It was not just the win that was pleasing but the way the team dominated the event, particularly the final round, as it won by an impressive 28 strokes.
North Harbour leapfrogged the other final-round contenders to finish second while first-round leader
Bay of Plenty was third.
It was a fillip for team captain and No 1 Brent McEwan, who was playing his last SBS tournament before retiring from competitive golf at the end of this year.
Ryan Chisnall (Tasman) won the $1000 prize for the best individual while Otago No3 Duncan Croudis netted $500 for third.
In buffeting winds, Otago made a horrendous start on the exposed back nine on Saturday morning.
At the turn, Otago was languishing near the bottom of the leader board but several players showed character in the difficult conditions on the homeward nine.
No 5 Fraser MacLachlan turned 10-over but played the homeward nine in 1-under-par while Duncan Croudis made the greatest impact after turning 2-over.
He birdied the fourth hole and then finished birdie-eagle-birdie for a 5-under 31 and an 18-hole score of 69.
McEwan and No 2 Nick Borren had steady back nines to lift Otago into a tie for third with Wellington behind Bay of Plenty and Waikato.
The tough conditions continued in the afternoon and talented players from all teams leaked shots to par.
Despite all five Otago golfers finishing above the par of 72, Otago crept up the scoreboard to take the lead at the halfway stage.
Otago was on 607 overnight, one shot ahead of first-round leader Bay of Plenty, and Wellington was in third place, three further shots back.
Borren was the best of the Otago golfers on 73 while Croudis finished 2-over on 74, to share the overnight individual lead with Tasman's Ryan Chisnall.
In fine weather yesterday morning, Wellington set the early pace with three players under par after the first five holes.
But Otago's teamwork and steady play helped increase the overnight lead. Borren and Chris Snow finished under par on 71 while McEwan and MacLachlan chipped in with 74 each.
This gave Otago a nine-shot lead over Wellington going into the final round, while Bay of Plenty fell off the pace to be 13 shots behind on 910.
Croudis carded a non-counting score of 75 but was still in contention for individual honours, three behind Chisnall.
Wellington received a further setback going into the final round when its No5 Daniel Hillier (17) flew home, missing the final round to sit an NCEA exam in Wellington this morning.
He was to be missed and when, after nine holes of the final round, Otago's Snow was 3-under, Croudis was 1-under and McEwan and Borren were square with the card, the outcome was almost certain.
