There was an unmistakeable edge to the familiar, mellifluous tones. At first, I feared it might have been my breakfast-time `phone call, but it soon emerged that Peter Alliss was upset about something in his morning paper. And the very mention of the Ryder Cup got him really fired-up about money.
"I was just reading where one of your lads, Roy Keane, is not too pleased with being offered 40,000 quid a week to play for Manchester United," said the voice of golf. "Apparently it's an insult to his talent - for kicking a bag of wind around.
"So I'm thinking `Oh! The bloody world's gone potty.' Christ, in these times of crisis in the Health Service, we could pay three nurses a year's salary each, for what some of these Premiership players get for kicking a ball about each week. The whole thing's silly."
These observations seemed a world away from golf's biennial showpiece with its images of friendship, triumph and heartbreak against American rivals - until Alliss supplied the context. "The greatest course to stage the Ryder Cup for the first time in Ireland would have been Portmarnock," he declared.
He went on: "I say this because of its history, the majesty of the links, the very feel of the place and the memory of almost 40,000 delirious fans cheering John O'Leary to victory in the 1982 Irish Open. But we know money dictates that things should be otherwise. The PGA European Tour have sold it to the highest bidder. And with it their souls.
"As someone who cares passionately about the Ryder Cup, I find it all rather sad. Everything nowadays seems to be reduced to money, money, money, money, money, with the result that a competition which was always tough and bloody and wonderful, has been stripped of much of its charm.
"But I'm enough of a realist to know that in this Roy Keane society, life must go on and the bills must be paid. Still, it doesn't lessen the disappointment."
The Alliss family, father and son, have been synonymous with the Ryder Cup almost since its inception in 1927. Having been selected on the 1929 team when he didn't get a game, Peter's father, Percy, went on to compete in 1933, 1935 and 1937. That was a time when Alliss Snr was based in Berlin where, in fact, Peter was born on February 28th, 1931.
"We played 12 Ryder Cups between us (Percy 4 and Peter 8) and my father wasn't eligible to play on a couple of occasions," recalled Alliss. "Our feat of playing in the Ryder Cup as father and son has been equalled by the Garridos (Antonio in 1979 and Ignacio in 1997) but they've got a bloody long way to go before they catch up with us.
"Against that background, it is to be expected that I would have a great passion for it. But naturally, I am conscious of the fact that the BBC don't do it on television any more, which means that mass audiences don't get to see it any more.
"Money. That's why Sky have all the golf: nearly all the sport if it comes to it. They've just bought their way in. So the public's interest in the Ryder Cup has become somewhat detached, long-range.
"Then there are the venues. In the years when my father and me were in the team, we played on traditional links courses like Southport and Ainsdale, Royal Lytham and at Birkdale, where I had my swansong in 1969. For a variety of reasons, many of the traditional courses are no longer capable of staging an event like the Ryder Cup. But I believe Portmarnock certainly could, provided the access was improved."
He continued: "Dubliners won't thank me for this but getting down that narrow little road down to the Portmarnock clubhouse was horrendous, even when I played there 30 years ago. I often thought they might put a footbridge across the little inlet towards Joe Carr's old house (in Sutton). Any sort of access to the area of the first hole would do the trick.
"But, of course, as a members' club Portmarnock couldn't get among the big bidders. Which means we're back talking money again. And you've got silly buggers like Mark O'Meara saying that everyone should be paid. In a way, I can see his point but how much are they going to be paid? Say we give them £50,000 each. That's £1.2 million between 24 players.
"Has O'Meara considered such a figure? I doubt it. As it is, I think they get about £5,000 pocket money; the caddies are paid and they travel first class. All in all, they don't do too badly out of it."
He continued: "Looking back at the history of the Ryder Cup, it's seems almost unthinkable that it's been played only once in Scotland (at Muirfield in 1973). And with classic irony, this happened largely because the Scots didn't want it. Turnberry and Carnoustie were too far out of the way, St Andrews didn't want it because it's owned by the public.
"Where else were you going to go? Troon? No, no. The members wouldn't have it. Too much of a disruption. So it went to places like Ganton and Lindrick and Wentworth. But it didn't go to Ireland, where it should have gone long before now."
In this context, Alliss insisted he was not necessarily promoting a return to old-style traditional courses of the links variety. Indeed he acknowledged that there were a number of aspects to be considered, other than the actual playing arena.
As he pointed out: "The traditional courses in these islands are all owned by the members. And if your course happens to be on the Open rota, you're going to have to accept major disruption every seven or eight years. There's increasing resistance against this.
"On the other hand, new, proprietary courses are specifically geared for major events and The Belfry, where the Ryder Cup is returning in 2001, has come to be acknowledged as one of the best venues for any tournament in Britain. It has a hotel with close on 500 bedrooms; is readily accessible on the outskirts of Birmingham; you can park a million cars there and you can get plenty of people on the golf course.
"People tend to forget that on the first two days, Ryder Cups only have four matches on the course. So, in an attendance of 30,000, you could have upwards of 8,000 following a particularly attractive match. Against that background, The Belfry has become a great success.
"So I don't have any hang-up about places like The K Club. As far at the Ryder Cup in 2005 is concerned, however, the case for Portmarnock is overwhelming. Top of the list is that unlike the other leading traditional courses in these islands, it has the advantage of being close to a capital city, an international airport and a broad choice of hotels.
"The lone staging of the Ryder Cup in Scotland became special because it was at Muirfield. And with the greatest of respect to The K Club, I believe Portmarnock would have had a similarly special appeal for what could be Ireland's only Ryder Cup. Provided, of course, that they were to overcome the access problem."
Alliss then turned his thoughts to The K Club. "I've been there several times and it's not the easiest place to get to," he said. "But it is a lovely set-up. Early drainage problems have been overcome and the general quality of the venue cannot be questioned. The house is magnificent and there are those delightful, manmade gardens. Good luck to Dr Smurfit.
"I have no doubt but that their staging of the Ryder Cup will be a triumph as far as Irish attendances are concerned. And it will be a financial success, which should make the Tour happy. And if the Europeans win, everything will be wonderful. And that's the end of the story."
So, have we reached the stage whereby the Ryder Cup has become an uncontrollable monster, increasingly out of touch with reality? "In a way that's true," he replied. "But whatever we may feel about it, I believe it is now destined to run its course. And all the while, we'll have its appeal softened for us by being told that personalities like the Azingers and the Faldos and the Seves are not really angry with each other and all of that.
"The key is that it remains competitive. I remember as a boy when the Wightman Cup tennis for women was a great thing but they (the Americans) kept on winning, so it was scrubbed. That won't happen to the Ryder Cup, at least not in the foreseeable future."
Alliss concluded: "The Ryder Cup, in which I shared so many magical moments with Christy (O'Connor), has always been precious to me. Down the years from my father's day, it has been a wonderful competition and I want it to remain a showcase for the best of European golf.
"But I resent what I see as the greedy attitude of the European Tour. The sort of attitude that says `Who's paying us the most? Fine, we'll go there.' Somehow, it doesn't seem to sit so well with the image of dear old Sam Ryder and what he had in mind when he started it all, 72 years ago."
