NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Golf

Golf: Virtual coach has Tongue wagging

23 Apr, 2004 11:44 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

By BOB PEARCE

Mal Tongue spent his 47th birthday on the Taupo Golf Course this week and he will tell you that it was a happy one.

Despite quitting his job as national golf coach in a messy row with New Zealand Golf which saw five other coaches resign, Tongue insists that
he has never been more excited about his future.

But the strain has taken its toll. He's slimmer and he's puffing on a small cigar - a habit he's promised his family he'll give up on May 1.

And it's different now when he visits the national championships. Gone are the black NZ Golf windbreaker and the golf cart. He is now part of a small gallery following one of his star pupils, 19-year-old Riki Kauika. The magic still works as Kauika shoots a course record.

So what is keeping Tongue excited about golf beyond his regular coaching commitments with some of the cream of New Zealand talent?

The six former New Zealand coaches, Tongue, Bob McDonald, Murray Macklin, Simon Thomas, Shane Scott and Brian Boys, have formed a company to promote a revolutionary virtual coaching system.

"Once the situation with New Zealand Golf was terminated we decided we wanted to continue to be a major part in what's happening in New Zealand golf," Tongue said. "What we want to be able to do is to help as many people as we possibly can in the right circumstances. So we set up a company called 9 Lines Golf.

"That is a coaching philosophy, which we've built up as a team, and a language and a way for people to learn to play the game much easier. It's totally unique. At the end of the day what we've set up is something that makes coaches more redundant.

"People are playing golf on their own all the time so we're only a small part of the puzzle. We have a format that let them help themselves. We've got a company called Silicon Coach from down in Dunedin, who've helped us with the software. I've personally done the written side of it and the positional side of it.

"Basically it's not to clone players but to give them reference points in a language that's simplistic and to allow them to use it wherever they're travelling in the world."

Not surprisingly, Tongue has been perfecting the system, using New Zealand's number one player, Brad Iles, who he coaches at his Manor Park base in the Hutt Valley.

"With Brad at the moment we're setting up a programme where he's got his own camera and laptop when he's going to America. He'll be able to send his information back to me on a weekly basis. He's wherever he is in the States and I'll be in New Zealand and still be his coach.

"We want to take this international. They wanted to be able to help players in their development from the youngest age "and get them used to the formats and get them used to understanding about their golf game right through to international amateurs and then right through to professionals".

Tongue said it would be ideal to have another 10 professionals throughout the country involved to learn how to work the system and apply it. It would be possible to combine that with work as a club pro. As members of the NZPGA the group hoped that body would see merit in their proposals.

New Zealand Golf had only recently seen the system - it was not a factor in the resignations - and Tongue believes they were impressed. But so far there had been no reaction.

"I want the players in the system to play for New Zealand. Definitely. It's our main goal. We're trying to develop something that we can share with as many people as we can - and not just in New Zealand.

"We're not trying to break away from everything and take over the game. There's a role that we want to play and there's a role that the PGA wants to play. I'm not sure what the role of New Zealand Golf's going to be. This wasn't one of the issues in the breakup. They didn't even know it existed.

"That was about the course of New Zealand golf and I categorically state it was never a personality clash. Not from me. There may have been other people within the organisation who had a personality clash but it certainly wasn't me."

Tongue is not about to put all his cards on the table about the bust up. He has a book coming out at Christmas and says it will make "very interesting reading".

So was it all just a publicity stunt? "I knew you'd think that. But I can tell you honestly that had nothing to do with it.

"New Zealand gives you the opportunity to become a world-class coach. But when you get there, people tend to get more and more scared of you. That's a New Zealand trait. I think that's been a problem in New Zealand Golf. There have been too many controlling factors instead of letting people have a free and open opinion.

"I've never been more excited about my future than I am right now. It's incredible. In some ways I'm really sad. But without what happened, I would never have seen the big picture."

But is it a final messy divorce with New Zealand Golf? It's hard to imagine the coaches reapplying for their jobs and there may need to be a cooling-off period. But you get the feeling Tongue misses his former role.

"I've turned up for this today," he said, "and I feel I'm not part of anything any more. I've got no role in golf in an official capacity. It's quite a strange sort of feeling but I'm not going to go away and hide."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Golf

Golf

'A special place': Dame Lydia Ko reflects 10 years on from first major win

10 Jul 02:06 AM
Golf

'Like a reunion': What's changed upon Ryan Fox's return to Europe

09 Jul 02:02 AM
Golf

Kiwi golfer takes home $285k after strong finish

06 Jul 07:40 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Golf

'A special place': Dame Lydia Ko reflects 10 years on from first major win

'A special place': Dame Lydia Ko reflects 10 years on from first major win

10 Jul 02:06 AM

'This is always going to be a special place for me regardless of how I play.'

'Like a reunion': What's changed upon Ryan Fox's return to Europe

'Like a reunion': What's changed upon Ryan Fox's return to Europe

09 Jul 02:02 AM
Kiwi golfer takes home $285k after strong finish

Kiwi golfer takes home $285k after strong finish

06 Jul 07:40 PM
'A nice place to be': Ryan Fox on mental hurdles overcome in PGA Tour rise

'A nice place to be': Ryan Fox on mental hurdles overcome in PGA Tour rise

02 Jul 04:32 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP