We all know golf and Hawaii traffic move too slow. No one knows that as well as Danielle Tucker.

Her voice is familiar, her career path not so much. It might surprise people to know that Tucker’s golf history is much longer and more involved than her morning and afternoon traffic reports on five radio stations.

Tucker’s The Golf Club radio show is live every Saturday morning (7-8:30) on Oahu (101.1 FM), Maui (104.7 FM), Kauai (99.9 FM) and in Hilo (AM 670). She gets up at 3 a.m. to prepare, just as she does for traffic reports.

The McKinley alum has been in radio, with few breaks, since graduating from the University of Hawaii. The first person to encourage her to do a golf show was Michael Qseng, when they worked together at KQMQ.

“Radio is creativity of the mind, and following the conversation of the day as it unfolds,” Tucker says. “It’s dynamic and spontaneous and takes the participants, the speakers and the listeners, on journeys both don’t expect.

“I don’t want to lose my art. Radio is like golf. You can do it until you die.”

Now her show also streams at radiogolfclub.com — Tucker says she has “a wonderful following” in the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Japan, China, South America and on the mainland — and podcast archives are available.

“Someone called me the ‘Traffic and Golf Lady.’ I’d never met him and hadn’t even said a word to him. He just blurted it out,” Tucker says. “It was such a compliment. I like helping people get through the traffic. It gives me a good sense of accomplishment since I dislike intensely being surprised by an unexpected snag in my expectations on the road.”

Her accomplishments in golf were recognized at this year’s Ho‘olaule‘a Hawaii Golf Awards, when she received the Distinguished Service Award. It honors “an individual who has made a universal impact on the life and livelihood of the PGA Profession and helped preserve the values and ideals of the PGA of America-Aloha Section.”

The Golf Club, in its 21st year, is two years older than her traffic reports. She calls the show “a clubhouse where people come together to talk about what’s going on in golf.”

Tucker schedules and organizes it, does the research and recruits guests — everyone from Alice Cooper to Arnold Palmer, Mark Rolfing and Oliver Nimenko, who invented a ball cleaner while knitting with his grandson at the kitchen table (GreenSleevegolf.com).

“So many people over the past 21 years,” Tucker says. “So many stories.”

She looks at every aspect of the game, from current events to equipment, courses, clothing, organizations, tournaments and players.

There have also been segments on “miscellaneous stuff golfers need in their bag” and, especially, many hours devoted solely to Hawaii golf and golfers. That includes reports on what public courses have times open to play as she speaks.

She provides the content and Rick Gray, who met Tucker when she was working at Pacific Golf Academy, finds sponsors to pay for the costs of the show.

“There’s nothing left over after those expenses are handled,” Tucker says.

In other words, The Golf Club is essentially a volunteer undertaking. Her 60-second traffic reports pay most of the bills, along with a bookkeeping job.

The former DJ of Morning Madness also helps raise her 15-year-old golfing grandson, who is involved with First Tee. She was a founding member of the Oahu chapter of the LPGA Amateur Golf Association, which merged with the Executive Women’s Golf Association last year.

She rarely golfs now because of a bad back, but her English father was an avid player. He clearly encouraged an avid golf fan who has touched the game in infinite ways.

“Her local and national guests, and her enthusiasm for the sport, inspire people to play, learn to play, or continue to participate in golf, golf tournaments, and receive instruction or purchase equipment,” says Michael Patrick Shiels, an author and radio host who has been The Golf Club’s “travel correspondent” for 15 years. “If Danielle Tucker’s program did not exist, the Hawaii golf industry would have to create one to promote and grow the game as she does.”