What do you think?
Rate this book
18 Holes with Bing: Golf, Life, and Lessons from Dad
In this love letter to his father, former professional golfer Nathaniel Crosby shares memories of Bing Crosby on the golf course, and the lessons he taught him about the game and about life.
“Bing Crosby was a great ambassador for our game, as well as a great man,” hails longtime friend and golf partner, Jack Nicklaus. The beloved singer and star was also an extraordinary teacher who instilled an abiding passion and mastery of the game in his youngest son, Nathaniel. Winning the US Amateur at 19, Nathaniel went on to compete in high-level professional tournaments for his entire life.
In 18 Holes with Bing, Nathaniel introduces us to the Bing Crosby he and his family knew—not the beloved singer who played golf, but a golfer who sang to pay his country club dues. Nathaniel shares exclusive stories about this American icon golfing, working, and playing with some of the most famous people in history—royalty, titans of industry, stars of stage and screen, and champions of the green, including Bob Hope, Dwight Eisenhower, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Louis Armstrong. At the book’s heart is an intimate account of a father and a son—how a mutual love of golf formed an exceptional emotional bond for a father and a son.
Full of anecdotes, vignettes, and recollections of Bing’s time on the course, the tournaments he created and later sponsored, and the constant encouragement he showed his son, 18 Holes with Bing honors this celebrated golfer, entertainer, and father, and illuminates his life as never before.
“Bing Crosby was a great ambassador for our game, as well as a great man,” hails longtime friend and golf partner, Jack Nicklaus. The beloved singer and star was also an extraordinary teacher who instilled an abiding passion and mastery of the game in his youngest son, Nathaniel. Winning the US Amateur at 19, Nathaniel went on to compete in high-level professional tournaments for his entire life.
In 18 Holes with Bing, Nathaniel introduces us to the Bing Crosby he and his family knew—not the beloved singer who played golf, but a golfer who sang to pay his country club dues. Nathaniel shares exclusive stories about this American icon golfing, working, and playing with some of the most famous people in history—royalty, titans of industry, stars of stage and screen, and champions of the green, including Bob Hope, Dwight Eisenhower, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Louis Armstrong. At the book’s heart is an intimate account of a father and a son—how a mutual love of golf formed an exceptional emotional bond for a father and a son.
Full of anecdotes, vignettes, and recollections of Bing’s time on the course, the tournaments he created and later sponsored, and the constant encouragement he showed his son, 18 Holes with Bing honors this celebrated golfer, entertainer, and father, and illuminates his life as never before.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published May 3, 2016
18 people are currently reading
292 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
December 28, 2016
This is a thoughtful biography of a man looking back at his famous dad. Bing figured out some important issues and did better with his second family.
April 19, 2022
This is the first book I ever read about golf.
I enjoyed the story about Bing Crosby: THE GOLFER WHO SANG, not THE SINGER WHO PLAYED GOLF. His son tells a good tale. It's a pastiche, a tapestry of funny and sometimes touching anecdotes about growing up with Bing for a dad, about Bing's love of golf (and all sports), his love for people around the world, whether audiences, performers, golfers, royalty, investors, or anyone else.
I learned a few things about golf that I found helpful. Most interesting was the role of Bing Crosby in establishing the Pro-Am format so common to golf tournaments today.
***
I enjoyed sharing my favorite quotes and stories on Facebook, which I will paste below.
GRITS FOR GENERAL EISENHOWER.
While Bing Crosby was entertaining the troops near the end of World War Two, General Eisenhower loaned him his vehicle so he could sing for troops and others at all the clubs in Paris. Crosby returned the car at the end of the week and asked the general how he might return the favor.
Eisenhower, the Abilene native, complained that no one in Europe could figure out how to prepare hominy grits--or even knew what they were. So when Bing got back to the States, he did a radio show in which he explained the problem.
"No doubt thousands of southern ladies who fancied their grits to be the best shipped their recipes directly to the general's headquarters, until finally, Ike had had enough. He phoned Bing and told him to get back on the radio and 'CALL OFF THE GRITS!' "
***
EMBARRASSING DAD STORY--HOW AWKWARD IS THIS?
Young Nathaniel was having his best day. He was 15 and playing well in golf's Junior World Championships. Then, fortune smiled on him when the most beautiful girl at the resort was pawned off on his parents for the night. The beautiful girl was Bari Brandwynne, daughter of a friend of Nathaniel's father. Nathaniel's father was Bing Crosby.
Bing, in his 70s at this point, took his wife, Nathaniel, and Bari to a Mexican restaurant in La Jolla, and Bing, usually a cautious drinker, had not one but three margaritas. Soon he was having a great time entertaining the table--while still trying to go unnoticed by the rest of the people in the crowded restaurant.
Suddenly his revelry was interrupted by a woman in her late sixties, who recognized Bing from three tables away and came racing over.
"Bing Crosby! Bing Crosby! I lost my virginity to you when I was sixteen years old!" she said much too loudly.
Everyone in the restaurant immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to listen, their jaws not even moving to chew.
"I lost my virginity to you!, Bing" the woman shouted again, louder than before, and Bing was looking for a place to hide. Who was this crazy lady--and how many margaritas had she had?
"Bing, Bing. I lost my virginity to you!," she said again. "I lost my virginity to Johnny McGillicuddy while listening to you sing 'Moonlight Becomes You,'" she proclaimed loudly. Everyone in the restaurant heard her. And now that she had gotten the whole story out, she just stood there, looking at the aging crooner.
But what . . . does one say? What was Bing supposed to do in that moment? Where's Bob Hope when you need him?
"Well," Bing mumbled quietly, "that's--that's nice, um, thank you."
--And Nathaniel finally took a breath as everyone returned to their meals.
(I revised the wording of this story.)
***
PRINCESS DIANA, JFK, AND BING.
Bing Crosby once hired a husband and wife right out of Buckingham Palace. The two valets went from tending the needs of King Edward VIII (the king who abdicated), to running the American home of Bing Crosby. Sixteen years later Bing died and the couple returned to the palace to serve as personal valets for Charles and Diana.
But Diana was jealous of Bing's widow, the actress Kathryn Crosby. She complained to her new valet: "Alan, it's always been about Kathryn Crosby! You love her, and you've never loved me!"
The servant replied, "Your Royal Highness, may I say, you will never be the lady Kathryn Crosby is, and she will never be the actress you are." 🤣
***
In April of 1961, Bing and JFK played a golf match against Joe Kennedy and Chris Dunphy. At the first hole, Dunphy refused to concede the president's three-foot putt for par. Dunphy insisted the president hit the ball.
"Make a pass at it. I want to see your stroke."
"I work in the Oval Office all day for citizens like you, and now you're not going to give me this putt?"
Dunphy said nothing.
"Okay, but let's keep moving. I've got an appointment after this with the director of Internal Revenue."
"Putt's good," Dunphy said, "pick it up."
***
BOB HOPE AND J.R. EWING.
In 1981, two children of the late Bing Crosby were famous, Nathaniel Crosby, the golfer, and Mary Frances the actress. When Nathaniel was 25 he won the US Amateur Championship. It was televised and many of his father's golfing buddies were watching. Former President Gerald Ford phoned Bob Hope to talk about it:
"It wasn't just his putting Bob," the former president said, "that young man hit a lot of greens with his iron shots."
"I have to agree," Hope replied. "There hasn't been a Crosby with that much accuracy since the kid's sister shot J.R. Ewing."
--from 18 HOLES WITH BING: GOLF, LIFE, AND LESSONS FROM DAD, by Nathaniel Crosby.
I enjoyed the story about Bing Crosby: THE GOLFER WHO SANG, not THE SINGER WHO PLAYED GOLF. His son tells a good tale. It's a pastiche, a tapestry of funny and sometimes touching anecdotes about growing up with Bing for a dad, about Bing's love of golf (and all sports), his love for people around the world, whether audiences, performers, golfers, royalty, investors, or anyone else.
I learned a few things about golf that I found helpful. Most interesting was the role of Bing Crosby in establishing the Pro-Am format so common to golf tournaments today.
***
I enjoyed sharing my favorite quotes and stories on Facebook, which I will paste below.
GRITS FOR GENERAL EISENHOWER.
While Bing Crosby was entertaining the troops near the end of World War Two, General Eisenhower loaned him his vehicle so he could sing for troops and others at all the clubs in Paris. Crosby returned the car at the end of the week and asked the general how he might return the favor.
Eisenhower, the Abilene native, complained that no one in Europe could figure out how to prepare hominy grits--or even knew what they were. So when Bing got back to the States, he did a radio show in which he explained the problem.
"No doubt thousands of southern ladies who fancied their grits to be the best shipped their recipes directly to the general's headquarters, until finally, Ike had had enough. He phoned Bing and told him to get back on the radio and 'CALL OFF THE GRITS!' "
***
EMBARRASSING DAD STORY--HOW AWKWARD IS THIS?
Young Nathaniel was having his best day. He was 15 and playing well in golf's Junior World Championships. Then, fortune smiled on him when the most beautiful girl at the resort was pawned off on his parents for the night. The beautiful girl was Bari Brandwynne, daughter of a friend of Nathaniel's father. Nathaniel's father was Bing Crosby.
Bing, in his 70s at this point, took his wife, Nathaniel, and Bari to a Mexican restaurant in La Jolla, and Bing, usually a cautious drinker, had not one but three margaritas. Soon he was having a great time entertaining the table--while still trying to go unnoticed by the rest of the people in the crowded restaurant.
Suddenly his revelry was interrupted by a woman in her late sixties, who recognized Bing from three tables away and came racing over.
"Bing Crosby! Bing Crosby! I lost my virginity to you when I was sixteen years old!" she said much too loudly.
Everyone in the restaurant immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to listen, their jaws not even moving to chew.
"I lost my virginity to you!, Bing" the woman shouted again, louder than before, and Bing was looking for a place to hide. Who was this crazy lady--and how many margaritas had she had?
"Bing, Bing. I lost my virginity to you!," she said again. "I lost my virginity to Johnny McGillicuddy while listening to you sing 'Moonlight Becomes You,'" she proclaimed loudly. Everyone in the restaurant heard her. And now that she had gotten the whole story out, she just stood there, looking at the aging crooner.
But what . . . does one say? What was Bing supposed to do in that moment? Where's Bob Hope when you need him?
"Well," Bing mumbled quietly, "that's--that's nice, um, thank you."
--And Nathaniel finally took a breath as everyone returned to their meals.
(I revised the wording of this story.)
***
PRINCESS DIANA, JFK, AND BING.
Bing Crosby once hired a husband and wife right out of Buckingham Palace. The two valets went from tending the needs of King Edward VIII (the king who abdicated), to running the American home of Bing Crosby. Sixteen years later Bing died and the couple returned to the palace to serve as personal valets for Charles and Diana.
But Diana was jealous of Bing's widow, the actress Kathryn Crosby. She complained to her new valet: "Alan, it's always been about Kathryn Crosby! You love her, and you've never loved me!"
The servant replied, "Your Royal Highness, may I say, you will never be the lady Kathryn Crosby is, and she will never be the actress you are." 🤣
***
In April of 1961, Bing and JFK played a golf match against Joe Kennedy and Chris Dunphy. At the first hole, Dunphy refused to concede the president's three-foot putt for par. Dunphy insisted the president hit the ball.
"Make a pass at it. I want to see your stroke."
"I work in the Oval Office all day for citizens like you, and now you're not going to give me this putt?"
Dunphy said nothing.
"Okay, but let's keep moving. I've got an appointment after this with the director of Internal Revenue."
"Putt's good," Dunphy said, "pick it up."
***
BOB HOPE AND J.R. EWING.
In 1981, two children of the late Bing Crosby were famous, Nathaniel Crosby, the golfer, and Mary Frances the actress. When Nathaniel was 25 he won the US Amateur Championship. It was televised and many of his father's golfing buddies were watching. Former President Gerald Ford phoned Bob Hope to talk about it:
"It wasn't just his putting Bob," the former president said, "that young man hit a lot of greens with his iron shots."
"I have to agree," Hope replied. "There hasn't been a Crosby with that much accuracy since the kid's sister shot J.R. Ewing."
--from 18 HOLES WITH BING: GOLF, LIFE, AND LESSONS FROM DAD, by Nathaniel Crosby.
December 11, 2022
Author just used his Fathers fame to write a book about himself
May 22, 2017
I enjoyed the small morsels regarding the life & times of Bing Crosby. Being a golfer myself, I found it interesting that a good portion of his life and family interactions were centered around golf. However, there was significant repitition, coupled with glossing over of many important occurrences during the time period being chronicled.
Sort of a summary of Bing's life & times experienced by Nathaniel. I get it, but was left wanting more depth & explanation. 200 pages is not enough to do the material justice but it did provide a glimpse of a complex man who was arguably the best musician of our age.
Sort of a summary of Bing's life & times experienced by Nathaniel. I get it, but was left wanting more depth & explanation. 200 pages is not enough to do the material justice but it did provide a glimpse of a complex man who was arguably the best musician of our age.
December 2, 2016
A son's perspective on a celebrity Dad is interesting, especially a dad so prominent and known worldwide. Nathaniel Crosby had a great life with his dad, which so many celebrity children seem to miss out on. Bing seems to have been a good dad to all of his children, at least to his second family, which means he must have learned from his mistakes on the way up. The most poignant time to me in the book was when Bob Hope watched Nathaniel on TV winning the National Amateur Championship as he sat alone in a clubhouse in Minnesota, and the club manager looked over at Bob with tears streaming down his cheeks. Bing had died, so he didn't get to see the success of his son on that day, but his best entertainment friend did and must have felt Bing's spirit and emotion. I didn't know much about Bing Crosby other than his music and association with golf; seeing him behind the scenes made Bing more real to me.
January 21, 2019
Given last year's publication of Gary Giddins' biography of Bing Crosby (Volume II of ?) this is worth reading in anticipation of Mr. Giddins' Bing Crosby biography dealing with his second marriage to Kathryn Grant Crosby and their three children one of whom is Nathaniel Crosby. (Note: no estimated publication target date has been released to date.) It's a relatively short read but worth tracking down. Nice pictures, none of which I have seen published to date. Remembering a couple of sensationalistic books written about Mr. Crosby in the late 1970s-early 1980s it is a relief to read it to obtain a balanced view of the world-famous singer-actor from one of his children.
January 21, 2019
A quick and easy read. A few laugh out loud moments. Not a book/subject I normally would pick up but I finished my other book while on a cruise, found this in the ship’s Book Corner borrowing library.
May 26, 2016
FTC Disclosure: I received this book free from Goodreads hoping I would review it.
September 2, 2018
Bing Crosby's youngest child recounts growing up with the legendary crooner, learning to love the game of golf with his father and shares some of the memories of their times together during golf and other adventures. Don't expect a book blasting his celebrity father, as one of Crosby's sons from his first marriage wrote, and don't expect a celebrity tell-all. It also briefly covers Crosby's early years, his burgeoning interest in golf and his WWII troop entertainment. Repeats information in a number of places and has a little too much name-dropping in a few places, but you come away with a warm feeling for ol' Bing. Probably deserves more than three but fewer than four stars.
November 21, 2016
(1 1/2). This book is a perfect example of why we need half stars here at Goodreads. This fluffy little thing is not worth two stars but does not deserve the ignominity of only one. We learn a great deal about the goodness and great personality and drive of Bing Crosby here, but we also learn way too much about Nathaniel Crosby, which is mostly blah. A short diversion.
September 12, 2019
A wonderful examination of the life of a wonderful man.
There was some minor repititions between chapters, but overall an excellent fun read that made me wish I had kept with my attempt at a career in golf just so I might have had a chance to live the kind of life described here and had this kind of relationship with my father.
Recommened
There was some minor repititions between chapters, but overall an excellent fun read that made me wish I had kept with my attempt at a career in golf just so I might have had a chance to live the kind of life described here and had this kind of relationship with my father.
Recommened
February 2, 2023
Bing Crosby’s life
I was looking for a biography of Bing Crosby and hoping for a positive look at this talented man I found it in this great book. Thanks for sharing your dad with us. Pam k
I was looking for a biography of Bing Crosby and hoping for a positive look at this talented man I found it in this great book. Thanks for sharing your dad with us. Pam k
March 20, 2025
How amazing it can become when you realize how much older your parents are then you and you feel that their time is short and you should get to know all you can about them before they are gone...Life is too short.
Nathaniel reveals fond memories of a boy and his father like no one can!
Nathaniel reveals fond memories of a boy and his father like no one can!
June 15, 2017
Lot of anecdotes about famous golfers,celebrities,and politicians.I just didn't think the anecdotes were that good.
November 22, 2017
Super boring.
January 24, 2019
#11 of 120 books pledged to read during 2019.
March 31, 2019
Very Good; a son's homage to his father and their time together on the golf course and elsewhere
June 24, 2020
A lot of good stories and names. Bing had his hand in everything. Piece of this. Piece of that. Member of this club. Member of that club.
December 21, 2020
A look back at the early history of golf in California
August 16, 2021
Breezy tales of Bing and growing up Crosby anf golf galore….
July 25, 2016
Really enjoyable view of the author and lessons learned from his legendary dad. But you either have to love the Crosbys (which I do) or golf to really enjoy the book.
August 8, 2016
There were many insights given about Bing that were really interesting, but in between I had to read a lot about golf that didn't interest me. It was a mixed bag.
Read
August 9, 2016Great book about Bong Crosby, he was an amazing man, as told by his son.
Read
January 27, 2017A side no one saw. Pretty good book.
May 5, 2020
Some good stories about old time actors and old time golfers and classic big time country clubs.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews