Ken Brown tells us how he made the seamless transition from the fairways to the television studio
Indeed, the now 60-year-old Scot wasn’t even out of his teens when he played his maiden full season on tour in 1976, before making the first of five Ryder Cup appearances the very next year. Over the following decade and a bit, he enjoyed considerable success not only in Europe, where he won four times, but also out in America on the PGA Tour. He played there for six years from 1984 to 1989, winning once and racking up a decent number of top tens long before it was fashionable, or indeed easy, for Europeans to ply their trade out in the States.
Then it was over all too soon, with Brown making his final European Tour appearance at the 1993 Carrolls Irish Open, the event that had given him his first victory 15 years earlier. This time, he shot 79, 79 to finish T139th, and that was that. Brown hung up his clubs, and looked for something else to while away the hours at the modest age of 36.
Here, we look back with Ken on his early years in game, his American adventure, his early retirement and how his second career as a TV pundit came about…
How did your career in golf start?
When I left school, first of all I was a green keeper for six months at my home club of Harpenden Common – I worked in the morning and golfed in the afternoon. After six months, there was a job advertised at Verulam Golf Club for an assistant professional and I thought, “Let’s go for it!” I got the job at £10 per week in 1974, and just did what an assistant club pro does.
How did you get on tour so quickly?
This story is from the November 2017 edition of Golf Monthly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 2017 edition of Golf Monthly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
"I'm just trying to inspire people to play golf”
Golf Monthly meets social media sensation Mia Baker, who is on a mission to get more people into golf... and smiling all the way
A PLACE ΤΟ YOURSELF
Jeremy Ellwood discovers the Old Millhouse in Dalkeith to be the perfect away-from-it-all base for exploring the East Lothian coast's many fine links
Border patrol
Andy Wright ventures due east from his Troon base for a stay at Macdonald Hotels' Cardrona resort in the Borders near Peebles
Moortown
Golf fans know that Dr Alister Mackenzie was the man responsible for Augusta National; many will also be aware that the surgeon-turned-course architect first honed his design skills on his home patch close to Leeds.
Rickie Fowler
The 34-year-old American is back in form and eager to share his favourite tee-to-green tips
How to cure the chipping yips
INSTRUCTION - SAVE PAR
Beef up your ball flight
INSTRUCTION - FAULT FIXER
HYBRID MASTERCLASS
Top 50 Coach Lysa Jones explains how to make the most of this versatile club
The great debate
Nick Bonfield explores the concept of greatness in professional golf and ponders how it should be defined
BREAKING the mould
To mark shoe giant FootJoy's 100th anniversary, Neil Tappin flies out to its HQ near Boston to find out more about the brand's past and future, before setting up tent in the buzzing campsite it sponsors at The Open