Peter Alliss quit school at the age of 14 (then the minimum school leaving age in the UK) and began his professional golfing career in 1947, at the age of 16.

In his 27 years of playing, he won three British PGA Championships, played in eight Ryder Cup teams, and played on ten teams representing England in the World Cup. Percy and Peter Alliss were the first father and son to both participate in the Ryder Cup (Antonio Garrido and his son Ignacio later became the second). He won 23 tournaments, and gave Sean Connery golf tips before he filmed Goldfinger. His competitive career was almost over by the time the European Tour was formally established in 1972, but he played in some events in the Tour's early years, making his last appearance on the tour in 1975.

Peter Alliss was the Captain of The Professional Golfers' Association twice, the president of the British Greenkeeper's Association, and was the first president of the European Women's Professional Golfers' Association.

He has worked as a commentator for the BBC, ABC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He is probably the UK's best known golf broadcaster having hosted a total of 140 Pro Celebrity Golf TV programmes. He was the host of Around with Alliss, and starred in A Golfer's Travels, which aired worldwide.

He has written twenty books, the last of which was Golf Heroes, as well as articles in Golf International and Golf World Magazine.

Peter is also involved in golf course architecture. His first course design partner was David Thomas, with whom he created over 50 courses, including The Belfry, which is now the home of the Professional Golfers' Association and has staged the Ryder Cup several times. He then joined forces with Clive Clark and added another 22 courses to his portfolio.

In July 2005 he was honoured by the University of St Andrews, shortly before The Open Golf Championship, with the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.