I love golf because...

Quickfire Questions

Rather like my family motto – one day you’re the cock of the walk, the next you’re the feather duster.

Favourite golf course? Trevose in north Cornwall. I go down there for three or four days every August and I love that classic links course. It’s tricky one day and glorious the next. You never know what you’re going to get and I love it!

Favourite golfer? Ian Poulter. Arsenal fan, passionate, demonic and probably a bit unstable but utterly magnificent.

Best ever round? I absolutely ripped it up once in Los Angeles, playing with an actor. I went round in about 13-over. That’s as good as I have ever done but I can remember every shot!

It has to be my 7-iron – I can hit it about 170 yards on a good day!

Morgan, Poulter, Kevin Pietersen and… does Cindy Crawford play golf?

What don’t you like about golf?

Everyone agrees, it’s so frustrating. Just when you think you’ve cracked it, it cracks you!

Best ever tip? My local pro at Wimbledon Park always says to me, “Smack it down the middle”. You can’t beat advice like that!

You haven’t played for a month, the course looks like the site of an archaeological dig and the grip of the club feels so foreign in the palm of your hands that you may as well be clutching a croquet mallet. With your expectations duly lowered, all you need is a handful of clean strikes to feel like the most naturally gifted of sportsmen.

The fair-weather golfers have returned to hibernation, leaving the course to you and a select band of truly dedicated souls. You might not be the best players, but you’re committed and quick. For that, we salute you. There is no finer sight in golf than a fat, juicy pitch-mark and a golf ball that has spun backwards. No matter what else happens on the course in 2019, you’ll have this moment to look back on with pride.