By: World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum Staff

In a tournament that boasts a deep playing field and audacious celebrity personalities, staged on one of the most beautiful pieces of property in the world, chances are the name “Bing Crosby” doesn’t immediately come to mind when talking about the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

In fact, chances are even greater that the younger generation of golf fans have not even heard of the venerable Crosby, whose singing and acting skills landed him at the top of the American Pop Culture Mountain from 1931-1954. Despite his multimedia talents, Crosby’s real love was golf and his passion and enthusiasm led to the creation of today’s Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Crosby conceived this tournament in 1937 as a friendly little pro-am for his fellow members at Lakeside Golf Club and any stray touring pros who could use some pocket change. The first edition of the “Crosby Clambake” was played at Rancho Santa Fe Country Club in northern San Diego County, where Crosby was also a member.

He kicked in $3,000 of his own money for the purse, which led inaugural champion (and future Hall of Fame member) Sam Snead to ask if he might get his $700 in cash instead of a check. Snead’s suspicions notwithstanding, the tournament was a rollicking success thanks to the merry membership of Lakeside, an entertainment industry enclave in North Hollywood. That first tournament set the precedent for all that followed as it became as much about partying as it was about golf.

Of course, the competitors were sodden in more ways than one. The first Clambake was played in such a deluge, an on-course bridge was washed out, and this foul weather would also become a hallmark.

“One thing about Crosby weather, there’s lots of it,” the host once said. Relocating to Monterey Peninsula after World War II only made it worse. In 1962, snow postponed the event for a day, and 34 years later rain wiped it out altogether.

Though it no longer carries his name, the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am will always be Bing Crosby’s tournament. As he once said, “If I were asked what single thing has given me the most gratification in my long and sometimes pedestrian career, I think I would have to say it is this tournament.” Crosby was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978.

Stage and Screen. Music / Personalities. pic: circa 1950's. Keen golfers, l-r, Bing Crosby,Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin. American singer Bing Crosby (1904-1977) actor and singer, famous for his "crooning" style, his hit best selling record "White Ch