Ken Kearney has done it all in amateur golf. A winner of the Irish Close championship and numerous provincial titles, he was part of a Co Sligo team that created one of the most remarkable stories in the history of the Bulmers Cups and Shields when winning the Barton Shield for three consecutive years from 1995 to '97 as well as claiming back-to-back Irish Senior Cups in 1996 and 1997.
As such, you'd be inclined to feel that nothing could intimidate Kearney when it comes to the annual battle for supremacy at this unique golfing festival.
Wrong! This week, Kearney is team captain of Roscommon Golf Club's Jimmy Bruen Shield team - they commence their campaign with a semi-final meeting against Ulster champions Holywood on Friday - and he confessed: "This is far more nerve-racking than playing, simply because you have no level of control over the game."
Kearney has already sampled team captaincy at boys' interprovincial level with Connacht but his affinity for Roscommon Golf Club - "these are lads I grew up with, lads that I know for so long," he said - means he would love to guide them to a green pennant.
Preparations for Roscommon's bid for the Jimmy Bruen Shield - a foursomes competition which provides for teams of 10 with six as the minimum handicap and a minimum combined handicap of 17 - began in May. "These are guys with handicaps of seven, eight, nine or 10, none of whom will ever play at international level, this is the ultimate test for them as club golfers and they have to deal with all the pressure associated with such competition," said Kearney.
Kearney, though, has been impressed with how the players have coped with the pressures and with the manner in which they have prepared. "We've the likes of Tommy Grehan, who played Gaelic football with Roscommon, and he has brought a great competitive spirit to the team. Everyone of them, however, has put so much into the campaign," he said.
Kearney has seen the competitions develop into one of the great golfing events on the calendar. "Not only has the profile increased, but I believe the appetite of the clubs and players to succeed has also increased. Any team that makes it to the national finals only does so after an enormous amounts of preparation.
"I learned a lot from the approach used at Rosses Point when we were so successful, winning five pennants, and I have tried to incorporate that into our approach.We've met at least once a week since May."
