Few people know the extreme good fortune that converts a pastime into a career. Even fewer are those to whom such a scenario brings success and rewards beyond imaginings. Barry Ward is one of the latter and a life-time after it all began he is still counting his blessings. He calls it his improbable journey, one which came about through a chain of events that almost defies credulity. Introduced to golf by chance in consequence of an overseas posting, he virtually fell into golf writing within weeks of taking up the game and has never looked back. Now, after more than fifty years of travelling the globe reporting on golf, its memorable places and the people who play it at the highest level, he is still playing and writing about the game he adores to distraction. "Envious friends have frequently suggested I find a proper job," he says, "but I can't think of one that would bring such fulfillment and delight. In any event, I think I've left it a bit late to change tack."