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Bob Hope Quotes About Golf

By , About.com Guide

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Arnold Palmer Bob Hope move set 1962

Arnold Palmer (left) and Bob Hope on a movie set in 1962.

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Legendary comedian and entertainer Bob Hope was born in 1903 and died in 2003 a couple months after reaching the age of 100. In his younger days, Hope was an excellent golfer. In his later years, he was an enthusiastic golfer. He was always a voracious player of the game, and loved watching it, as well. Starting in 1960, Hope hosted a tournament on the PGA Tour that still exists today - the Bob Hope Classic.

Hope offered many quips and quotations over the years about the game he loved, many of them self-deprecating barbs about his own game. Below are some of the choicest such Bob Hope quotes about golf:

  • "Golf is my real profession. Entertainment is just a sideline. I tell jokes to pay my greens fees."

  • "If you watch a game, it's fun. If you play it, it's recreation. If you work at it, it's golf."

  • "If you think golf is relaxing, you're not playing it right."

  • "(Wife) Dolores says there are days when I’m closer to shooting my weight than my age."

  • "Titleist has offered me a big contract not to play its balls."

  • "I never kick my ball in the rough or improve my lie in a sand trap. For that I have a caddie."

  • "I've been playing the game so long that my handicap is in Roman numerals."

  • "If I'm on the course and lightning starts, I get inside fast. If God wants to play through, let him."

  • "Golf is a funny game. It's done much for health, and at the same time has ruined people by robbing them of their peace of mind. Look at me, I'm the healthiest idiot in the world."

  • "Golf is a game that needlessly prolongs the lives of some of our most useless citizens."

  • "Bing (Crosby) always said my swing looked like Grandma Moses trying to keep warm."

  • "A photographer kept shooting me every time I swung. I was very flattered until I found out he was from Field and Stream."

  • "(Arnold Palmer) told me how I could cut eight strokes off my score - skip one of the par 3s."

  • "I once showed Pat Bradley my swing and said, 'What do I do next?' Pat replied, 'Wait till the pain dies down.'"

  • "Golf is a hard game to figure. One day you will go out and slice it and shank it, hit into all the traps and miss every green. The next day you go out and, for no reason at all, you really stink."

  • "I get upset over a bad shot just like anyone else. But it’s silly to let the game get to you. When I miss a shot I just think what a beautiful day it is. And what pure fresh air I’m breathing. Then I take a deep breath. I have to do that. That’s what gives me the strength to break the club."

  • "I'd give up golf if I didn't have so many sweaters."

Next Page: More Bob Hope Golf Quotes

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