He has played all over the world, from the seaside courses of his native Wales, to Japan with the Kansas University golf team.

Conrad Roberts has seen it all. Even warehouse golf. While working for University Press as a college student, Roberts and co-workers played a course dubbed “Aisleland Greens” by his boss. They wrapped tape around bubble wrap to make the ball, cut holes out of cardboard boxes and designed an 18-hole, par-72 course in the warehouse.

“The No. 2 tee was off at the end of Aisle B,” Roberts remembered. “The first shot would be straight, then a dogleg left, then it would finish with a dogleg to the right into the men’s bathroom.”

You might say that hole stunk. That never has been said of Roberts’ golf game.

He and fellow former KU player Chad Roesler won the Kansas Golf Association Four Ball tournament at Alvamar public and will compete against each other in the two-day Lawrence Amateur Golf Association tournament next weekend. The first 18 holes of the city championship will be played Saturday at Eagle Bend, the second round Sunday at Alvamar public.

The KGA Public Links Championship (Saturday and today) happens to be at Eagle Bend this summer, which gives Roberts all the preparation he’ll need to feel ready to defend his LAGA title.

Each of the four divisions (men’s open, men’s senior, men’s super senior, women’s) of the event is flighted, which gives players of all ability levels the chance to win a title. Obviously, Roberts is in the championship flight, given that his index is plus-4, which means he would have to give a 23-handicap 27 strokes in a match.

Alvamar public is his home course, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be at a disadvantage on the first day of the city championship. Roberts said he once shot a 63 at Eagle Bend, although it wasn’t in a tournament, so it’s “unofficial.”

Roberts has come a long way with University Press since his days as a warehouse golfer. He’s now the business manager of the Lawrence publishing house.

Conrad Roberts, front, and Chad Roesler study a green at the KGA Four Ball Tournament. The pair of former Kansas University golfers won the event. The teammates will vie against one another at the Lawrence Amateur Golf Association city championship next weekend.

“I wanted to be a professional more than anything,” Roberts said. “A good job opportunity came up, and I took it. I’m happy doing what I’m doing, but every day I think about it. Right now, I’m the kind of player that I’ll go out and play real well one day, and a couple of days later I play real bad. I’m just not consistent enough anymore.”

To defend his title successfully, Roberts will have to beat his Four Ball partner. On the second day, if Roesler and Roberts aren’t playing together, they likely will play near each other, late in the day.

“That would be a lot of fun playing with Chad,” Roberts said. “You want to be playing with your competition. The group in front of you and behind you, you get a feel for what they’re doing by their body language. You can see a guy throwing the club away from 500 yards. Knowing what everyone else is doing doesn’t really help you on the golf course because you’re supposed to be playing the golf course.”

Few in Lawrence do that as well as Roberts.

¢Intense self-psychotherapy – aimed at overcoming a par-5 phobia so deep-rooted, my hands shook too hard to type the four least-difficult par-5 holes among the 14 holes at the city’s four 18-hole courses – has worked well enough to give it another shot:

No. 2, Alvamar public: Not too long, not very tight, nice downhill approach shot into a big green. Anything worse than a par requires at least one bad shot.

No. 9, Eagle Bend: This birdie opportunity revives the golfer whose confidence was battered the previous two holes.

No. 11, Alvamar public: An accurate tee shot is the key here to a hole that has little trouble on it.

No. 4, Eagle Bend: Good golfers will argue that because No. 4 is a tough putting green, No. 12 is actually the much better pick here. Then again, who cares what good golfers think? Hacks have been known to drop second, fourth and sixth shots into the water on the left on No. 12. (This is not hearsay.)