Every cloud has a silver lining as Alexandra bowler Pat Houlahan found out when his bowls were stolen from his car at the national championships in Auckland last January.
He was frustrated at the time, especially when he had to buy a replacement set of bowls.
But he has found that his new Henselite Dreamline XG bowls have given him better results.
"It's helped me," he said. "They are a better bowl to play with than the older Dreamline bowls I used.
"My new bowls give me a better variety of shots and are more consistent on the draw. They are a bit heavier and don't get affected by the wind as much.
"I lost my old bowls in January and won the Pathways singles in April. Whoever pinched them did me a favour."
That win was significant and gained him selection for the seventh Asia and Pacific championships in Kuala Lumpur on October 1-6.
Houlahan will represent New Zealand in the singles, and the mixed pairs with Linda Ralph (Auckland).
It is the first time he has represented New Zealand and he will be matched against players from 22 countries.
He won his first New Zealand title when he beat Alan Stewart (Waikato) 25-24 in the final of the Pathways singles in Invercargill last season.
Houlahan trailed Stewart 16-3 at one stage but recovered dramatically to win the game by one shot.
Houlahan (54), an Alexandra businessman, has been playing bowls for 28 years and has won 19 Otago Central senior titles.
He has prepared for the championship by improving his fitness by cycling.
His daughter Kate, who lives at Port Douglas in Australia, persuaded Houlahan to start riding bikes.
"I've ridden 7000km on my bike in the last 18 months," he said.
"I'm enjoying the bike riding.
"It helps me to concentrate longer and hang in there when I'm down a bit on the board."
He expects a lot from himself on the slower greens at Kuala Lumpur.
"I'm going there with a very positive attitude and I'd like to bring home a gold medal," Houlahan said. "I feel relaxed about it."
A big factor will be the slow speed of the greens compared with those he is used to in Central Otago.
"Each day we play one game on an indoor surface and one outdoors," he said. "The speed of the outdoor greens will be down to seven to nine seconds."
Houlahan proved that he could adapt to the slow greens when he played on nine-second greens at the Australian open championships last March.
