Mark Brown now a home boy

By Neville Idour

When have you retired from your profession yet not quite retired?

Answer: When you are Mark Brown, professional golfer, now a pro coach and a sometimes player on the New Zealand circuit.

We first spoke with Brown in January of last year at The Hills after his impressive victory in The Hills Pro-Am, at which stage he had made his decision to retire from play on overseas PGA tours.

“I lost my Aussie card for this year which didn’t matter as I was coming to the end anyway,’’ Brown said at the time.

``With a young child it will be good to have more home time.”

Brown who considers himself something of a veteran after 25 years as a touring professional golfer said “ We have some good young players coming through which is great. They can take on the mantle and play some good golf while I fade away.”

Fast forward to last month at The Hills Invitation Pro-Am where his title defence came up short. After a birdie on the first hole in the second round he was reasonably placed at three under par but four bogeys and two late birdies left him in 11th place. Still a useful effort from Brown who as we find, is not fading away but in reality just shifting focus.

Does he miss touring?

“Sometimes, but it was taken out of our hands this year anyway. Yes, I miss parts of it for sure but I don’t miss the travel.

``Looking ahead to 2021 I will play some Charles' Tour events. It is good not having to travel and the tour is getting better with more events.”

As for current work he says: “ I’m at Mount Maunganui where the club professional is Jimmy Napier. So I do some contract coaching. Didn’t know if I would enjoy it but I am very much. There are some good members there. It has been great as I am only two minutes from the club, so it is a breeze to do some lessons, then home again.”

Favourite places and courses in your travels?

“Canada was a lot of fun. I’ve been to a lot of places over my 25 years. Golf is the easy part. Travel is not so. Flying Sunday night to the next place is the drag.

``If it was just golf I might still be doing it. When you are young it is exciting but as you get older you can dread the travel somewhat. As for courses I loved the Melbourne sandbelt and British Open style courses.”

As for career highlights there are several.

“I guess winning the 2008 Johnny Walker Classic and the five years on the European Tour it gave me.

``The money was good and it also gave me opportunities to play majors and WGC (World Golf Championship) events.

``I competed in two British Opens and a USPGA where I played okay. You grow up wanting to play a major. The thing I enjoyed about them was they were difficult so you didn’t have to shoot 25 under par. Par was mostly a good score. That is the kind of golf I enjoy. Having to go low doesn’t suit me that well. So it was a great time during my early 30s.”

“I have had top threes in the New Zealand Open. One year I was leading by three shots in the last round at Clearwater but couldn’t hold on.’'

He has also had high finishes at The Hills.

“That is probably my biggest regret. I would love to have won a New Zealand Open.”

How do New Zealand courses compare?

“My favourite has always been Paraparaumu (north of Wellington) because I love links' golf. There are some good resort courses now and I enjoy Kinloch.The good thing about newer courses is they all have good practice facilities. That is what is needed generally for youngsters as they grow.”

So what does the future hold?

“The good thing about coaching is it is giving me time to think about what I want to do so I’ll keep on with that. Don’t think I will play seniors' golf (tours). I still enjoy playing, but not the practice, so will play some Charles' Tour events in 2021. Also I like having the girls playing with the boys on our tour now. That is how it should be and the spectators are enjoying it too.”

Brown broke off early from a family six week road trip to play at The Hills. That is how much he enjoys The Hills event but was pleased to be getting back with family.

His final quip was: “I think I might play a bit next year(2021).” To which we replied: “You played a bit this year (2020).”