Ah, the carefree times of yore, when skint knees and the slooters of jammy pieces down your front were the chief concerns of everyday existence and life was full of wide-eyed enthusiasm and blissfully naïve joie de vivre. It’s still a bit like this for some of us golf writers, of course. Particularly with those slooterings.

Here at Hazeltine yesterday, Rory McIlroy enjoyed something of an amble down memory lane. The present is all about this week’s Ryder Cup but there’s no escaping the past.

The 41st staging of golf’s grandest team tussle has an added layer of significance for the Northern Irishman as he plays under the leadership of his countryman, Darren Clarke. At just 27, McIlroy is hardly a wizened old veteran but he couldn’t help getting all nostalgic as he mulled over those formative years. He may be a superstar these days but there was a time when he too was star struck.

McIlroy was just 10 when he first met the current European skipper and the memories remain seared on the mind.

“My actual 10th birthday present was to go and play at Royal Portrush,” recalled the four-time major champion who continued his rousing return to his shimmering majesty with victory in last Sunday’s Tour Championship in Atlanta. “I remember I got a new wedge, one of those Cleveland rusty wedges. That was the thing at the time and that’s what I got. I was chipping around the green and Darren was there. I was just in awe of him.

“He was doing the same thing, just chipping around the green, and he just said to me: ‘practice, practice, practice’. That’s always been his motto. And that day has always stuck with me and, even this week, those memories come rushing back. Here we are on the biggest stage of the game and I’m able to play under him as a Ryder Cup captain.”

Clarke’s motto this week is 'shoulder-to-shoulder', and, with that in mind, he has drafted in Irish rugby great Paul O’Connell to deliver a sturdy rallying cry to his troops. In this all for one and one for all environment, they may also be drawing on some old nuggets from Jim Bowen of Bullseye fame. Remember him? “The best part of the team room is the dart board,” beamed Ryder Cup rookie Andy Sullivan. Let’s hope Team Europe aren’t left mulling over that old Bowen staple, ‘here’s what you could have won.’

In this tight-knit environment, Europe’s type of band of brothers camaraderie is something the Americans are trying their hardest to emulate. Even the great Jack Nicklaus had them all round for tea one night. They may be displaying plenty of grinning, backslapping, in-it-together-style companionship but close bonds can’t be forced.

“I think there comes a time when you try too hard,” suggested McIlroy. “As much as we talk about our blueprint in Europe, it’s not rocket science. All the guys get on pretty well together and the culture of the European Tour is just a little bit different in terms of the guys just socialising a bit more with each other.

“I know the American team have started to do that. You have Jack inviting them over for dinner and trying to really bond the team together but we’ve never really needed to do that. It’s always been a natural fit for us. I think sometimes you can over-team it a little bit and try too hard instead of it just happening.”

It’s certainly been happening for Europe in the Ryder Cup down the years. From those early days when McIlroy once suggested the transatlantic coming together was little more than an exhibition, the former world No 1 is now something of a team leader, both on and off the course.

“I think I did underestimate what it was going to be like,” conceded McIlroy, as he reflected on his initial Ryder Cup judgement. “The comments I made before seem very stupid now. I had no idea. I had played in the Junior Ryder Cup, I was at the Ryder Cups of 2004 and 2006 and I thought I knew what it would be like. But there’s nothing like walking on to that first tee for the first time and feeling the rush and soaking up the atmosphere.

“That’s what I’ve tried to reiterate to the rookies on the team. You think you know what it’s like and you think you’ve played under pressure but you haven’t. I’m just trying to make them ready for that and make sure they are comfortable with where they are.

“Once you get over that first hurdle, that hump of the first tee and everything that goes on with that, then you’re down to business and you’re just trying to do what you do every day of your life, which is to play good golf.”

That’s what it will come down to over the weekend. After all the relentless previews and ponderings, which would make the 100 Years War look like a quick nip-and tuck skirmish, it’s almost time for the actual playing of the thing. As Sergio Garcia noted with insightful anatomical analysis, “at the end of the day, you don’t win Ryder Cups with your mouth.”