The adage has it that, `If you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life’.
To be fair, it’s probably been a while since anyone on the PGA Legends Tour of Australia has been considered a “poster boy”.
But in terms of prosecuting that old saying, the field at the NSW Senior Open is, indeed, your field of poster boys.
Of course, there are days in every golf tournament on which some – maybe many – in the field are ready to bin the sticks permanently and never play again.
But by and large, these guys still love playing golf.
And for the vast majority of the field, that’s at least a 45-year love affair – no small feat in any walk of life.
Naturally, it’s the leaders in any field for whom the love light – appears, at least – to shine brightest.
Dave McKenzie, already in his happy place given he’s defending his crown at Thurgoona, was in a buoyant mood after his opening 65.
But even on the course, his passion was clear.
After fading a drive into reasonably troubling rough right of the par-5 seventh fairway, McKenzie was faced with the invariable risk-reward quandary of going for the green in two versus the pitfalls of an errant shot with overhanging trees and a sloping landing area.
Asked afterwards to explain it for a mug’s ears, these were the Victorians’ thoughts: “So the whole idea is, you want to give yourself the best chance of success, and I probably could have tried to hit that shot and be greedy and got it onto the front edge of the green. But then it brings other troubles in.
“I had trees in the front on the right of me that if I try and cut it and it cuts too soon, it hits the tree straight away.
“If I take a more conservative approach and try and hit it hard and it doesn’t cut, it goes into the trees through the fairway because I’ve shot those (with a range finder) and I know how far it is.
“It’s just a matter of working, well, how much risk am I going to take and how much reward do I get for it?
“If I take a massive amount of risk and try and cut it around the trees, I may not get that much closer to the green, but I’ve taken a massive amount of risk to do it. But if I can get it on the green comfortably, then maybe it’s worth taking that risk.
“But in a pro-am, that’s the sort of thing to have a chat with a pro when you play, or if you get some playing lessons or something at your golf club.
“Another thing when you’ve watched me go through that out there, and it’s not bragging for us, but the fact is that we (the pros) hit them better more often, so we could likely play it a bit better.
“So I would give someone more conservative (advice) in making sure they hit to the bigger part of the areas as opposed to hitting it at pins as much.
“Even today, in that particular hole, I went conservative and hit it shorter, and I ended up having somewhere around 50 yards to the pin and chipped it to 10 feet and holed it.
“So it worked out, and it doesn’t always do that, but that’s the whole theory behind it anyway.”
Admittedly, it’s hard to analyse everything in this example without an image.
But the gist of leaving his entire answer to just one question is to demonstrate his enthusiasm for his art.
McKenzie was happy to chat, as always.
His answer depicts, clearly, his desire to share his knowledge and passion.
McKenzie, who hasn’t played a lot during the winter, has been honing his game with his long-time coach, Dale Lynch, the man who worked with him throughout his distinguished career in North America and whom he continues to trust implicitly.
“I actually work on really simple things with Lynchy, then just practise them and trust them when I’m out there,” he said.
“It’s nothing complicated, just having an understanding of the swing and repeating it.”
And then there was his nearest round-one chaser, the inimitable Peter Lonard.
The legendary Sydneysider is bidding to become the first player to win the NSW Open-NSW Senior Open double, and whose ball-striking remains a cut above almost everyone in Australia.
He was third here last year, so he also clearly enjoys his Thurgoona time.
Asked if that lit a fire in his belly to grab that piece of history, you could clearly tell just how at ease he is with not only his game, but the situation.
“Well, I’d like to win one before I die,” Lonard said before a cheeky chuckle.
“But if I don’t, I think I’ll be OK.
“It would be nice, because I won the Flat Bellies one (NSW Open in 2004) or, you know, the Australian Senior PGA (next week), or whatever.
“Yeah, it’s nice to win occasionally, and you know, I still enjoy it,
“I still get butterflies, same as when you were playing on (the regular tour).
“It’s the same thing. That’s probably more pride than anything, I suppose, but, you know, it’s a nice feeling when you play well in tournaments.
“It’s what we sort of live for our whole life.”
Lonard almost capped his opening 66 by coming within a centimetre or two of holing out for eagle from 145m on his final hole, the ninth, prompting an animated reaction from at least one keen observer behind the green.
And even raising Lonard’s heartbeat a point or two.
“Well, I used to be able to see it, but I couldn’t see a thing today,” he joked.
“Yeah, I knew I hit a reasonably good shot in there and but I thought it was a bit left.
“But, yeah, that reaction shocked me a little bit, got the pulse up for a second.
“It was good and nice to finish it off, you know. It’s always good to see a crowd’s reactions to good shots.”
And what of the mindset required for Lonard and his fellow PM players to have to chase McKenzie’s imposing morning score?
“You like to think you don’t play any differently, but you probably do,” he pondered.
“I actually didn’t know seven (under) was (McKenzie’s) score, but I looked at like nine o’clock and figured the scores would be relatively low, and they’re perfect conditions.
“But yeah, I actually just thought, well, it’s just like the PGA tour – that’s the life you live in America. If you hit off in the afternoon, you’re always starting seven or nine behind.
“It was phenomenal scoring, but the more you got used to it, it just became normal and then you’ve got to shoot three or four under every time you tee it up in your brain, and you know, if you hole a few putts and shoot a bit better, even better.”
It’s the answers, but it’s more the tone of their answers.
These are normal blokes who’ve worked hard on a passion to make it their livelihoods.
But at their hearts, they’re just the same young lads who picked up their sticks and loved it as wide-eyed kids.
What a life. What a ride.
