I started playing golf at the ripe old age of 27. I have never understood why it took me so long to discover the game. Born and raised in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) I played most sports fairly well throughout my childhood and adolescent years. Golf was fairly dominant in Rhodesia, even in those days, as can be seen from the successes of the likes of Nick Price and Tony Johnstone who are of the same era as me.

My golf started at the CMR Golf Club in Johannesburg South Africa. CMR (not to be confused with Crown Mines, another well known Johannesburg club) having once belonged to Consolidated Main Reef Gold Mine was well laid out and very well maintained. The club house was notorious for its social life and many was the time I heard that it had the highest divorce rate (amongst golf clubs) in South Africa!

The resident professional was Don Elmore ably assisted by his son Ron (also a professional), his wife and daughter whose names escape me. His daughter was in fact a distraction to any golfer walking past the pro-shop and I am sure Don was aware that her presence was responsible for most of the foot traffic that came into his shop.

Ron, the son, played the local winter circuit and I caddied for him one day. What an experience to be amongst such good golfers. This day is a whole story in itself.

Ron seemed to take an interest in me after that and one day when I complained about my uncontrollable slice he gently suggested that in fact it was a push slice, far worse than I had feared. However he also added that if I was prepared to work at it he would be able to get me to draw the ball. The offer was too good to pass up as I had suffered with this horrible affliction for a very long time and it had cost me lots of money in bets!

Ron gave me a few lessons and I was soon turning the ball over. I was delighted but he was not satisfied. He said that the correction was temporary and if I did not make it permanent it was merely a matter of time before I would be back to my bad habits. To make it permanent I needed to become a natural pull hooker and this is what we worked towards. Ron set me practising with instructions to come back when I had hooked at least 5 balls out of bounds during one round of golf. From memory CMR only had about 3 holes where there was OB so 5 balls was a tall order.

Amazingly the day that I achieved my allotted target of hooking 5 balls OB arrived far quicker than I thought - and I was petrified. I had gone from slicing the ball to pull hooking it beyond any sort of control! Ron was ecstatic and immediately started working on straightening me out.

To this day I cannot remember exactly what he did but I do remember for years afterward I could draw the ball as and when I wanted to. I had spin control, I had consistency and I had distance. I once won three out of four longest drive competitions in one sponsored event. I missed the fairway on the 4th one to narrowly lose out on a clean sweep.

The world was my oyster and CMR and later The Roodepoort Country Club were my playing grounds. Those were happy days.

Highlights of my golf career include a hole-in-one at the 6th hole at Houghton Golf Club (14.01.89) and a hole-in-one on the 7th at Roodepoort Country Club (01.07.97).

I have also got a diploma in coaching from the European Golf Teachers Federation in Auckland in 2002.

After my wonderful golfing years in Johannesburg I moved to Auckland, New Zealand so that my children could grow up in a normal society. However is it normal? New Zealand has a few records to boast about of its own and they are all great.

Firstly it has more golf courses per capita than any other place in the world. It also has more boats per capita than anywhere else. In my opinion it has more sheep per capita (Australia would be the other contender for this title) and it definitely has a great rugby team. Most of the All Blacks play golf too.

Being a keen fisherman and a golfer in New Zealand does have its drawbacks. Both sports are more suited to fine weather and it is often difficult to decide which one to do on a fine day. Golf is dirt cheap here so that often wins on the day.

The golf courses in New Zealand are fantastic and plentiful and it is not unusual to find outlying courses that still use sheep to keep the fairways in check. In this situation the greens are surrounded by some sort of fence (usually electric) to keep the sheep off. When the fence interferes with a shot or stance a free drop is allowed. It is quite simply very quaint.

My next golfing goal is to get my third hole-in-one here in New Zealand.

I honestly believe my many years of enjoyment of the game of golf has been enhanced by the ability to play a draw and I would advise to anyone who wants to master this game to learn all the different shots. The draw is probably the best shot to be able to play as it gives one so many more options.

What a great game golf is. I have friends for life and can still play a draw, it is a bit harder to control because of my arthritis but it is there.

Lee Trevino once said happiness is a long walk with a putter and I couldn't agree more.