The left-hander had raw talent and oodles of competitive spirit, but the former North Otago first five-eighth used to finish second in a battle with his emotions.
The 34-year-old would follow a bad shot up with an angry shot.
"Golf is so mental it can make you so ... angry," he said.
Even if you have only played the odd hole or two you will not need more than a second to figure out the missing word from that quote.
It is oranges one minute, lemons the next. And Patston, who has been named in the Otago team for the national interprovincial tournament which starts in Hastings today, really struggled with that side of the game.
He was holding on too tight to the disappointment which followed a poor shot. A little anger might help on the rugby field but it is going to put you in the rough when it comes to golf.
"If you take that anger to the next hole and the next hole after that, you end up losing momentum.
"I’ve been working with a psychologist during the past two months ... and learning how to reset.
"I used to make bogey, birdie, bogey and would not be able to reset. Now I’m able to control those emotions and the different sides of your brain.
"I feel like I’m more consistent. I’m scoring better and I’m not making those errors that I would do five or six months ago."
The other key has been to forget about the scorecard and just focus on each shot.
He pushed his way into the Otago 10-man team about three years ago and made the Otago eight-man the following year.
Patston’s form this year demanded selection. He earned his promotion with four wins at the South Island Interprovincial tournament last month.
He also won the New Zealand left-handers title a "couple of years ago".
"They made a big deal about that but there weren’t many good golfers there, to be honest," he said.
Patston moved to New Zealand from England 10 years ago to play rugby for the North Otago. He helped lead the Old Golds to victory in the Meads Cup in 2010 and then popped up in Dunedin.
He has played for Southern and Green Island premier sides and is still involved with the Grizzlies as a backs coach.
Initially, golf was something he did after rugby training. But he got hooked on it and started to take it more seriously when his rugby career wound up.
He set himself a goal of representing Otago and will put a tick in that box today.
"I thought I might make the reserves but they have put faith in me," Patston said.
"I’m pumped. It means heaps. I’m excited about representing Otago. I never got to do it at rugby.
"But to get to the next level in golf, well, I’m now going how do I make sure I perform and put in my best performance for the team and the province."
Patston is one of three new players in the Otago team. Jonny Mackay (Cromwell) and Sungwoo Han (Queenstown) will also be making their debut
Otago has drawn Wellington first-up this morning and will then take on Southland this afternoon.
Otago finished third in its pool last year, just missing out on the semifinals.
Otago team
For national interprovincial
- Inia Logan, Jonny Mackay, Brandon Hodgson, Ben Patston, Sungwoo Han.
- Reserve: Jack Turner.
