This past weekend I went to Northern Ireland to watch the Walker Cup match between the best amateurs from Great Britain & Ireland and those from the United States. For once, the main purpose of my trip wasn't work-related, although, as usual, it got in the way a little. No, I hopped across the Irish Sea to Ulster to view the biennial battle more for fun than anything else. Well, that and the fact that a good friend, Colin Dalgleish, was leading the GB&I squad.

Photo: © David Cannon/Getty Images Colin Dalgleish of Scotland the captain of the Great Britain and Ireland team with American team captain Buddy Marucci of the USA.

It was well worth it. Not only did my pal distinguish himself with a near textbook display of inspirational captaincy in what turned out to be an agonisingly nail-biting but losing cause, the endlessly beautiful links of Royal County Down confirmed its status as one of the most interesting and challenging places to play golf on this planet. Best of all, however, was further confirmation - if any is needed - that watching a closely contested match between two closely matched teams is the most enjoyment you can ever have as a golfing spectator. Somehow or other, winning seems sweeter when shared with others, which, in a game so often accused of selfishness, is strange indeed.

It is often said that golf is but a metaphor for life and that watching someone play as little as a few holes reveals all you ever need to know about his or her true character. Maybe so, but that last bit is certainly enhanced when the person in question is wearing a uniform and playing not just for individual glory but for the rest of a team.

For example, two days at Newcastle told me everything I will ever need - or want - to know about the current US Amateur champion, Colt Knost. A highly talented golfer, one who already looks good enough to make the perennially hazardous transition into the professional ranks, Knost is, on the evidence of this Walker Cup, an arrogant and boorish so-and-so.

His reaction to not winning his singles match on the second day, when his opponent, Daniel Willett, holed a 20-foot putt on the final green to clinch at least a half point (Knost followed him in from perhaps a yard) was disappointing to say the least. After 'treating' Willett to one of those limp-wristed, no eye contact handshakes one always hates to see at the end of any match, Knost strutted around the putting surface for an unhealthy length of time shaking his head and staring up at the heavens. The implication was clear: How dare this obviously less gifted chopper make such an outrageous putt and deprive me of my pre-ordained victory? For Knost, his match was clearly all about himself and not about what he could do to help his teammates. Let's hope, given time, that this spoiled young man will mature to the point where his character matches his ability.

Happily, the other side of the golfing coin was also on display at the foot of the wondrous Mountains of Mourne. Playing on home ground, Ulster's own Rory McIlroy didn't have the Walker Cup he would have wanted, at least in terms of points. Performing some way short of his prodigious best, the youngster managed one and half out of a possible four.

Not once did I see or hear him moan, however. Even though only 18, McIlroy knew that what really mattered over the two days of the match was not what he himself contributed but the number of points recorded by the whole team. On the final afternoon, playing top in the singles against another of golf's strutters in Billy Horschel, he ground out a win that surely meant a lot to this likeable young man, but was worth far more to a side trailing by four points at that stage. His efforts over the two days were unstinting and made all the more impressive by the fact that he was struggling with his game.

The same can also be said of the lone Scot in the home side, Lloyd Saltman. The much-vaunted 21-year old (he turned 22 and professional the day after the matches) played no better than poorly on the first day, comfortably losing both of his matches. To no one's surprise, least of all his own, he was dropped from the second day foursomes.

His reaction, however, was no doubt just what captain Dalgleish would have wanted. Following a morning of hard work on the range with his coach, Saltman went out and defeated the gallant Trip Kuehne in the afternoon singles. It was a match marked by great sportsmanship and camaraderie, the embrace shared by the protagonists at the end summing up all that is good about golf and the Walker Cup. And, just as impressively, all Saltman could talk about afterwards was how much he had wanted to win for his friends and for the team. Any thought of individual glory had clearly never crossed his mind. That could wait until after the forms were signed the next morning.

Photo: © David Cannon/Getty Images Jonathan Moore gets mobbed by teammates after making an eagle putt on the final green which help clinch the matches for the United States.

All of which - the good and the bad - is part of the inherent attraction of team golf. Win, lose or draw, we are treated to an intimate glimpse into the souls of those participating. Which is also, of course, one of the great things about match play. In a head-to-head contest it isn't possible to coast along, finish tied for sixth and pick up a nice cheque. Oh no. In match play there are winners and losers. And no one likes to be a loser. Or admit to being a loser. Somehow it's easier to start a post-mortem with, 'I came fourth' rather than, 'I lost.'

The best news is that, over the course of this month, we are going to be treated to a host of to-class team matches. This week I'm popping down to Dunbar to watch the ladies Home International matches, where the cream of the British Isles' female amateurs will be on display.

Then there is the Solheim Cup in Sweden, where Europe and the US will be going perm-to-perm in the ladies equivalent of the Ryder Cup. And less than two weeks after that, the Americans will be taking on the International squad in the Presidents Cup while, across the water, Great Britain & Ireland's professionals will be facing up to their mates from the continent of Europe for the Seve Trophy.

You can safely bet that all of the above will provoke moments of great drama and excitement that even a major championship cannot compare with. In fact, one can easily argue that the stresses and strains of match play in a team context produce the most pressure-packed environment for any golfer. Take Mark Calcavecchia. Two years after he had the guts, nerve and fortitude to successfully stare down Greg Norman and Wayne Grady in a play-off for the Open Championship at Royal Troon, the man from Nebraska was reduced to a snivelling, hyperventilating wreck by the loss of the last four holes of his singles match against Colin Montgomerie in the Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island.

Team golf is simply the best. Enjoy it all and often.