WHATEVER Nick Dougherty achieves on and off the golf course, it can be considered a real East Lancashire success story.

The 25-year-old Shaw Hill professional today launches his 2008 season in the Abu Dhabi Championship, bid-ding for a flying start to a year that could see him representing Europe in September's Ryder Cup.

And he'll be hoping to surpass a tremendous 2007, when he won the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews in October and finished 11th in the European Tour's Order of Merit, pocketing just short of £1 million prize money along the way.

But whatever success Dougherty enjoys, brothers Brendan and Damian Taylor will take equal satisfaction The Blackburn-born siblings, sons of snooker legend Dennis Taylor, are both major players in Team Dougherty', albeit performing different roles.

For the last four years, Brendan, 31, has been Dougherty's manager, over-seeing all of his business affairs, while Damian is the golfer's full-time coach.

"Sport has always been in my blood," said Brendan. "Obviously, with my dad, I grew up in a very sporting family."

Damian, 34, followed: "I enjoyed playing football and snooker, but my favourite was always golf.

"There was never any pressure on me to follow my dad into snooker. He let me find my own profession, and I knew I wanted to pursue a career in golf from an early age."

As a teenager, Brendan, who studied at Clitheroe's Stonyhurst College, was determined to make the grade as a professional rugby union player, but injuries curtailed his chances of ever reaching the highest level.

Instead, the Blackburn Rovers fan turned his attention to sports management and, after earning his degree at the University of Northumbria, was appointed by IMG, the world's largest sports and lifestyle management and marketing firm.

Responsible for the recruitment of the best amateur golfers, he snapped up Dougherty's services - and Luke Donald's - following his Walker Cup victory with the 2001 Great Britain and Ireland team.

"I was drawn to manage-ment and, having seen my dad with various managers in his time, I could see what worked well - and what didn't.

"It was great to cut my teeth with IMG. In the past, they've had dealings with Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle and Bernhard Langer.

"But, unfortunately, they missed out on a generation of top players, guys like Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood.

"I was charged with recruiting strictly top young amateur players. I also worked with Colin Montgomerie, which was tremendous because it helped me learn various aspects of my job."

Brendan, now IMG Golf's Vice President, took over as Dougherty's manager in 2004 and describes the former QEGS student as the perfect all-round package'.

As one of golf's pin-up boys - not to mention his ability out on the course - Dougherty has never been short of attracting big-name sponsors.

Audi, Tommy Hilfiger, Nokia and Callaway Golf are among those putting their name to the Chorley ace.

"My role is to negotiate endorsement contracts, look at merchandise opportunities for him, go through his schedule for the year, and manage the team of people around him," said Brendan.

"Nick is a pleasure to work with. Not only has he got the ability on the golf course, but he's first-class away from the action.

"He's got a great relationship with the media, and he's excellent with sponsors. He's comfortable in any environment.

"You could put him in a room with CEO's and he's very confident and well spoken.

"He could then be doing a golf clinic at the English Golf Union, with kids aged six or seven, and he's great at interacting with them.

"Nick's the all-round package and that makes my job a little bit easier. He's a marketing dream, and he's an exceptionally nice man too."

Brendan added: "There's a good team of people around Nick. As well as myself, there's an assistant who takes care of his travelling, flights and general things. It could be sorting out flowers for his mother.

"There's also Damian, his fitness coach Ron Cuthbert and people that deal with the psychological side of things. It's a close unit.

"It's about making sure that every area is covered for Nick, and to give him the best possible chance of fulfilling all of his goals."

While Brendan helps run Dougherty's life smoothly away from the course, older brother Damian is also proving a highly effective coach for the Shaw Hill star.

For the best part of his professional career, Dough-erty has worked with David Leadbetter, regarded as one of the world's most recognised golf instructors.

But he acknowledges that his game has progressed a step further under Damian, a PGA instructor who once coached at Leadbetter's academy in Singapore.

"I met Nick initially through my time at the Leadbetter academy," said Damian. "Nick used to go and see him now and again to work on things.

"We began to work together and then he asked me to come and work with him full-time. Nick doesn't see David any more, but we still have a good relationship with him."

"I look after Nick's coaching. We work on his routine, practice and his whole preparation for each event.

"I travel with Nick full-time to all the events, but there's his mental coach and fitness coach as well, so we're all part of a team that help him in his preparation.

"I'll look for slight techmical flaws in his warm-up routines, such as putting, his short-game and anything that's golf-related."

Damian's enthusiasm for golf began as a youngster in Blackburn, and continued when he was a student at Oakhill College in Whalley.

"I was about 13 when I chose what I wanted to do," he said.

"Once I left school, I progressed far enough that I was able to turn pro and I went through the PGA apprenticeship.

"I spent four-and-a-half years with (professional) Bill Harling at Accrington Golf Club. I learned a lot from him and he gave me as much time as I wanted to play golf.

"I passed all my PGA exams and then to play full-time.

"I played on the Challenge Tour and went to the qualifying school to try and earn my card for the main tour, but I never quite made the grade.

"But I was always interested in the technical side of the game. I read a lot of books on technique and coaching.

"I went to do a bit of coaching at Blackburn driving range for 12 months and then I got a chance to work at the David Leadbetter academy in Singapore.

"I spent two-and-a-half years there and it was a great experience. It was a steep learning curve for me and I started to work with some of the players on the Asian Tour.

"I then started to work with players from the European Tour and things went from there."

gary.york@the-let.co.uk