GM’s new columnist Dan Walker tells us about his passion for the game...
Dan Walker is one of our most popular and likable sports presenters. The 39-year-old from Crawley – son of a church minister and Welsh mother who once played tennis for her country – has come a very long way since his MA in Journalism Studies at the University of Sheffield in 1999.
After starting out in radio, his move into television came when someone simply suggested he “should try doing some telly.” Walker followed that advice, and got himself a six-month contract at Granada TV. When his boss uprooted for the BBC in 2006, Walker went with her.
Since then, his rise has been meteoric, progressing from news to sport and covering the Six Nations, golf, horse racing, Wimbledon and football. Since 2009, Walker has been the face of Football Focus and more recently one of the faces of BBC Breakfast.
Through it all, golf has remained a personal passion. Walker refers to that first call-up to cover golf as “the phone call I’d long dreamed of!” and now, from our May issue onwards, Walker will have his own Golf Monthly column, offering his insight and opinion about a sport he has loved since childhood.
Here, Dan tells us more about his love of the game from both sides of the lens ahead of next month’s debut column…
How did you first get into golf?
I remember after school one day going down to Tilgate Forest, which is a municipal in Crawley, and the guy who was giving this lesson to 20 kids was ‘leathered’. Mum said I don’t really want you going there, but I kept going back with my friends after school. I got my first 7-iron for Christmas that year and would just swing that in the back garden a lot, watch golf on telly and obsess about being Nick Faldo’s friend. I was hooked from an early age!
What is your handicap and what are the strengths of your game?
This story is from the April 2017 edition of Golf Monthly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2017 edition of Golf Monthly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A GRAND ESTATE
Goodwood in West Sussex may be steeped in ancestral history, but about 20 years ago it elected to take its golf offering down a very different route...
The Tees Valley
Jeremy Ellwood potters about along the famous north-east river for a couple of days, basing himself at Rockliffe Hall, one of England's finest golf hotels
The Western Cape
Along with its stunning scenery, vineyards and welcoming climate, this region is home to a wealth of fine courses
Murcar Links
The 20-mile stretch of coastline northwards from Aberdeen is home to no fewer than four links in the Golf Monthly Top 100.
How to play the chip-and-run
The chip-and-run is one of the most useful shots in anyone’s short-game arsenal but most golfers don’t use it enough.
Is your angle of attack correct?
You can add serious distance to your drives if you get the upward angle of attack into impact correct
LEARN FROM THE BEST!
Star players' signature shots... and how you can play them
Confessions of a golf club fitter
Is everything always as it seems in the customfitting bay? We ask someone in the know how you can avoid some of the more unscrupulous practices
Dining at the TOP TABLE
Aaron Rai's Wyndham Championship victory has elevated his career to a new level. But, as he tells David Facey, he's taking nothing for granted...
Is golf too expensive?
The cost of membership, greens fees, gear and more can give our game a bad rap. Is that fair or are there more affordable ways to play? Michael Weston investigates...
