Is Peter Alliss the greatest golf commentator ever?
Peter Alliss, who sadly passed away in December at the age of 89, was the voice of golf for more than half a century
For most reading this, certainly for the author, Peter Alliss delivered the soundtrack for the tournaments that fostered and bolstered our interest in golf. The Duel in the Sun, Seve pumping his fist at St Andrews, Faldo lofting his arms at Augusta, Tiger’s early roars: for British golf fans, the honeyed tones of Peter Alliss provided the narration.
Alliss was the last of a great cohort of commentators whose voices personified sport on the BBC in the late 20th century. Just as we had Bill Mclaren at Murrayfield, Dan Maskell at Wimbledon and Peter O’sullevan at Aintree, we had Peter Alliss at St Andrews. He described golf in a uniquely characterful fashion that lifted the action and drew out smiles in sitting rooms across the country. The game will not be quite the same without him.
Before picking up the mic in the BBC booth, Alliss had followed in his father Percy’s footsteps, becoming a professional golfer. In a playing career spanning four decades, Peter won 31 tournaments and was twice winner of the Harry Vardon Trophy for leading the Order of Merit. He finished in the top ten at The Open Championship on four occasions.
In eight appearances at the Ryder Cup, Alliss won ten matches, including victories over Arnold Palmer (two of them), Billy Casper and Ken Venturi. One of his regrets was never captaining a Ryder Cup side. Most agreed it was a task he would have completed with aplomb.
When it came to the sport of golf, Peter knew what he was talking about. His first foray into commentary came at the 1961 Open Championship. It was a good place to start, with Arnold Palmer taking the title and reigniting international – particularly American – interest in the game’s oldest championship.
Alliss worked alongside Henry Longhurst, who had a significant influence on Peter’s commentary, before becoming the BBC’S head golf commentator in 1978. He continued to work with the BBC up to the last, providing words for highlights of the 2020 Masters.
Alliss commentated in a way that resonated with viewers. He understood how the common golfer struggled with the game and described elite action so we could relate. He mentioned clubs and courses around the country, recalled old friends and acquaintances and mixed amusing anecdotes into the dialogue.
There have been commentators who knew, or know, more about the technical side of golf, swing mechanics and equipment advances. But none of them could capture a moment or paint a picture with words like Alliss. Whether he was describing a spectator’s jaunty hat or Jean Van de Velde’s Carnoustie meltdown, he did so with feeling, colour and humour.
His style was not, like with many modern commentators, to provide an incessant monologue, unnecessarily describing action the viewers can see for themselves. Rather, he would add to the moment when he felt it necessary and say very little when there was no need. He chose his words and timing, rather than delivering a stream of consciousness.
That was something he learned from Longhurst, who was generally circumspect in the booth; a philosophy that less is often more.
Some thought Alliss old fashioned, and that’s because he was. He was born in the year Al Capone was sent to prison after all. He lived through wartime and its aftermath and his jovial commentary often provided a gentle reminder that golf is a pastime. Yes, great fun and sometimes enthralling, but perhaps not the be all and end all... worse things have happened at sea and all that.
Above all else, Alliss made us laugh. Whether it was a humorous quip, a witty observation or even, latterly, a wee slip that showed he grew up in that different age mentioned above, he was always out to make viewers chuckle.
He made golf fun and that was the key to his enduring appeal, and why Peter Alliss is the best golf commentator there has ever been.
“Above all else, Alliss made us laugh. He was always out to make viewers chuckle”
ustin Rose is one of the most successful golfers Britain has ever produced. He’s been a fixture at the top of the game for the last two decades and remains as determined as ever to add to his incredible CV as he embarks on his 24th season as a professional.
Despite missing his first 21 cuts as a pro, he’s gone on to build a career that’s seen him become a Major and Olympic Champion, win 22 times on six different continents, play in five Ryder Cups, top the European Tour’s Order of Merit and the PGA Tour’s Fedexcup and spend the majority of the last nine years inside the top ten on the Official World Golf Ranking, including 13 weeks as number one in 2018 and 2019.
For someone so used to such consistently high standards, a
2020 in which he failed to win in a calendar year for the first time since 2009 and slipped outside the top 30 in the world rankings is a shock to the system.
It would be easy to look back on all he’s achieved and for the motivation to wane, but Rose is made of sterner stuff. He’s overcome poor form and adversity before and he’s determined to do so again. At 40 years old, he’s still hungry for more success, without being shackled by the burden of not having won a Major or achieved those career-defining victories. The next few years might just turn a great career into a legendary one.
How do you assess your career to this point?
Fooch (former caddie Mark Fulcher) asked me something similar in 2017. He said, ‘Would you wipe the slate clean and go back to being a 17-year-old and have another go?’ It was a great question and I feel like I’m at that point in my career where I’ve achieved enough great things, in the sense of getting to World No.1, winning a Major, the Olympic Gold Medal, which was the biggest gift in my career.
There’s been some things in there that you could never guarantee replicating, so I really feel content. But I also feel hungry. I think I’m in a win-win situation for the last stretch of my career. That’s an exciting point to be.
What would you tell the 18-year-old Justin Rose who had just turned professional?
I had a lot of bumps in the road along the way, so I’d tell myself to focus on the journey, progression, your own game and incremental improvement year-on-year. If you can achieve that then it’s amazing how much catch-up you can play. We can all get caught up in comparison, and if you compare yourself to the 18-year-old sensation that can be disheartening at times. So basically walk your own path and focus on incremental improvements and it’s amazing how far that will take you.
Have your memories of winning the 2013
US Open changed at all as time has passed?
Unfortunately, seven years goes too fast. I would love to have kicked on and won more Majors – and that’s still my goal. I’ve been very close. I feel like I have kicked on after winning a Major, and that’s the important thing.
My relationship with the US Open is still very special – it’s the only one I have and I’m grateful to be a Major Champion. We all know there are many good and some great players who’ve never won a Major, so to have that done and dusted is nice. To be in your 40s and trying to knock that off, you know you’re not going to have that many looks at it. It’s nice to have that done, but I still feel there’s opportunity for me to go out and get those elusive ones that I haven’t won.
I’ve become a member of Merion, so I’ve had the opportunity to walk down memory lane and I’ve got to know the membership there, so it’s become a very special place for me. The memories of winning on Father’s Day will be with me forever. It was very emotional – a
Was that the best moment of your career?
If I think through the deeper meaning and sentimentality of it, then yeah – having that opportunity where I did feel this deep connection to my dad.
It had been pretty much a decade since he passed away. Time is a healer and all those cliches are somewhat true, but to feel like he was right there with me was just an amazing feeling, so that probably edges it over anything else. And it is the biggest achievement I would say I’ve had in the game.
Where does the Olympics rank in the list of achievements?
The US Open and the Olympics are my two favourite moments in the game. When I got to World No.1, I was furious that I hadn’t won the tournament, and when I won the Fedexcup, I was furious at the way I finished and felt like I nearly gave it away. So I wasn’t proud of myself in those two moments because I knew I could have done better.
Sometimes it’s the selfsatisfaction that’s important. The Olympics gave me so much. It was this incredible culmination of playing an individual sport but feeling like you were connected to
“The memories of winning on Father’s Day will be with me forever. It was very emotional”
something much bigger. The opportunity to add to the medal tally for Team GB was amazing. I met so many cool people, I was inspired and I felt like I learned so much. It’s been the one tournament I’ve won that’s lived on the longest. I’ve heard more from the fans about the Gold Medal than any other event I’ve won. It’s been a real surprise.
“The Olympics gave me so much”
What are your favourite Ryder Cup memories?
My all-time favourite is the champagne having to be moved from the US team room to the European team room late on