Peter Alliss at Perth Concert Hall

Oct 22 2010 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

PETER Alliss, the Beeb’s distinctive voice of golf for generations of sports fans, sauntered on stage in his blue cardie, settled down in a chair with a glass of water near at hand and charmed a packed Perth Concert Hall audience without resorting to a single note.

The eight-times Ryder Cup competitor, now nudging towards his 80th birthday, is to golf what Murray Walker was to F1 and Bill McLaren was to rugby.

But he’s still going strong, illuminating the Beeb’s coverage of the Open since 1961, with comments sharper than a greenkeeper’s mower.

While he lamented that younger viewers were unaware of his own track record on the other side of the ropes, with 21 pro tournaments bagged between 1954 and his retiral from international competition in 1969, Allis strolled back down memory lane in the Fair City.

And taking the advice of Walter Hagen, he has never forgotten to smell the flowers along the way.

His opening round on Monday teed-up the back story to the Alliss family, with Peter weighing in at an eye-watering 14lbs 12oz in 1931.

On the golf front, following in the footsteps of golf pro father Percy, he recalled banking a £400 winner’s cheque in 1954 – the equivalent of a year’s wages in three days. Three British PGA championships and a string of European titles followed in his heyday.

Returning after the break he made mention of a group from the Royal Perth Golfing Society which had held a pre-Alliss supper at their nearby clubrooms and opened the evening out to questions from the audience.

In baseball terminology he was quickly thrown a curve ball, with an elderly woman querying what had happened to an Angus club’s trophy won by his late father.

She had a photograph of Percy with said gold trophy and Allis quickly countered: “I hope you don’t have one of him melting it down!”

During the 23rd show on a nationwide tour, he contrasted the Celtic Manor Ryder Cup and the 2014 Gleneagles competition with his own experiences in the fifties.

While even the WAGS were given a 20,000 dollar budget to kit themselves out for the Welsh event, Alliss remembered the Saxone golf shoes, Dax trousers and leather golf bag of 1953 which, when wet, would have challenged Samson before his haircut.

Typically, the evening was dotted with irreverent quips, with follically challenged US duo Stewart Cink and Jim Furyk likened to “two bald eggs” when they removed their caps.

A fondness for local courses at Blairgowrie and Alyth, an enduring love for St Andrews and all it stands for and the inevitable jibes at the expense of Tiger Woods and the “twerp” Nick Faldo kept his audience entertained.

And on Colin Montgomerie’s Ryder Cup captaincy at swamp-like Celtic Manor – with the weather likely to pose problems for Gleneagles in four years – he remarked: “We staggered home but Monty did well as captain, creating interest and enthusiasm. When he was captain, I remember Nick Faldo riding around on a buggy as if he was on holiday in Florida.”

The curse of slow play also touched a chord and he signed off by saying: “Golf is wonderful institution. Enjoy it – and make sure the people behind you are enjoying it as well!”