KEY POINTS:
Rotorua golfer Mark Smith knows all about winning.
Smith captains the powerful Bay of Plenty side in the national amateur men's interprovincial teams championship starting tomorrow in Nelson.
He has been part of four championship-winning Bay of Plenty teams in the last six years.
The defending champions will
again assume favouritism as 15 provincial teams do battle at Greenacres Golf Club.
It took Bay of Plenty 50 years to etch their name on the trophy but after that breakthrough win in 2002 they won three times in a row and again in 2007 at Mt Maunganui.
Auckland and Wellington, the most successful combinations in the 58-year history of the interprovincials with 12 wins each, are expected to pose the strongest challenges.
There is also real hope for hosts Tasman to add a second interprovincial crown to their solitary victory in 1996 while Hawke's Bay, who have not won in four decades, come to Nelson with a powerful and experienced combination.
Waikato are also perennial contenders.
While Bay of Plenty do not have Wellington, Auckland or Waikato in their section for pool play, Smith said they faced some real challenges.
"We have an easier draw but we need to guard against becoming complacent," Smith said.
"Obviously we have a different team with Danny Lee and Kevin Smith who are really big losses for any team for obvious reasons.
"We all like the course at Greenacres. It's in great shape and it's very fair. It rewards good shots and penalises you for mistakes.
"The key is accuracy off the tee. Length is an advantage anytime but not such a factor here."
Smith said there was no secret behind Bay of Plenty's success in recent times.
"You have to win three matches each game. It's really over to the individuals to focus on their own game and what they have to do rather than get too concerned with the rest of the team.
"You have to get on well with each other as a team or it can be a long week. But each player needs to do their own job."
Smith will chalk up his 50th interprovincial match this week.
"It's something that I've always wanted and it's special.
"I had two months off this year travelling to Europe with my wife but I've worked hard on my game in the short time that I've been back."
Bay of Plenty will look to national representative Jared Pender at No 1 with former Taranaki No 1 Troy Ropiha, the leading amateur in this year's Charles Tour, the newcomer at No 2 while Smith will prove a tough nut at No 5.
Auckland have Ryan Fox at No 1, fellow Academy player Ben Wallace, former professional Van Wright and national junior representative Steve Ha in their line-up.
However they are quite inexperienced, with Fox making his debut and Wallace a reserve last year.
Wellington have an exceptional strong combination, headed by 2006 national amateur champion Andrew Green, New Zealand representative Peter Spearman-Burn, his brother Thomas, the New Zealand amateur champion, with Sean Kells making his debut
Hawke's Bay are led by national representative Nick Gillespie with former Canterbury player Daniel Pearce, seventh in the recent Malaysian amateur, plus experience at the bottom of the order in Stu Duff and former Bay of Plenty No 1 Mike Wilson.
Waikato, the 2006 champions, are led by Jim Cusdin at No 1 with former international Richard Wright at No 2 although they have suffered a setback with Aaron Leech forced out due to injury.
There will be plenty of support for Tasman, who will be led by New Zealand junior representative Sean Riordan and younger brother Blair, with Jason Giblin, their most consistent performer this year, at No 3.
The teams are split into two sections for pool play with the top two teams in each section qualifying for the semifinals on Saturday morning.
- NZPA