In every life, there are roads taken and untaken, choices made and dreams abandoned. And then there’s golf. As a teenager, Tom Cox dreamed of sporting immortality. For four years he devoted himself to the game he loved. And then, one day, he walked away. But as he got older, those dreams kept coming back. Perhaps it was turning thirty, perhaps it was winning his local club’s scratch championship, perhaps it was having his first hole in one, but he decided it was time to start again, to live the dream for real. So he switched off his computer, grabbed his checked trousers and headed for the golf course. To turn pro. There are two ways of becoming a full-time professional sportsman. The first and most favoured approach goes something like this: be born gifted; take up your chosen game early; practise incredibly hard; let nothing stand in your way. The second is more controversial. Just turn up. As long as you’re wearing the right socks, you should be OK.