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As golf courses start to reopen, MARION McMULLEN looks back at stars with the driving ambition
1972
Don’t forget to pack the golf clubs. Comic
Jimmy Tarbuck flew into Heathrow airport after spending two weeks playing golf in Las Vagas.
1992
Time to tee off. Chat show host Michael Parkinson and entertainer Kenny Lynch took to the fairway at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club for a celebrity tournament in aid of Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
1991
This golfer’s not for turning. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s husband Denis left the world of politics behind when he took part in the British Dunhill Masters PRO-Celebrity Golf Tournament.
1984
It’s no joke. Bing Crosby’s long-time film partner Bob Hope was also a lover of golf and launched the Bob Hope Classic Tournament in 1960. “Golf is my real profession, entertainment is just a sideline,” he once said.
“I tell jokes to pay my greens fees.”
1996
Sex and golf and rock ‘n’ roll. Alice Cooper was among those who took part in the VH1 Fairway To Heaven Golf Tourney at the Las Vegas Country Club. He once explained: “They say that golf isn’t a contact sport. Not the way we play it.”
1955
I’m dreaming of a hole in one. Avid golfer Bing Crosby passed away at the age of 74 after finishing a round on a course in Madrid. His final words were: “That was a great game of golf, fellas.”
1973
Take a bow. Comedian Ronnie Corbett celebrated his new appointment as the captain of the Variety Club of Great Britain’s Golfing Society by joining showbiz stars in a charity match at Addington Golf Club, Croydon. A tee box helped him to gain a few extra inches on his celebrity rivals.
1964
Licence to golf. James Bond actor Sean Connery filmed the golf scene for 007 movie Goldfinger at the Stoke Park golf course in Buckinghamshire. In the film, Bond and Goldfinger (Gert Frobe) play for a £5,000 stake. The game is crooked – thanks to a little help from henchman Oddjob (Harold T Sakata), but Bond wins in the end.
2000
Is there a trick to this? Magician Paul Daniels gets to grips with his club at the Mike Reid Celebrity Golf Tournament in Oxford.
1942
Watch the birdie. Child star-turnedHollywood actor Mickey Rooney introduced his actress wife Ava Gardner to the game. The keen golfer star once said: “I’m 5ft 3ins, but I was 6ft 4ins when I married Ava.”
1980
Are you feeling lucky, punk? Movie tough guy Clint Eastwood switched from Dirty Harry’s Smith & Wesson gun to a golf club as he enjoyed a round at Gleneagles in Scotland.