IT is three o'clock on a balmy afternoon and to avoid long hours on the psychiatrist's chair I have sought the attention of a professional golfer.

My swing, an action more suited to shovelling gravel on a building site, requires urgent reconstruction.

Otherwise my brain might, and I am not prepared to run the risk.

Squeezing softly on a five iron, I focus hard on completing my shoulder turn, then drive down with my left arm before sliding my left hip out of the way to achieve a balanced finish.

The result, usually a lottery, is a shot my tutor for the day, Ged Furey, insists could gain me entry to the European Tour.

But Ged would probably say the same if I ripped up a 2x2 foot divet and dumped the ball in a brook.

Furey by name, he is gentle by nature and gives the impression that he might breathe comfortably in a room full of skunks in case reaching for the oxygen mask would cause offence. Soft-spoken and unpretentious, he is so reticent that he can seem almost unreachable, so shy that when he arrives in San Lorenzo next week with amateur partner Geoff Wilson for the Lombard Top Club final, it is with marked reluctance that he will attend the welcome gala.

"That kind of stuff does not appeal to me" he says with unforced honesty, the type prevalent in a five-year-old child.

"I'd prefer just to get on with the golf."

This approach, which borders on the obsessive (Furey practices frequently each day despite working hours that may keep him in the pro shop at Pleasington from dawn to dusk), has produced for Ged an outstanding season of which the Lombard is a significant though far from isolated success.

He has earned more money this year than any other since turning professional in 1979, a statistic he attributes to a resolute attitude and improved confidence. "In whatever sport you participate or whatever you do in life, your attitude must be right," he said after the lesson had concluded and we had retired into the work place behind the club shop where clients' clubs are reshafted, heads refurbished and equipment altered to meet the specifications of the individual.

"And you must be confident in your ability. That's the difference between a capable amateur and a solid professional.

"When it gets down to the nitty gritty it's not simply about how good a swing you have got or how true you swing the putter head.

"It's about trying to breathe properly and putting a good stroke on the ball when your chest tightens.

"It's having to focus and produce it all when it really matters."

Furey might be said to have the perfect temperament for producing the goods when it matters most.

His introspection has led to a deep understanding of himself and self-reliance has bred self-belief. Because he is not an effervescent personality, he is probably more capable of handling the pressures of torunament golf which, admittedly, are trivial when compared to the burdens imposed on most families by modern life.

But they are nevertheless close to the most demanding man can experience in the sporting arena.

Grace under pressure was required in abundance when Furey and Wilson approached the closing holes of the Lombard regional final.

Seemingly without chance of posting a sufficiently formidable score, Furey fired a three iron to the par three 16th which whistled directly towards the pin and finished in the hole.

"My partner got very excited and my experience had to come into play in order to calm him down," recalled Ged who, unsurprisingly, regards that shot as one of the finest of his career.

"I said to Geoff, 'Let's think about what we are doing'.

"There were still two holes to play and we needed two good scores." Furey stuck to his game plan, grabbing birdies on the final two holes to be four under par for the last three to record a one shot victory, the equivalent of Carl Fogarty slipping past a handful of riders on the home straight before taking the chequered flag.

"We were jubilant," admitted Furey.

"We were the first group out, though, and faced an agonising wait.

"But it was worth it."

It is revealing of Furey that, despite a battling performance in this year's PGA Championship at Wentworth where he shot two rounds in the 60s and completed all four, he will be more satisfied with success in the Lombard grand final next week.

Unassuming he may be, but he is also a team player.

This was clearly apparent during the hour or so I spent in his company at Pleasington Golf Club, currently undergoing renovation.

Ged was just as keen to talk about the success of his assistant, Julian Haworth, in passing his three year professional apprenticeship with the PGA as he was about talking of himself. He is an avid Manchester City supporter, though, so maybe this was understandable.

Active in sports, particularly football, from a young age, he became interested in wildlife and still maintains a passion for ornithology.

Schoolwork, however, did not stimulate so, at 16, he became an assistant at his local club in Manchester.

Spells at Ludlow and Fleetwood followed before he took the professional's post at Pleasington.

He gets on well with the members and is constantly at pains to emphasise his appreciation for their continued encouragement.

While he draws strength from this, he is equally motivated by the pursuit of excellence. A plaque bearing an inscription by Gary Player receives a prominent position on Ged's wall.

It reads: "When I was lying absolutely nowhere on the international circuit, I used to stand in front of the mirror and say to my reflection in the glass: 'You are the greatest golfer in the world'."

"That inspires me," said Ged. "I am a bit of a perfectionist - I want to be the best I can."

Me, on the other hand - I'm still struggling to hit the ball straight.

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