The Voice Of Golf Peter Alliss

Palmer and Nicklaus. The yips. Augusta National. Cheating. In tribute, we bring you one of the last, and a most fascinating interview with the man who should have been commentating on his penultimate Open last summer.

- John Huggan

He is the voice of golf for anyone older than a teenager and before that he was a golfer skilled enough to have played – and prospered – in numerous Ryder Cups. But what Peter Alliss will be remembered for more than anything is his wit, his alternative wisdom, and his quips. These are his reflections on a unique lifetime in the game...

Without dwelling too much on your age, you’ve been around awhile and have met so many of the great names. What have been the highlights?

About a year ago, I was looking through an old Golfer’s Handbook. I worked out that I have either played with or met all but seven Open champions since 1900. I have seen Walter Hagen. I have seen Bobby Jones. I have met J H Taylor. I didn’t meet Arnaud Massy, 1907 champion. And I didn’t meet Densmore Shute, who won in 1933. But I have seen or played with everyone since the Second World War. I find all of that quite frightening in a way.

The Open has changed beyond recognition in recent times, hasn’t it? Back then, winning The Open Championship was just a lovely thing to do. I recall coming home from school in 1940 or ’41 and sitting around our kitchen table was Alf Perry (1935), Alf Padgham (1936), Dick Burton (1939), Reggie Whitcombe (1938), Ernest Whitcombe (2nd, 1924), and my father. My mother was in the corner wearing her apron. They were all drinking tea. I remember Ernest looking at his watch and saying he had a lesson at 5.30 and had to go. They were all club pros back then. Giving lessons, fixing shoes and selling umbrellas. If you went into their shops, there they were. The last Open champion who did all that was, I think, Henry Cotton. You could go to Penina and find him in the shop. He would sell you a couple of golf balls.