Augusta

"The following year, and now playing with a handicap of seven, he was invited to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, played on three courses including St Andrews, Scotland, the so-called home of golf, which arguably rivals only Augusta for the title of the world’s most prestigious club. It was an elite group in which Heatley teed off. He was partnered with professional golfer Fred Couples, Heatley’s friend Sam Reeves had arranged to partner with professional Adam Scott and, as a birthday gift, Reeves’ wife Betsey had arranged for Butch Harmon, the top-ranked golf coach in the world at the time, to caddy for Reeves. By then Heatley and Trevor Farmer co-owned a corporate jet that Heatley was licensed to fly. He flew the group from California to Scotland. They played some practice rounds and Heatley says he was panicky about the illustrious golf company he was in. ‘Here I am with two of the hottest pros in the world, and the number one coach caddying for Sam, and I was like a cat on a hot tin roof thinking, How the hell did I get in this position? I am so out of my depth.’ Heatley’s self-deprecation is disarming, but while he casts himself as the ingénue, in both business and sport he seeks out and enjoys the big league."

"It was an invitation to Kauri Cliffs that played a role in Heatley receiving a phone call that still makes his skin prickle when he recalls it. But there was no sense that that particular weekend would turn out to be significant in any way. The Robertsons had friends coming from the US and invited the Heatleys to come and stay too, and to play golf. Heatley was partnered with Robertson’s friend, who was older and seemed to struggle with the length of shots required off the back tees. Heatley suggested that his American partner instead play off the middle tees. Heatley thought nothing of making the offer—after all, it was just a pleasant day out. But it appears that his golfing partner was significantly touched by Heatley’s sporting gesture. The pair had already struck up a warm relationship over dinner the previous night. Unbeknownst to Heatley, Robertson’s friend was a member of Augusta. On Maui, Heatley had also become friends with another Augusta member, who had invited Heatley to bring two friends to Georgia to play as the member’s guests. Heatley had never expected a second opportunity to play Augusta, and was again so entranced by the club that this time he took a piece of letterhead and a matchbook home as souvenirs."

"One day in 2003, Heatley was at the National Golf Club on Long Island. This quintessential old boys’ club has a tradition where members and their guests play 18 holes in the morning, then shower, dress in a suit and tie or jacket and tie, and dine in the ornate dining room where white-gloved waiters serve lunch from large silver platters. Heatley had just showered and was getting dressed when an attendant approached to tell him he had an urgent phone call from a friend, someone who, like Heatley, was a shareholder in the Pebble Beach Golf Links in California. Concerned the call might be about the health of a mutual friend, Heatley hurried to the phone. The call was not about anyone’s health. It was to tell Heatley that he was being invited to become a member of Augusta. Heatley had thought many times that he had a guardian angel but was this not, finally, proof? As he put down the phone he could not say that this was a dream come true because it was nothing he had ever dared dream. Augusta had never had a member from New Zealand. Membership was an entrée to an elite, handpicked, global business roundtable. He felt overwhelmed that an invitation was being extended to him."

"Despite his high-profile pro-am successes, among golfers it is Heatley’s membership of Augusta that creates his profile and, in particular, his role as chair of Augusta’s media committee. The timing of his invitation to join Augusta was good for him and, arguably, for the club too. He had by then stepped back from Sky and was ready to devote time and effort to a new project. Although his radar was perpetually pinging in the search for interesting investments, he had no desire to emulate the enormous commitment that Sky had demanded. Other than family commitments, he was free to immerse himself in Augusta. With his background on the other side of the TV rights which are so vital for Augusta’s revenue, and his passion for the club, he was an ideal candidate for a position on the club’s board and chairmanship of its media committee."