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. With a Foreword by Jack Nicklaus.

“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 nineteen, 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.

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.

“An engaging account of how father and son bonded over a sport Bing Crosby pursued with gusto until the day he died.”—The Washington Post

For decades, Bing Crosby was America’s  most beloved icon. He was also golf’s greatest friend.

In this touching memoir, Bing Crosby’s son Nathaniel pays tribute to his father in eighteen enlightening stories, shedding light on our perception of Bing the singer, and describing how he was, to Nathaniel and many others alike, Bing the golfer.

Full of stories and entertaining anecdotes of Bing Crosby’s time on the course, the tournaments he created and later sponsored, and the lessons he shared with his son through the game, this book offers a new glimpse of a man and of a time in the golden era of Hollywood: Bing’s years entertaining troops throughout the war, his famous friends of stage and screen, his golf and entertainment tours throughout Europe, and, most of all, the humbleness with which America’s greatest star played America’s greatest pastime. 

18 Holes with Bing is a collection of memories of a father and son on the golf course, and the lessons, about the game and about life, that Bing imparted. In it, Nathaniel Crosby introduces a whole new generation to his father, and showcases never-before-told stories of father and son and the unique sport that bonded them.

Bing Crosby, or Dad as he was known to me, was the most popular entertainer in the world in his day, a day that lasted the better part of five decades. Yet everything he accomplished in the entertainment field was a distant second to what animated him most: golf. As my mother so aptly described HIM many years ago, Bing Crosby was a golfer who sang.

“In an intimate, touching way this book introduces us to the Bing Crosby that he and his family knew away from the glare of the spotlight. If you’re a golfer or a lifelong Bing Crosby fan this book is a must-read and one for your collection.” - The Sports Page (Dallas/Ft. Worth)

“There are gems galore of anecdotes from Bing Crosby’s show-business career; of pals Phil Harris and Bob Hope; of extensive work with the USO during World War II; behind-the-scenes stories from baseball games, horse races and more.” - Hooked on Golf