Meikle: Tell me a bit about yourself, Harrison. Where are you from?
Duckett: I’m 23. I’m from Wales, from a little town called Tenby. It’s just a little beachside town. I grew up there and played all my golf there. There are two or three golf courses in a small area. Tenby is a really good little links course, right on the beach. I did a lot of practice there and it went from there, really.
How did you get started in golf?
My older brother was a PGA pro. He was head pro at the golf course, which was pretty cool, so I had a bit of a head start that way. We had quite a strong junior section, so it was kind of a good place to learn the craft.
Was there a moment when you realised you wanted to make a life in golf?
We just spent most of the day at the golf club. There were 20 or 30 of us juniors. About five of us went on to play for Wales, and one got a cap for Great Britain and Ireland. You don’t realise it at the time but it’s a great stomping ground to learn about golf, and a pretty cool environment to grow up in.
Yeah, I had a couple of caps at under-18 level. But I was sort of borderline, so I did my PGA training to sort of get a job and stay in the game that way. It’s been pretty cool.
How did you find your way to Dunedin?
There was a pro that I used to work with in the UK. Patrick (St Clair head professional Patrick Moore) did his training under him. Patrick just sort of emailed him and asked if he knew any assistants who might want to look at coming out to New Zealand. He just put us in touch, and my boss was good enough to let me go last summer. I just do October till March. Good to get away from the Welsh winter, and it’s a pretty cool place down here.
You enjoy life at St Clair?
Yeah, it’s good. It’s pretty relaxed and chilled-out. We’ve got loads of juniors coming through, which is pretty cool. There’s a good vibe around the place.
What are your plans for the future?
I will probably keep doing this as long as Patrick will have me out again. It’s a good gig. I’d like to do it for a couple more years. Last year, I went home and worked at my club in Wales, but this year I want to go home and play some events and take my golf a bit more seriously. I’ve just started to get the playing bug back a bit now I’m fully qualified. It’s good to keep my game in shape.
You posted the leading score at the Otago strokeplay recently but could not claim the prize because you are a professional. How did you enjoy that tournament, and your battle with the young fellow, Cooper Moore?
It was really good to play the strokeplay and sort of put myself under a bit of pressure. It was a cool experience. Cooper is pretty impressive, to be fair. He’s quite mature on the golf course. For such a young guy, he didn’t really put a foot wrong.
Will you play any more events this summer?
I will play the strokeplay at St Clair, which will be a really good event over a couple of days. Hopefully, there will be plenty of good players and it will be another good test to see where I’m at. From there, I will probably go to Cromwell for the New Zealand Open qualifier.
Favourite golfer growing up?
It’s a bit of a weird one but probably Robert Rock. He was a PGA pro and had his tour card for about 20 years. He was a pretty cool guy who beat Tiger down the stretch in Abu Dhabi. Either him or Ian Woosnam.
Apart from St Clair, what is your favourite golf course?
That’s a tough one. Too many to choose from. I’ve played a fair few back home and also here. But probably Tenby. You never really get bored of playing it.
And what course is on the bucket list?
Probably Augusta. It’s just so hard to play on and it’s a really cool place.
