Golf and showbusiness have been very comfortable bedfellows since early in the 20th century. Anyone doubting this need look no further than the line-up for the inaugural Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland later this week, when the amateurs will include such familiar Hollywood names as Michael Douglas, Kurt Russell, Samuel L Jackson and Kyle MacLachlan.
Which reminds me of a recent, popular-music quiz in which I unwittingly became involved. One of the questions was: In which movie would you find the Oscar-winning song, All The Way?
"No problem," I volunteered. "It's from the 1957 movie The Joker Is Wild, starring Frank Sinatra, who, incidentally, made a fair fist of the song." "And how did you know all that, since it has no connection with golf?," a companion enquired. "Oh, but it is connected with golf," came my smug reply.
As it happened, the only tournament which Sinatra sponsored on the USPGA Tour was captured in 1963 by namesake, Frank Beard, who, incidentally, went on to gain Ryder Cup honours in 1969 and 1971. And in acknowledgement of the tournament-winning effort, Ol' Blue Eyes broke one of his strictest rules by agreeing to sing a request for Beard, any time he appeared in concert.
The professional, who was a devoted fan, invariably asked for All The Way. So it was that by way of introducing this classic at his Las Vegas shows during the 1960s, Sinatra would address the audience with the words: "This one's for you, Francis."
Even before his appointment as professional at Portmarnock in 1951, Harry Bradshaw had got used to playing with celebrities. Indeed he talked about the games he had with the singing cowboy, Gene Autry, who was a visitor to his former club, Kilcroney. And with all of them, there was invariably a connection with the Theatre Royal.
On September 11th 1953, The Brad felt obliged to pick up a gauntlet, thrown down by none other that the great comedian, Bob Hope, who was appearing at the celebrated Hawkins Street venue. "We'll play in secret," whispered Hope, "and you'll give me a stroke a hole." Hope, who claimed his health would never have withstood the strain of stage work had it not been for golf, set himself the target of breaking 80 around Portmarnock. He just failed to do so, however, and was visibly annoyed with himself while entertaining members to drinks in the clubhouse afterwards.
Bradshaw also played host at Portmarnock to such notables as Danny Kaye, Charlie Drake ... and Bing Crosby. Crosby, a lifelong friend of Hope's, gained the rare distinction of a hole in one on the famous 16th at Cypress Point, where a long-iron or fairway-wood shot is played from a spectacular height, over an elbow of the Pacific Ocean. And he once reached the sectional qualifying round of the US Amateur Championship, before competing in the British Amateur in 1950, at St Andrews.
Before an estimated gallery of 20,000 at the Home of Golf, the Old Groaner started his first-round match with two birdies, but eventually lost by 3 and 2. He is best remembered in a golfing context, however, for having launched the Pebble-Beach Pro-Am in 1937 and remaining as its sponsor in various formats until 1985, when Mark O'Meara gained the first of five victories.
Peter Alliss, who became widely associated with the pro-am scene through his splendid commentaries on the BBC's Pro-Celebrity series from Gleneagles, tells a delightful story about an experience he had with the famous American singer, Johnny Mathis.
It happened when Mathis was performing at the Wakefield Theatre Club, where Alliss went "with Ronnie Sumrie, a great friend of mine, and our ladies to see the show." A golf game was then arranged for the following day at Alliss's club, Moor Allerton.
Alliss recalled: "We got to the eighth, which is a dreaded hole, uphill into the prevailing wind. It's really about 580 yards but plays about eight miles. I managed to get a drive going forward about 220 yards. Ronnie, who has a rather short, jerky backswing but makes beautifully-cut slacks for a living, whizzed one with the heel of the club and scuttled up the fairway about 190 yards.
"Mathis is a very enthusiastic golfer and in his younger days was a very fine hurdler and high jumper. He hit his first one clear out of bounds. 'Give me another ball, caddie,' he demanded. "Another new Titleist appeared, the paper torn off and the ball carefully placed on the tee. That sailed over the road, over the trees, never to be seen again. 'Another, please.' Same procedure, but this time even further out. 'Another one.'
"By this time, the conversation was becoming very stilted indeed. The final one went up into the bushes on the right somewhere and Ronnie and I moved forward. We did not notice that John had held back a bit and suddenly, this beautiful voice rang out, singing the scale and ending on the highest note.
"We turned in amazement. 'Thank God I can still sing,' said Mathis."
Meanwhile, when Arnold Schwarzenegger these days uses the phrase "I'll be back", observers at the Sun Valley course in Los Angeles know he is not making idle threats. Since The Terminator was introduced to golf three years ago, he has become a devotee and can generally break 100.
Indeed so besotted is he with the Royal and Ancient game that, like one of his science-fictional movie characters, Schwarzenegger has apparently let it be known he would have no objection to being cloned, so that that particular persona could play golf all the time.
Earlier this year Golf Digest in the US produced a list of golf-playing movie actors, with handicaps attached. But according to Circle of Friends star Chris O'Donnell: "I think all people exaggerate their handicaps, saying they're lower than they really are - until they play in a tournament." O'Donnell, incidentally, plays off an exact 6.6.
Golf Digest reported: "Though many golfers interviewed laugh about the matter, Adam Baldwin (The Bodyguard, The Patriot) says he left his private club 'largely over handicap-management issues.' Now he plays with 'an eclectic group of thieves, sandbaggers and miscreants' at public courses like Brookside and Griffith Park. Baldwin's handicap is said to be an impressive 2.5. The magazine went on: "To be fair, questionable handicaps are not rooted in ego alone. Because actors rarely have extended periods to polish their games. "Getting in and out of the game is the most frustrating part of playing," according to Craig T Nelson (Coach, The District). Meanwhile, scriptwriter Doug Richardson, who plays off five, insisted: "Any time I see golf equipment on screen when it's not in the script, I immediately wonder who put it there. Sometimes clubs are a matter of product placement, but often they're chosen by someone who wants to take them home."
For what it's worth, here are some leading actors with their golf handicaps: Jack Nicholson (10.7), Clint Eastwood (11.0), Robert Redford (12), Sidney Poitier (14.6), Sean Connery (15) and Kirk Douglas (21.4).
Having seen some of the above gentlemen in golfing action and read reports about the remainder, I would back Connery to beat the best ball of the other five.
Incidentally, if he met some of the bandits of my acquaintance, Chris O'Donnell would change his views about vanity causing players to exaggerate their handicaps downwards. Indeed he might well conclude that he had never seen a more humble crew.
