File No. 02 · Monterey Peninsula, California · 1947 — 1985
The Clambake
Bing put up three thousand dollars of his own money. Golf never recovered.
- Founded1937, by Bing Crosby
- Moved to Pebble1947
- CoursesPebble Beach · Cypress Point · MPCC
- Crosby name retiredAfter 1985
- TypeResearch file
- StatusFeeding the sourcing list
Research file
This file feeds the sourcing list
When pieces surface that belong under this file, they are photographed, catalogued and listed in the shop.
The history
Monterey Peninsula, California
1947 — 1985
Bing Crosby started his pro-am in 1937 near San Diego with three thousand dollars of his own money and an invitation list drawn from his address book. After the war he moved it to the Monterey Peninsula, and the Clambake became the first PGA event played across three courses — Pebble Beach, Cypress Point and Monterey Peninsula Country Club — and the first to be defined by who was in the gallery as much as who was in contention.
Every celebrity tournament that followed borrowed the template: Hope in Palm Springs, Andy Williams in San Diego, Sammy Davis Jr. in Hartford. The Crosby name came off the event after 1985.
The clothing from those decades is the softest in the archive. Monterey in February is cold, wet and grey, and the answer was layered lambswool, unlined cotton shells and the sort of cardigan a man wears with a cigarette and a two-shot lead.