KIM Swan believes that one of the keys to a happy life is to love what you do for a living.

With that in mind, he has set himself up to pursue a career that he can be nothing short of passionate about ? to immerse himself in golf.

His new company, Kim Swan Pro Golf Services, will offer clients the chance to benefit from all the knowledge he has accrued in 30 years' involvement in the sport, from playing at the US collegiate and professional level to managing St. George's Golf Course.

He will offer playing lessons and expertise in course management, as well as his services in organising golf events.

At the age of 48, the United Bermuda Party Senator has one eye on bringing his game back up to the level that will allow him to play on the PGA Senior Tour or the European Senior Tour, circuits that host lucrative events for over-50 professionals.

As a former European Tour player, Sen. Swan knows he has the talent to compete with the best, and he sees his company as a way of "reconnecting" with the sport he loves and to make a living in a satisfying way.

Two years ago, he quit his job as marketing manager at Gosling's to rededicate himself to the game that allowed him to travel widely around the world and learn from some of the greats.

"At that time, I realised that my talents and skills lie in golf and that golf is my trade," Sen. Swan said. "A three-year hiatus, due to circumstances beyond my control, rekindled my desire to reconnect with golf."

After achieving considerable success in US collegiate golf with Palm Beach Junior College in Florida and Troy State University in Alabama in the late '70s, Sen. Swan earned his European Tour card in November 1980 and shared the spotlight with the likes of Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo through until 1984.

In 1985, he became general manager of St. George's Golf Club, a post he held until 1991, when he formed his own company, Bermuda Golf Company Ltd.

He stayed on as club professional at St. George's, but broadened his involvement in the sport to include organising events that attracted visitors to the island during the early months of the year.

For example, he initiated the Bermuda Senior Golf Classic, which took place in January, the Bermuda Valentine's Mixed Foursomes in February and the Bermuda Easter Lilies Pro-Am ladies event in March.

But his 16-year association with St. George's, a golf club he helped to found, was ended abruptly in 2001 when he was controversially axed from his role as club professional.

Losing his opportunity to work there caused a major upheaval for Sen. Swan and temporarily halted his professional involvement with golf.

Sen. Swan said he was grateful to Gosling's for "giving him a home" for the following three years as he took a post as marketing manager for the Bermuda rum makers.

But in 2004, Sen. Swan made the decision to re-establish himself in the world of golf and has spent the past two years gradually raising his profile in the sport and preparing himself for his target of the Senior Tour. He believes he has much to offer golf, in terms of his know-how and experience.

"I have knowledge of how to play the game at a high level, how to manage a golf course and how to teach the game," Sen. Swan said.

"Many of the island's course superintendents have learned from me and many of the professionals, like Dwayne Pearman, Cornell Bean and Darron Swan, have been apprentices of mine at one time.

"Golf was the game that lifted me from the depths of the White Hill community and I feel I have a lot to give back to golf."

Sen. Swan would appear to have all the tools for the job, but he is missing one thing.

"I am fortunate from a playing point of view in that I don't have a problem finding a place to play," Sen. Swan said. "But when it comes to teaching clients, I can take them to the Bermuda Golf Academy for a couple of hours but I haven't got a base. And a base is what I really need right now."

Sen. Swan will get an opportunity next year to make a qualifying bid for the 2008 Senior Tour. To give himself a chance of success, he has been playing in tournaments overseas whenever he can. Sponsors including his former employers Gosling's and insurance company Usico have helped to make that possible.

In Bermuda he can regularly be seen practising at Riddell's Bay and Tucker's Point, two clubs Sen. Swan wished to thank for their support.

Through dieting and a fitness regime he has shed 80 pounds and he works as hard in the gym as he does on the golf course to ready himself for the challenge ahead.

He gave so much time to management during his 16 years at St. George's Golf Club that he spent much less time actually playing. Now he is making up for lost time and playing as much as he can, though his work in politics and an injury have limited his time on the course in recent weeks.

But his time out of the game brought home to him that golf was his passion and he was going to do what was necessary to make a living from involvement in the sport ? whatever it took.

"Golf is where I feel at home," Sen. Swan said. "I was reminded of that when I was asked to go and speak to five- to 11-year-olds at a summer camp at Port Royal School.

"I was really excited about having a chance to give back, a chance to share my knowledge of golf with young people and plant the seeds of golf in the future."

Sen. Swan can be contacted by email at bermudagolfgmail.com or on his cell phone on 333-8321.