Like father, like son, like grandson. The Walker clan ranges in age from 68 to 15, but it has this in common:

Golf is a multigenerational passion.

Gramps Doug, 68, a retired London judge, plays in senior tournaments and sports a single-digit handicap. His son Wade, 42, a teacher, enjoys the game. Son Doug Jr., 45, a Crown attorney in St. Thomas, has played competitively in club tournaments and Ontario Amateurs, including last week. Doug Jr. has two kids, Chad, 15, and Jace, 17, who are rising junior stars.

The Walkers say sharing the passion comes naturally. It starts with the kids caddying for their dads.

"I can play with my grandsons -- what other sport can you do that?" Doug Sr. says.

"I couldn't play hockey with them. I can play golf from the same tees on the same golf courses under the same conditions and be competitive. But I couldn't play junior B with them."

Doug Jr. says his father exposed him to all sports as a youngster, but golf outlasted the others.

"I just gravitated to it," he says. "I know my father's feelings were us spending time in sports and on the golf course was better than a lot of other things we could be doing.

"I just feel the same way with my two boys."

Passing the torch from generation to generation happens often in London and area.

The Van Vliets, the Nashes, the Ervastis, the Killeens, the Perivolarises and the Forans, to name a few.

The Van Vliets are certainly Dorchester's first family of golf.

Not only do Jeff Van Vliet, his wife Wendy and their kids Mark and Katie play, they have all won club championships. Jeff has won several at Pine Knot and St. Thomas. Jeff's dad, Tony, has been a senior champion at Pine Knot.

Jeff Van Vliet, who played junior B hockey in London and coached junior B teams in St. Marys and London, grew up on the city courses and was one of Ontario's top amateur players before taking 15 years off from competitive golf.

Only this year is he again serious about the game. A few weeks back, he was on his way to winning the Ontario mid-Amateur until he made a quadruple bogey on the third-last hole.

Jeff's sisters, Jennifer DeVries and Debbie Poirier, also are excellent players. Debbie Poirier has won the St. Thomas club championship several times.

Jeff's brother Rick also plays and his 11-year son gets up early in the morning on the weekend to caddy. Jennifer's husband Darren is a top player at Sunningdale.

"It's a great way to spend family time," Wendy Van Vliet said.

"There's no better time to talk to your kids one-on-one than walking down fairways. It's a passion in our family, for sure. I think it must be born in the blood in our family."

It's that way with the Perivolaris family. Years ago Jimmy Perivolaris was looking for an enjoyable activity he could share with his family. He tried bowling, then tennis.

With bowling, he says, it wasn't outdoors. With tennis, you had to play with somebody just as competitive. That was hard to do with small kids.

The Perivolaris family turned to golf, joining Sunningdale and Greenhills. Later, they purchased a spot in Florida on a golf course to be able to play year-round.

When they joined Greenhills three decades back, it was so son Paul, then five, could play the executive nine-hole course. He was too young to play on a regular course.

Their love affair with golf continues today. The Perivolaris family -- Jim, Irini and Paul -- are members of London Hunt. In fact, they are past club champions.

At one point in 2000, the trio held the club's three major club titles -- senior men's, women's and men's.

Jim had won the 1999 senior championship and was still reigning champion when his wife and son won their titles in 2000. A photo of the three hangs in the clubhouse at the Hunt Club.

"When I first started golfing and the kids were young, my wife used to say, 'You're not going golfing again?' Now it's, 'Are you home again?' "

The Nash family is perhaps London's most famous. There's John A., John B. and John C.

John B. (better known as Jack) was one of Canada's pre-eminent amateurs. His son John C. now runs their city jewelery stores and plays senior events. Jack Nash has done what no other family has in golf -- win the Ontario Golf Association father-and-son competition with each of his sons -- John C., David and Robbie. Jack also won it with his father John A.

John C. beat his father Jack the only time they met in the finals of the Hunt Club championship. Six times they met in the semifinal but John C. never beat his father.

The Nash legacy now stretches into four three generations.

Robbie Nash's stepson, Andrew Parr, 20, has become one of the top amateurs in Canada. He reached the semifinals in last year's Canadian Amateur and last week placed third in the Ontario Amateur. He competed this week at the Porter Cup matches in Lewiston, N.Y., against some of the top amateurs in the U.S.

The Forans, Ervastis and Killeens have also left their mark.

Gord Foran and his boys Len, Ken, Scott, Blaine and Jeff all play. Ken and Len have competed at the top levels as amateurs. Len is former Ontario Amateur champion while Ken has won the Ontario better ball.

Gord Foran has won the provincial father-and-three-sons competition twice. Len now has a son, Jeremy, competing in junior events.

Gord's brother Frank (Wax) Foran also plays, but he's living proof the gift of the game isn't always in the blood lines.

Ed Ervasti, many times an Ontario and Canadian champion, is a member of golf's hall of fame. His late wife Jane was a very good player. Their son Joh, was a member of Ontario teams. All three were club champions at the Hunt.

There may be no better example of blood lines at work than the Killeens. Pat Killeen has won senior club championships at Highland while his son Rob has won 10 club championships. Another son, Phil, is a low handicapper and his sister Sandra was competitive years ago in junior golf.

Pat Killeen figured out early how to get his kids into the game.

"Dad used to drop Phil and me off at Highland on his way to work at 8 a.m.," Rob Killeen said. "He'd pick us up on the way home."