'I HATE THIS GAME': The most enduring image of Bob Hope in his later years is that of the grand old man of golf working the crowds year after year on the opening day of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. On Jan 17, 1991, he missed a par putt on the 12th hold at Bermuda Dunes Country Club. After six more tries at the putt, he told spectators he'd had enough of the sport. "If I didn't have so many sweaters, I'd give it up." His foursome included Gerald Ford, House speaker Tip O'Neill and defending champ Steve Jones.

Golf tourney The Desert Sun's coverage of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Affection for athletics Why Hope favored Cleveland: The world first noticed Bob Hope's business acumen after World War II, when he turned himself into a series of corporations to finance his books, records and other entertainment endeavors. Bing Crosby owned a piece of his friend as a shareholder in Hope Enterprises Inc. Hope liked to keep money in the family. He was a majority stockholder in his brother Ivor's metal company in Cleveland, where they were raised. Nostalgia also led him to invest in the Cleveland Indians. In 1963, he shared with Sports Illustrated his formula for beating the Yankees: 'All they have to do is bench Mantle, Maris and Howard and introduce their pitchers to Bo Belinsky.' Hope's money smarts didn't necessarily extend to wagering. He told Sports Illustrated writer Jack Olsen about betting for drinks with Jackie Gleason about the outcome of the 1954 World Series, in which the New York Giants beat the Indians in four straight games. He said by the end, he owed the 'Honeymooners' star a distillery. Takes it on the chin: Bob Hope, a lightweight boxer in his youth, climbed back into the ring days before his 79th birthday to face two of the world's heaviest heavyweights. It was all for laughs and TV cameras. On May 14, 1982, the comedian was taping a segment for an NBC special that, like many of his shows, spotlighted athletes. It was called 'All Hands on Deck for Bob Hope's All-Star Birthday Party at Annapolis.' Gerry Cooney, contender for the world's heavyweight championship, had a training tent set up at the Canyon Hotel in Palm Springs. Decked out in pink shorts, gold boots and an orange striped tank top, Hope was nimble on his feet and with his wit, throwing in some early '80s topical jokes. He told his 'trainer,' Leslie Nielsen, that he could deck Cooney with his 'Garden of Eden punch.': 'I not only hit him, I bite him in the Adam's Apple.' If that didn't work, he had his 'Space Shuttle punch.': 'It not only sends you into orbit, but your plumbing goes bad at the same time.' The skit, inevitably, called for Hope to land on the mat, with Cooney announcing, 'That's the last time we get a sparring partner from the Girl Scouts.' The next day, Hope filmed another mock bout in Las Vegas with Cooney's rival--the undefeated Larry Holmes. The fight took place June 11. Cooney found out Holmes was no Girl Scout before being knocked out in a bloody 13th round. Hope came out a winner with his special. It came in fifth in Nielsen ratings and fourth in Arbitron's rating of the Los Angeles market.

By Larry Bohannan
The Desert Sun golf writer

Bob Hope's impact on golf might have been best displayed on Feb. 15, 1995.

That's the day Bill Clinton and George Bush, at the personal invitation of Hope, joined the comedian and former President Gerald Ford for a round of golf in Hope's PGA Tour event.

Perhaps no other person could have brought the two rivals from the 1992 presidential campaign together. It was a tribute not only to Hope the man but to his long and illustrious contribution to the game that was a lifelong hobby and a constant source of gags and one-liners in his life.

'I really came to this tournament to honor him,' said Johnny Miller, who in 1975 and 1976 won the five-day PGA Tour event that bears Hope's name. 'He has done so much for the game over the years. Both he and Bing (Crosby), when they would barnstorm the country playing matches, and with their tournaments.'

From Diamonds to Dwight: Long before Hope put his name on a PGA Tour event, he was known as one of the country's biggest golf fans, though that fame didn't come just because he took up the game.

Hope started playing in 1930 during a vaudeville tour. An act called The Diamond Brothers invited Hope out one morning, and Hope admitted he was immediately hooked on the game.

Hope played at various courses but joined Lakeside Country Club in Los Angeles after leaving Broadway for Hollywood and the movies. A frequent visitor to the Coachella Valley, he was also a regular at O'Donnell Golf Club in Palm Springs.

Hope was more than just a celebrity hacker. While never quite as good as his friend and partner Bing Crosby, Hope worked his handicap down to a 6 in the early 1950s, even spending one week in 1951 at a 4 handicap.

In 1941, Hope's love for golf became nationally known when he and Crosby began playing a series of exhibitions for the War Relief Fund. When the United States entered the war later that year, Hope and Crosby continued their country-wide exhibitions to raise funds for the war effort through the Victory Caravan. They often were joined by top PGA pros in two-man team matches.

In 1943, while entertaining in North Africa, Hope met and later played golf with Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, then head of Allied Forces.

Eisenhower and Hope became close friends through the game and maintained a friendship until Eisenhower's death.

Eisenhower was also the first of seven presidents Hope played golf with, often making their games the target of his one-liners.

No president took more barbs or paid out more money to Hope on the course than Gerald Ford. Ford, a close friend of Hope's, was a fixture in the comedian's tour event, playing in 1977 just a week after leaving office. Hope credited Ford with making golf 'a contact sport' with his errant shots and claimed that no one knows which of the desert courses Ford is playing until after he hits his first tee shot.

A place in Pinehurst: Hope carried the game throughout the world in his numerous trips to entertain U.S. troops from World War II, wars in Korea and Vietnam and even Desert Storm troops. Hope would often stroll on stage in fatigues and a hat twirling a golf club.

Hope's importance to the game was recognized in 1953 when the Golf Writers Association of America presented him with the William H. Richardson Award, given annually to an individual who has consistently made outstanding contributions to golf.

In 1983, Hope was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in Pinehurst, N.C. Only three entertainers, Hope, Crosby and Dinah Shore, are in the Hall, generally reserved for great players, architects or officials of the game.

Hope's Palm Springs connection was like that of many Hollywood stars of the 1930s and 1940s, golf and good weather. Hope played at most of the desert courses in the 1950s. But he cemented his relationship with the area and golf in 1965, when he lent his name to the desert's five-day, 90-hole PGA Tour pro-am event. But it took some talking to get Hope to agree to the arrangement. After several discussions, Classic officials Milt Hicks and Ernie Dunlevie finalized the deal though a chance meeting with Hope on a plane.

'It was pure coincidence,' Dunlevie said. 'Milt was able to seat himself next to Bob. Milt talked to him during the course of the flight, it was only 30 or 40 minutes (from Palm Springs to Los Angeles), and by the time we got to the terminal, Bob told us he had given it some thought and he would lend his name to the tournament.'

Hope's addition brought greater prestige to the event, with more celebrities attending the Classic ball and playing in the tournament. The Classic also became one of the highest-rated televised events each year.

'There is no question that the tournament, from the minute that Bob Hope became associated with it, doubled in importance,' Dunlevie said.

Hope continued to play in the tournament through 1996, though in later years he played only a few holes at the beginning and the end of the first and fourth rounds.

Away from the Classic, Hope tried to play a few holes each day at his beloved Lakeside when he was in Los Angeles or at various Palm Springs courses when he was in the desert.