Golf has always been flowing in Peter Alliss' veins. The legendary commentator's father, Percy, played professionally, and the 83-year-old embarked on his own golf career after leaving school in his mid-teens.
Tonight, Alliss joined Off The Ball to talk about his long career as a player, and then iconic voice of the game on the BBC since 1961.
"I made a very good living and I was fortunate enough to be invited to work on the television, which has been a great success, and paid me well," he said, also telling Off The Ball that this year's Open could be his last.
However, he also told us that he would not like to be playing golf nowadays, contrasting it with the fun time of his era.
"I wouldn't particularly like to be playing now because of the security at airports unless you've got your own private machine which a few of them have. But the security, getting about, the hustle and bustle, puling and shoving, and keyhole journalism, and finding out if you've nicked a bag of sweets when you were 14 and putting it in the paper ... I don't like it."
We're talking to the great Peter Alliss tonight. Watch this commentary of Freddy Couples at Augusta for Alliss Gold https://t.co/loUenDczUH
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) February 10, 2015
As far as commentary is concerned, Alliss says nerves were never part of his armoury on air.
"I listen to these wonderful actors, and I don't know if it's all nonsense, or whether they just say it that they vomit before they go on the stage or they feel a sickening ball in the pit of their stomach ... I've never felt anything like that in my life. Never, ever!" he said.
"There's nothing to be nervous about. You just see it and the great thing about television is if you don't know what to say, shut up and let the pictures show, because it does take us to so many beautiful places."
With The British Open moving from BBC to Sky Sports, Alliss said it will be a negative for those who do not have access to satellite TV.
He also spoke about the first exciting golfers that he can recall, as well as Tiger Woods being a Gulliver in an era of Lilliputians.
