Stat profiles for 1500 golfers
Memories of Bob Hope
First on GolfObserver: January 19, 2004
I can only think of a handful of people who have not only played golf for 75 years but experienced eight different decades of competitive golf. One is Bob Rosburg, who started playing golf right around the time of Bobby Jones' heyday in the late 1920s. Rossie played on the PGA Tour during the peak of Hogan, competed and won in the era of Palmer, Nicklaus, Casper and Player, and was winning golf tournaments right around the time that Lee Trevino and Tom Watson came onto the golfing scene. After his playing days on the PGA Tour finished in the mid-1970s Rosburg became a commentator and perfected the art of being a roving announcer. He is the longest active golf announcer on television, and in his 30 years behind the mic has witnessed the ending of Nicklaus' PGA Tour career as well as the rise to prominence of Watson, Norman and a kid name Woods, who was born just after Rossie starting working for ABC Sports.
Even though Rossie won the PGA Championship back in 1959, he may be best remembered for his television work and being one of the greatest storytellers around. Every week for GolfObserver.Com, Rossie is going to give us examples of why he has the reputation as a great storyteller as he looks back at his career and all the different people with whom he has been associated.
This week we have a double treat for you. Today Rossie talks about the legendary Bob Hope, the tournament that was his until his death last summer, and how it got its unique format. On Friday Rossie talks about winning the '72 Hope and the advice a bartender gave him in settling his nerves.
So as Dave Marr said for almost three decades, "Back to you Rossie":
- GolfObserver editors
-------------------------------------------------Memories of Bob Hope
Bob Hope was a lot better player than a lot of people thought. The first time I ever played with Hope was in 1949. I was an amateur traveling with Freddy Haas and his wife. We came down here (to Palm Springs) and Freddy said, "Do you know Hope?" I said, "Yeah," and he said he sure would like to play with him. So I called up and talked to Dolores (Bob's wife). We met Bob down at O'Donnell, a little 9-hole course down here, and we played with him. We played 9 holes; Bob didn't play much more than 9 in those days. Freddy gave him three a side and I gave him two a side, and I think I shot 33. Freddy shot 32 and Hope shot 31. So, he killed us, and he took our money too. But Bob was great. He was great for the game. He was a very, very nice man and did a tremendous amount for his tournament because he would get the celebrities to come in and play because he would go play in their events. That was extremely important. We had the Glen Campbell L.A. Open, the Dean Martin tournament, the Andy Williams tournament, the Bing Crosby tournament, and all those guys came and played for him. That's something of course they don't have today, tournaments named after people anymore. The celebrities, we had a lot of them. I think it really helped the tournament. Bob was a good man.
- Playing with Bob Hope
It was a lot of fun. He was great. He'd bet. He could play pretty good. He was just a guy, a regular guy. I'll never forget one time we played at Lakeside up in L.A. right near his home. Raymond Floyd and I were in L.A., called him up and made plans for a game. We were suppose to play like at 12:00, and he didn't show up. He was late, finally showing up about 1:00. So Raymond and I went out and played. Back then we were great fans of the Dodgers and it was right in the middle of the playoffs, going down to the wire. We were going to the ballgame that night. We got to the 15th hole and Raymond came over to me and he said, we've got to leave. So, I went over and told Hope that Raymond and I had to leave to get to the ballpark. Hope always told me it was the only time that anybody had ever walked off the golf course on him. And he said it was his fault; he was late. He's that kind of guy. Good guy.
- Rossie on the start of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and it's unique format
The Hope tournament has been a great thing. It's been a tremendous thing for Palm Springs, and I feel very involved in it because I happened to be the chairman of the tournament committee (when it first started in the early 1960s). The people who were trying to put this thing together wanted to get some kind of a different format. They had me come down here (to Palm Springs), rented a house over at Bermuda Dunes, then I spent 3 days putting together the format of the Bob Hope, and it wasn't easy. There were no computers. I did it with yellow paper, some colored pens, and a ruler. I was the one that set it all up: how the players switched, how the amateurs switched, how you switched times, how you kept score, everything. It really was a pretty difficult thing. I am very proud of the fact that the only time they ever tried to go away from that format, to add a few more amateurs, it just didn't work. The play was so slow that they couldn't do it. And they went back to the fact that there were 128 pros and 384 amateurs and that was about all you could play and you had to switch courses and the logistics were kind of tough. I don't think anyone has ever complained. We always had the pros play two days late, two days early, and things like that. But, it enabled the charity to make a tremendous amount of money because of the amateurs. Really, I think it has worked great.
- Rossie on the future of the Hope
People say, "Now that Hope's gone, will it change?" I think regardless of age, people will remember Bob Hope. Something else happened here in the desert when they took Dinah Shore's name off the Nabisco tournament, which I thought was a tremendous mistake, but that's not for me to say. But a lot of people are saying maybe Arnold Palmer will take it over, because Arnold is a great fan of this area, and a great fan of Hope and the tournament. He's played in it forever. I certainly don't think it's the answer to get some younger celebrity to put his name on it. I think the Bob Hope will be the Bob Hope. I really believe that the Crosby lost a little by being the AT&T, rather than the Bing Crosby tournament. I think that was a mistake too.
Another big question will be if they turn it into a regular four-day tournament in Palm Springs. My answer is I don't think so. I think the amateurs have made this tournament. They've come out and put their money up. I think if you just play four days here, it doesn't work. I don't think a lot of people want to see just a regular golf tournament in Palm Springs; people want to see something a little different.
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