A round with Alliss

[Pants]

View attachment 49133

Thanks Bri

3PUT must have been the club pro

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I had a quick look at it.

I know that Peter Allis was a great player, obviously way better (on a different planet) than I could ever hope to be.
But does anyone else think that his putting stroke is incredibly wristy?
Every putting lesson I've had, or tip I've seen, tells me to keep the hands out of the stroke.
And yet he was putting well by pretty much hinging his wrists.
Just goes to show that whatever works for you is fine.

In fact IIRC Alliss said often that it was the putting yips that scuppered him competitively.

 

[ExRabbit]

Just watched it - thanks for the link!

 

[stefanovic]

Even the BBC had to apologise for his behaviour.

BBC apologises for sexist remark by commentator Peter Alliss

The BBC have apologised for commentator Peter Alliss’s sexist comment about the wife of the Open winner Zach Johnson, describing it as ‘inappropriate’

www.theguardian.com

 

[stefanovic]

Why do you even bother watching the BBC or come to that, any TV.

I don't watch it anymore, and I won't be paying any more licence fees.

 

[Hobbit]

Even the BBC had to apologise for his behaviour.

BBC apologises for sexist remark by commentator Peter Alliss

The BBC have apologised for commentator Peter Alliss’s sexist comment about the wife of the Open winner Zach Johnson, describing it as ‘inappropriate’

www.theguardian.com

And in 80 years you’ve been an absolute angel

This thread, like several others, you’ve sucked the life blood out of.

It isn’t a thread about BBC good, BBC bad. By all means keep your sour rhetoric for your BBC thread. This thread is about a much loved BBC presenter who, amongst other things, presented a series that the vast majority of golfers very much enjoyed.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

I had a quick look at it.

I know that Peter Allis was a great player, obviously way better (on a different planet) than I could ever hope to be.
But does anyone else think that his putting stroke is incredibly wristy?
Every putting lesson I've had, or tip I've seen, tells me to keep the hands out of the stroke.
And yet he was putting well by pretty much hinging his wrists.
Just goes to show that whatever works for you is fine.

Allis was was a poor putter.
He had a great swing and all round game but his putting stopped him from being a major winner.

Putting in the earlier years was a totally different skill.
Most putters had some loft on them and the top golfers would use this to put spin on the putt to avoid stymies, divots or holes in the green.
My grandfather seemingly was a bit of a wizard with a putter.

BTW I know many former golf club members who certainly did not have any 'love' for Allis.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Used to watch Pro Celeb Golf and Around with Alliss the with my dad and brother. We really enjoyed it as ‘together watching’. And for the pedants, the word play in the title of the prog makes evident that the prog is not actually about a whole round of golf.

There is one great AwA when the guest was Bill McLaren. Notwithstanding any misspeaks he might have made I really miss the voice of PA (and BMcL) as well as Parky.

 

[stefanovic]

And in 80 years you’ve been an absolute angel

This thread, like several others, you’ve sucked the life blood out of.

It isn’t a thread about BBC good, BBC bad. By all means keep your sour rhetoric for your BBC thread. This thread is about a much loved BBC presenter who, amongst other things, presented a series that the vast majority of golfers very much enjoyed.

I'm not 80 and I wouldn't claim to be an angel like some would.
What makes me just a little bit angry is when they report that both Alliss and Parkinson died 'peacefully', at aged 89 and 88 respectively.
Celebs always die peacefully. The rest it seems, don't.
The reality is you always die of something nasty, never of old age.

Alliss was over critical of players like Jean van der Velde and Nick Faldo.
He even ridiculed 9 times major winner Gary Player.
Yet Alliss never won a major.
He spent his life in and around exclusive golf clubs with his own philosophy on life which most would not be able to relate to.

 

[arnieboy]

Maybe it says something about me but I loved listening to PA's commentary over the years.

 

[chrisd]

Maybe it says something about me but I loved listening to PA's commentary over the years.

Me too. He was just so good

 

[AmandaJR]

I loved listening to Peter Alliss. My Dad was a keen golfer and watched it whenever it was on 1 of the 3 channels! His voice, and that of Terry Wogan, always make me have a warm fuzzy feeling with memories of childhood.

 

[rudebhoy]

I'm not 80 and I wouldn't claim to be an angel like some would.
What makes me just a little bit angry is when they report that both Alliss and Parkinson died 'peacefully', at aged 89 and 88 respectively.
Celebs always die peacefully. The rest it seems, don't.
The reality is you always die of something nasty, never of old age.

Alliss was over critical of players like Jean van der Velde and Nick Faldo.
He even ridiculed 9 times major winner Gary Player.
Yet Alliss never won a major.
He spent his life in and around exclusive golf clubs with his own philosophy on life which most would not be able to relate to.

Genuine question - what was his philosophy on life?

 

[Crow]

Peter Alliss turned professional not long after the second world war ended and so witnessed as well as took part in the rise of the modern game and saw some of its greatest changes.
He played with many of the biggest characters in the game at many of the greatest courses, his experience was immense and he could always see the human side as well as the most intense sporting moment.

For me that made him a superb commentator. He could entertain and inform the occasional golfer just as well as he could the seasoned golf addict and there's nobody yet who has come close to equaling his all round ability.

I've also heard that some people have been complaining that I've not shown many old golf clubs recently, do I have any Peter Alliss clubs I hear you ask?
Of course, here are some Slazenger Peter Alliss "Star" clubs from about 1970. A set in superb condition and featuring the short lived Slazenger TimeFlex shafts.

 

[SyR]

I loved the Round with Alliss format, I watched his more "modern" editions, but loved the format as it showcases a variety of courses and different people that all love the game of golf.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

And in 80 years you’ve been an absolute angel

This thread, like several others, you’ve sucked the life blood out of.

It isn’t a thread about BBC good, BBC bad. By all means keep your sour rhetoric for your BBC thread. This thread is about a much loved BBC presenter who, amongst other things, presented a series that the vast majority of golfers very much enjoyed.

Ban him Bri, save the forum from his miserable, boring, rubbish…go on, you know you want to

 

[BubbaP]

My early golf was on a course co-designed by Alliss. The more mature may recall that before the pro game changed he used to talk a lot about pros hitting draws and amateurs hitting fades/slices.
The course started, 1 OOB right, 2 OOB right, 3 penalty area (river) right, 4 pen area right, 5 OOB right.
I used to joke that Alliss did the opening holes

 

[stefanovic]

Genuine question - what was his philosophy on life?

He used to spout out his own philosophy of what life is and isn't.
Can't remember anything specific, but it occurred to me he had probably never worked down a coal mine or in a factory.
He was born on the edge of a golf course (Wannsee) and spent most his time on one.
Quotes from his autogiography:
"I often wonder just what the club golfer gets out of the game...I do not know why so many are content to play badly...[some] play every week and they can be quite dreadful."
"They have no idea about grip, stance, anything. They have all the equipment yet make no effort to get better."
"Perhaps it is a British trait, the old Corinthian philosophy that one learns by playing and not practicing."

So there you have it. The British are lazy. The Germans are not.

 

[Crow]

He used to spout out his own philosophy of what life is and isn't.
Can't remember anything specific, but it occurred to me he had probably never worked down a coal mine or in a factory.
He was born on the edge of a golf course (Wannsee) and spent most his time on one.
Quotes from his autogiography:
"I often wonder just what the club golfer gets out of the game...I do not know why so many are content to play badly...[some] play every week and they can be quite dreadful."
"They have no idea about grip, stance, anything. They have all the equipment yet make no effort to get better."
"Perhaps it is a British trait, the old Corinthian philosophy that one learns by playing and not practicing."

So there you have it. The British are lazy. The Germans are not.

The highlighted part; how do you derive this from the prior part of your post?

You say that you can't remember anything specific about his philosophy, then randomly go on to suggest that he had a privileged upbringing, but playing professionals in the 1920s & 30s were nothing like the highly paid Pros of today and were in fact held in low esteem by most, so his father Percy Alliss would not have been a very wealthy man.

I can't recall Peter Alliss ever claiming to have worked in a coal mine or factory, but what's the relevance? He's talking about golf, not factory or mine working conditions.

And to top it all you pull out a few quotes from his autobiography to suggest that he was racist.

 

[stefanovic]

The highlighted part; how do you derive this from the prior part of your post?

You say that you can't remember anything specific about his philosophy, then randomly go on to suggest that he had a privileged upbringing, but playing professionals in the 1920s & 30s were nothing like the highly paid Pros of today and were in fact held in low esteem by most, so his father Percy Alliss would not have been a very wealthy man.

I can't recall Peter Alliss ever claiming to have worked in a coal mine or factory, but what's the relevance? He's talking about golf, not factory or mine working conditions.

And to top it all you pull out a few quotes from his autobiography to suggest that he was racist.

If he was raised in a 'nice bungalow' on the edge of Wannsee golf club Berlin, then he probably did have a privileged upbringing compared to being raised in slums in Britain and his father earning 5 shillings a week in a factory.
Would Percy Alliss have been allowed into the clubhouse? Probably at Wannsee, but at golf clubs in England he may not have been allowed inside. There was quite a class system.
My philosophy is that life is a lottery and if you win the jackpot you should be careful what you say.

Where exactly did I suggest he was racist? Read his autobiography. My local library have a copy.
I seem to remember Bernhard Langer did make a potentially racist comment against the English when winning at Wentworth.