Those of us eeking out a humble golfing existence in the grim hinterlands of this bamboozling pursuit are well used to making the kind of calamitous decisions that tend to be the reserve of panic-stricken pheasants at the side of a busy A-road.

For those, like Barry Hume, who have a flair for the Royal & Ancient game, there tends to be much more rational thought involved. It’s not always been like that, of course. “Obviously, I was a bit raw when I was younger and I flew by the seat of my pants,” said Hume, whose rousing re-emergence on the amateur scene after being re-instated has led to him being called up to the GB&I Walker Cup training squad from which most of the team to face the US in Los Angeles later this season will be plucked. “I took everything on, I aimed at every pin, I took the driver out on most tees and played in a more gung-ho fashion. Now, I’m much more calculated. I do a lot of thinking and I tend to do more mental practice than physical practice. I make sure I go to tournaments with a clear head. I aim to be a clinical golfer as opposed to making it up as I go along.”

This more considered, older-and-wiser approach, allied to the bountiful natural talents which made Hume one of the country’s supreme amateurs at the turn of the millennium, continues to reap rewards as his second coming in the unpaid ranks goes from strength-to-strength. In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-'em era, when the amateur-to-pro turnover clanks along on an industrial scale, the selection of 30-something Hume for the final 10-man GB&I team would be a triumph for the working amateur who juggles employment with the cut-and-thrust of the local, national and international playing scene. There’s plenty of work to do to ensure selection but, having won the Welsh Open Strokeplay Championship last season, Hume’s unwavering competitive instincts and considerable experience will stand him in good stead. He should have a sturdy ally in the GB&I camp too. The current team captain is his good friend Craig Watson, one of the true career amateurs, and the man Hume beat 5&4 in the final of the Scottish Amateur Championship at Downfield back in 2001. That walloping won’t be held against him, mind you. “Craig has beaten me every time since,” Hume chuckled. “We go back a long way. He was my captain in the Scotland team and he was my foursomes partner when I first came through. He was fairly optimistic that I’d at least be in the training squad on the back of winning the Welsh Open. Getting into the squad is nice recognition of what I’ve done.”

Hume was a first reserve for the Walker Cup in 2001 but never made it to the Sea Island showdown. By the time the 2003 match came round, the Haggs Castle man had already departed to the professional game. That fluctuating period of his career was not illuminated by the same successes he had enjoyed as an amateur but a return to his roots has had a galvanising effect. “I just enjoy playing golf and it’s no longer a sport to me, it’s just a game,” said the 34-year-old, who is quick to credit the role of his coach, Scott Garrett, in his resurgence. “When you’re a professional, it’s a sport and a business. And if you’re not prepared for the business side of it you’ll get caught out. I had a bit of time away from golf and I realised that it is a game. I just want to play at whatever level.”

Having worked his way back into the Scotland team for the Home Internationals over the past couple of seasons, a place in the GB&I Walker Cup side for the defence of the silverware against the USA would complete the journey back to prominence. In this very individual pursuit, Hume would still “rather win the Amateur Championship than play in the Walker Cup” but, with the benefit of the passing years, he has a new found appreciation for the one for all and all for one mantra of the team environment.

“The best players in GB&I should go and if I was selected but, for whatever reason, felt I wasn’t among the best at the time, I’d step aside for someone else who I believed was better,” he admitted. “The team comes first. That’s something I have become aware of since returning to the amateur game. A lot of people are selfish about their goals but winning as a team is the most important part of it. The best players in form should play. There shouldn’t be anything standing in their way and that includes players in poor form. There can’t be any weak links and unless the individuals are honest, how will the selectors know? If someone is not on form or not feeling good then maybe they should step aside. It takes a big character to do that, of course. I’d rather the team won even if I lost every match. That’s maybe a change in me too. When I was younger, I was probably more likely to have wanted to win my match at all times. The team didn’t matter. Now it’s all about the team.”