These are good times for Brent McEwan.
He is a new father, he is playing some of the best golf of his career, and he is about to lead Otago at the interprovincial tournament in his home town next week.
McEwan (31) says his life has more balance, and the results are starting to show on the golf course.
"I think I'm a much more consistent player. I have more balance in my life and with a young baby, you start to realise what really matters," he said.
"I'll come off the golf course now and it will not be such a big deal. There are other priorities and I can worry about the golf tomorrow."
McEwan and his partner, Shannon Lobb, are the proud parents of 9-week-old Jordan, and McEwan, who is a member at St Clair, said there was the odd sleepless night but it was all going well so far.
It was not always so great for McEwan, who broke into the Otago team when he was just 17.
"We went away up to Hamilton and I was playing No3. I was pretty determined to do well and I think I won about 60% of my games. I've been in the team pretty much ever since, although I missed out in 2002.
"I was just not performing and missed a couple of tournaments that you had to play, so I missed out."
When McEwan was 18-19, his mates were out socialising while he was out on the golf course. He enjoyed a drink or two later, and acknowledges that may have affected his golf.
"Now I can still have a beer or two but know when it is the right time to have one."
McEwan, a sales representative for a battery company, has been in fine form over the past year and is more than comfortable to be playing at No1, the last player off in the five-man team competition.
"I love the responsibility of it.
There is more pressure on the No1 but I think that brings out the best in me.
"Matchplay is a style which I like. Just the one-on-one game and you have to play your own game."
McEwan will be seeking to make Otago competitive again next week after the side had a disappointing effort in Gisborne last year.
He liked the look of the course at the Otago Golf Club and and believed home advantage would come into play.
"I've always liked playing there. It is a strategic course where you have to do a lot of thinking when you go around it.
You don't have to be a big powerful man to get around it.
You don't have to hit it as far as you can to be in contention.
"Placement is going to be a key and real challenges on where to play your second shot."
With the course full of ups and downs, McEwan said fitness would come into the equation.
McEwan has been playing plenty of golf lately, and said there was still some ambition to make a living out of the sport.
He got into the game because his family lived across the road from the Island Park course in Waldronville and his dad played there.
All these years later, McEwan may keep waiting before thinking about going professional.
"Financially, it is very, very hard to get started in it [professional golf]. But now I'm getting more and more consistent, it is something I think about. I thought about waiting until I hit 50 and going and playing on the senior tour.
"But it is tough. There are a lot of good golfers out there. I went up to the New Zealand Open qualifying and just missed out on the playoff. I had one bad hole. That is how hard it can be. But there were 99 guys competing for just 26 places."
