Golf: My way the right way for Smail

New Zealand golfer David Smail. Herald file picture

At first glance, David Smail, Glenn Turner and Frank Sinatra appear an unlikely set of soul brothers.

Scratch the surface, though, and dots emerge to connect the self-effacing golf professional to the New Zealand cricket legend and celebrated American crooner.

Sinatra's many hits included a chart topper titled My Way, while Turner, the first cricketer from this country to successfully forge a career as a professional in the modern era, penned an autobiography of the same name in 1975.

Smail, too, is very much a character in the My Way mould, eschewing the example of others to find his own way in the world.

Find the way he has -- in Japan of all places -- through trial and error, and no small amount of skill and determination.

He's done it in such an unassuming manner that he'd be sure to blush at any comparison to Sinatra or Turner.

Those two headstrong characters courted controversy; Sinatra went to his grave leaving allegations of Mob connections unanswered, while Turner's long stint in the playing and coaching ranks was marked by a series of run-ins, firstly with immovable administrators and later with non-compliant players.

Smail, by contrast, is an almost saintly figure, one untouched by unfavourable or negative reviews.

There's more to it than simply the fact that he is a genuinely good bugger. He's an everyman made good, one who harnessed what talent he had and grafted for any success which has come his way.

Now, at 35, Smail enters what should be the most productive period of his career firmly established as New Zealand's second leading active touring pro behind reigning US Open champion Michael Campbell.

Career earnings estimated at $6.5 million have been built on unremarkable pillars -- a solid, controlled game, unflappable temperament and a liking for a challenge.

When he turned pro in 1992 he did so with the encouragement of friends and family but without the support of a coach, someone to offer a psychological boost in down times as well as tips for technical refinement.

Smail has always been one to resolve his own problems, and it remains that way today, with Team Smail consisting only of himself, wife Sheree, a former tour pro, and caddie John Bennett, a constant by his side since 2001.

He was forced to go outside his inner circle in July when a lower back complaint which flared just before the British Open in Scotland was diagnosed as a collapsed disc.

It was a frightening time. Talk about back injuries is raised in no more than whispers in locker rooms around the globe, golfers -- more than most -- appreciating they can spell the premature ending of careers.

Just ask New Zealanders Frank Nobilo and Phil Tataurangi. Nobilo was forced into retirement because of a degenerative disc two years ago, while Tataurangi has largely been inactive since undergoing surgery for a herniated disc midway through 2003.

Smail intially feared the worst.

"There was a little bit of shock. I started thinking about what else I could do. I was wondering whether I could get into other areas of golf," he said.

"To be perfectly honest, I was struggling to find things I thought I could do."

Smail's mood brightened when told his options included playing through the injury -- altering his schedule to allow for more rest periods, adopting a fitness programme geared towards strengthening the back and promoting flexibility, as well as using painkillers to dull the discomfort.

It was that or surgery, with no guarantees of a happy ending.

Smail was keen to play on; he had played in pain before due to injury and backed himself to manage the problem.

"I had already thought about the prospect of retiring in five or six years time, once I was past 40 anyway," he said.

"Once I was aware of my options it wasn't too bad because at least I could maybe carry on for another three or four and that's be close to where I want to be."

The exercise regime was a novel concept for Smail, a tall, willowy individual whose previous understanding of a physical workout amounted to little more than warming up on the driving range.

It has worked exceptionally well, with Smail winning two of his last three tournaments in Japan during a season in which he also lost playoffs for another two titles.

In a peculiar way, Smail thinks the back problem has helped his game.

"I had to button off a bit and swing a bit easier at it. I didn't have much of a follow through for a quite a while," he said from his 5ha lifestyle block outside Hamilton just days after securing his seventh career title at the Bridgestone Open in Chiba on Sunday.

"I ended up hitting a lot of really straight shots. It's made me more consistent.

"Instead of trying to hit it too hard to get that little bit more distance, I've buttoned off, I've been getting more control."

His success in Chiba lifted Smail to third on the Japan Tour's rankings with income from 16 tournaments of $940,450, and he has four events left to overtake the leader, Shingo Katayama, who has banked $1.15m so far.

It is a lifetime away from 1997 when Smail reckons he spent $35,000 to put himself through a gruelling five-tournament qualifying series to earn his Japan Tour stripes.

"It was the best $35,000 I ever spent."

His career earnings in Japan now stand at $5.2 million, fully justifying his decision -- at his wife's urging -- to try his luck in that country.

Before settling down with David, Sheree Smail was a successful tour pro herself in Japan and knew the country had much to offer someone not tempted by the bright lights of the United States or Europe.

Her husband has to agree and is surprised more foreign golfers have not chased the yen.

Fields on the Japan Tour are routinely 85 per cent Japanese, with Koreans, Chinese, the odd American, a handful of Australians and Smail offering the competition.

The foreign content has not changed much since Smail first headed there, although he thinks the number of Americans has dropped.

"Over the years, the Americans have struggled to stay in there for a long time, just because the culture and things being different from at home.

"Kiwis are a bit more adaptable; we're a little further away from the rest of the world so we don't mind changing a bit.

"It is difficult though. The first year, 18 months or so, is pretty tough, it's hard to work out where you're going.

"I think to most people it is a bit scary; different culture and language and things like that. As well, it's probably drummed into you that Europe and America are the only places to go.

"I was lucky having Sheree because she knew her way around and she knew the language."

Sheree caddied for her husband for 18 months before the arrival of the first of their two children. She continues to offer tremendous support as well as the occasional pep talk to a player renowned for sometimes appearing asleep while standing up.

He has had no cause to regret adopting Japan as a second home; one close enough to his real home that Sheree and the kids can remain in Hamilton while he works.

Playing fulltime in Europe or the US would require uprooting the family, something Smail will not do.

Anyway, he dipped his toe in US waters by playing a small number of tournaments there a couple of years ago and was not at all comfortable.

"I'm a quiet person and it gets very boisterous over there."

That's not to say downtown Tokyo is a good spot for measured contemplation.

But Smail spends the bulk of his time in Japan on the course and off it he largely keeps himself to himself.

There's time enough, though, to listen to a record or even read a good book.

- NZPA