Legendary darts referee Russ Bray, commonly referred to as the ‘Voice of Darts’, may have announced his semi-retirement from the game following the conclusion of the PDC World Championship, but another sport is set to take up most of his time now.
Away from his iconic 180 call in games featuring darts greats such as Phil Taylor, Michael Van Gerwen and Eric Bristow, Bray is an avid golfer who plays off an impressive handicap of 10.
“Two good mates and I went out and played the game as happy hackers with a mismatched set of golf clubs and golf balls that we had found – we just fell in love with the game,” said Bray, who was recently in Dubai with the PDC Asian Tour.
“We’ve continued to play golf ever since, although we’re fair weather golfers these days! The clubs go away In October and come back out in March but we love playing, it’s such a good laugh.
“It’s a game where you can think one day ‘wow I’ve really got the hang of it’ but the next day it’s like you’ve never played in your life even though you’re doing exactly the same thing!
“You’ve got four or five hours where you don’t think about of any of your problems. It’s a great laugh with your mates. It’s good to wind down.
“I played in Dubai when the darts was here in 2017, the golf courses are stunning, and that was an amazing experience.”
Darts in the spotlight
Darts is currently enjoying a boom from the publicity then 16-year-old Luke Littler generated from reaching the final of the PDC World Championship on debut last month.
The effect the youngster has had on the game worldwide was evident at the Bahrain Darts Masters just three weeks ago, with Bahrain International Circuit welcoming fans from across the world to witness Littler make his first start since his heroics at Alexandra Palace in London.
As well as welcoming eight of the best players in the darting world, the Bahrain Darts Masters also included players from the Middle East and Asia in the first round, with each of the PDC Asian Tour representatives more than showing their worth against the game’s star names.
With more opportunities arising for players in this part of the world, could we one day see an Asian or Middle Easter winner of the holy grail – the PDC World Championship?
“Why not?” said Bray.
“Maybe not for the next couple of editions, but I think, and honestly believe, if I can find one Michael Van Gerwen, Phil Taylor or Luke Littler in Asia, who can get into the upper echelons of the game – top 32 or top 16 – then we’ll get five as that’s how Asia works. If you’ve ever watched the snooker of golf, once one of the guys from Asia breaks through, you’ve suddenly got five or six following behind.
“Within the next ten years I’m 100% sure we’ll have a world champion from this region.”
