...and Away We Go

It's too cold outside to play golf but you have the itch, so you flip on the old set to watch Big Jack launch the new season in one of those warm places where you'd like to be. Perhaps you'll pick up a few pointers. Now the old set may be fuzzy, but the big Jack you see hamming it up is not the one you had in mind, and all you can learn from him is how to do a soft shoe across a green. The celebrity season is under way, and for the next month the pro tour will feature actors, crooners and an ex-President, most of them swinging like prospectors digging for gold. But everyone has fun, which is what Bing Crosby , the man who started it all, had in mind 40 years ago when he invited a bunch of friends to a clambake. Later this month son Nathaniel, 16, who is a one-handicap golfer, will host the Crosby . So tune in just about any weekend and you, too, can be swinging on a star.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES, BOB AND BING

No one has played in more pro-celebrity golf tournaments than Bob Hope . He was there at the beginning, paired with Ben Hogan , Sam Snead and his friend Bing Crosby at Rancho Santa Fe , eight years before the Crosby moved north to Pebble Beach . This year, at 74, he will probably appear at a dozen tournaments, most immediately Tucson , Phoenix , the Crosby and, of course, his own Desert Classic, at Palm Springs .

"I play only one day at my tournament," Hope said recently. "It's a hectic week, with guests and parties. President Ford added a lot to last year's event. He asked me if I minded if he played all four days. Minded? The word got around, and we had our biggest year. Just the other day we were able to donate $846,000 to charity."

Hope is a 15-handicapper these days. "I used to be a four," he says. "I seem to play even better in pro-ams. They steel me. I'm up and alive. I'm part tiger anyway, and playing in front of large crowds improves my game."

One veteran pro who has been paired with virtually every celebrity agrees with Hope 's self-analysis. "He's a very tough competitor," the man says. "His swing is good and he's a straight driver. He keeps the ball in play."

Here are the pro's scouting reports on other celebrities:

Glen Campbell (nine handicap): "Very good. Length is his strong point. Bobby Nichols and he are good friends and Bobby has given him a lot of help."

Joe Garagiola (15): "Enthusiastic."

Flip Wilson (18): "Looks like Lee Elder, plays like Katie Elder."