hend wouldn't swap his vocation for anything else in the world but admits there is an unglamourous side to life as a professional golfer.

"Being away from my family is the hardest thing," says Hend, who has two young children, Aston and McLaren (the diehard motorsport fan claims the names are just "purely coincidental") . "Also your mates, you travel for a job and sometimes only see people a few times a year. The flying is a killer - after the New Zealand Open I'm playing in Miami in the World Golf Championship. It's going to be about 30 hours to get there, all in economy class. But I don't expect people to feel sorry for me, I've got a great job and there are ups and downs in every job."

Hend is looking forward to mixing with some of the sporting figures and other celebrities during the pro-am phase of the New Zealand Open - "It should be fun, it's always great to play with other people who are good at what they do" and especially the chance to play at the picturesque South Island venue again.

"Queenstown is one of the most beautiful places I have been to in the world," says Hend. "I love the courses there and really wanted to get back to play there again."