For Southerden it was an on again, off again affair with golf since she got an American golf scholarship soon after the gut-wrenching Interprovincials final loss to a star-studded Bay of Plenty at the Napier GC in 2007.
The Purdue University (Indiana) student, pursuing a degree in kinesiology, had abruptly returned home to have two knee reconstructions before enrolling at Victoria University in Wellington where she also graduated with a biomedical science degree, majoring in molecular pathology and human genetics.
She has been eight years way from the Bay but after last having represented HBPB in Wellington she has gone under the knife twice for the left shoulder, the second one at the capital city in June last year.
"I had to have the second knee op here because I couldn't do too much for eight weeks so mum and dad looked after."
She picked up her golf clubs for a couple of corporate-type tourneys at the Boulcott's Farm Heritage GC, where she worked in Wellington, in December last year. She only agreed to attend HBPB trails until almost the beginning of last winter.
"I didn't know how much time I was going to have to play golf but they were still keen to have me so I thought why not and here I am," she says, revealing she is still doing postgraduate studies via the Eastern Institute of Technology in Taradale after starting work here in January
No doubt she wishes had more time and less pressure to massage her game but she's coping - as a golf would in course management - fitting training around shift work from graveyard hours to human ones.
Southerden laughs when asked how No 3 sits with her, adding No 5 would have been just fine.
But on a serious note the former HBPB No 1 reckons there isn't a huge amount of difference for someone who has played in just about every position.
She is the daughter of former Napier GC professional Kim Southerden and granddaughter of the late Ernie Southerden who was a professional when he arrived here from the United Kingdom.
It isn't lost on her that most teams tend to shuffle their pecking orders in a bid to maximise the number of wins against familiar foes at the Interprovincials.
"There's definitely some teams stacking so we don't find out the teams until quite late in the piece so it's quite a bit of a hit and miss on how you work your team," she says, happy to sit "plumb in the middle" after starting her HBPB career at No 5 and becoming top seed after two years.
She is finding love from her irons on the fairways but the new driver she just bought a fortnight ago is work in progress.
"I cracked mine because I've had it for such a long time that's it's finally got a crack so I had to get a new driver."
Southerden appreciates the value of muscle memory because creating more hours in a day isn't ever going to be an option.
The Sherwood Park course also is foreign to her, having played at a club in Whangarei when she was a teenager.
"Apparently it's quite tree-line, similar to Napier, so that would be a good thing for us as most of our team is from Napier Golf Club."
Even though she was away from the Bay, Southerden has been keeping in touch with most of her teammates so building a rapport hasn't been an issue for her.
"It's funny in that it's changed a little bit but then obviously you still see the familiar faces such as Janie and Jaimie so it's good to come back to have a laugh with them."
So what's it about amateur golfers and nursing?
More laughter as she accepts former HBPB No 1 seed Kate Chadwick, now living and working in Australia, and last season's representative, Angela Jones, are into the noble profession.
"I don't know. Yes, it's weird. It's kind of uncanny how we all ended up in the same place."
Asked if the pressure factor added to its lure, Southerden agrees before saying she relishes a bit of it in work and play.
"It makes things a bit more exciting."
Her father has always coached Southerden but, again, that hasn't transpired much this year.
"Dad will always be my coach. He knows me inside out obviously and we just work really well together."
Kim Southerden is retired but still helps Napier club professional Andrew Henare, who he sold the business to, three days or so, especially in repairing equipment.
"It's a perfect outcome because he loves it."
The Interprovincials have been the highest honour in amateur teams' golf since 1949.
She recalls the loss to BOP in 2007 "like it was yesterday".
"I still can't believe that we lost. It would have been so good if we'd won because I would have gone from home club and home support," she says, upsetting BOP top seed Penny Newbrook in the final.
"We were so close. I beat her 5 and 4 and if anyone was going to lose we all assumed it was going to be me but it just wasn't the way it worked out so that kind of keeps me coming back."
Southerden says she still knows most of the rival players and keeps in contact with some.
"It's kind of serious [competition] but we still have a lot of fun," says the former Napier Girls' High School pupil.
"It's kind of weird going back to be one of the old ones now.
However, the inaugural winners of the interprovincials have gone on to be the most successful teams in each competition and both are defending champions this year.
Auckland women won their 24th title last year and Wellington men their 14th.
TORO TEAMS
■ HBPB WOMEN: No 1 Jaimie McIvor (Maraenui GC), No 2 Tessa McDonald (Poverty Bay GC), No 3 Lauree Southerland (Napier GC), No 4 Janie Field (c, Napier GC) and No 5 Sara Deam (Napier GC).
Travelling reserve: Nicole Aluni (Napier GC).
Manager, non-travelling reserve: Fiona Ellis (Hastings GC).
■ HAWKE'S BAY MEN: 1 Ben Swinburne, 2 mako Thompson, 3 Adam Winter, 4 Tyson Tawera, 5 Russell Mitchell.
Reserve: Dylan bagley.
Manager: Steffan Hepburn.
