Keating keen as captain for second year

Jim Keating: Oldham captain

GOLF:

JIM Keating, who has embarked on his second year as Oldham captain, is a man who inspires admiration from his clubmates and friends.

The 74 year old fulfilled his captaincy obligations last year despite suffering a heart attack in November 2012, then undergoing a quadruple by-pass early in 2013.

Those life-changing occurrences forced him to give up squash — the sport he had played since he was 18.

But Jim’s health issues haven’t kept him off the court. He now plays racketball — played on a squash court but with a bigger racquet and bouncier ball.

“The doctors wouldn’t let me carry on playing squash, but will let me play racketball,” said Jim. “It’s not quite as physically demanding.”

More golf is also on the agenda in 2014 as 24-handicapper Jim was unable to tread the fairways as often as he would have like last summer because of his health problems.

“I was able to play in the last event, but this year I plan to attend all the invitations and away days,” he said. “And I have made a good start as my team won the four-ball, better-ball competition at my captain’s drive-in.”

The retired computer engineer was thrust into a second term of captaincy when his vice-captain Dale Chandler was unable to take over.