With a little help, here's a preview on this week's Bob Hope Classic, hosted by Arnold Palmer

Actually, this one sort of fell in my lap. James Handal, 13, is a golf enthusiast and aspiring writer, so he submitted a report to us on this week’s Bob Hope Classic, hosted by Arnold Palmer. Since he’s there and I’m here, I figure James has a better handle (no pun intended) on the situation than I do.

Like most of you, I’ll be watching it on TV. Who knows, we may come back to James at the end of the week to get his impressions.

By James Handal

Since 1960, the golf tradition continues this week at the Bob Hope Classic in La Quinta, Calif. Arnold Palmer, a five-time winner of the event, will host the tournament, while defending champion Pat Perez will be playing to capture the trophy and $900,000 first-place prize.

Get ready because there will be a lot of action. Some of the celebrities who are coming are Jeffery Donovan, Kurt Russell, Anthony Anderson and Emmitt Smith. Some of the professionals to watch besides Perez include Rod Pampling, Michael Sim, Matthew Goggin, Matt Jones, Bubba Watson, Mike Weir and Rocco Mediate.

You can get a ticket to the tournament for $25. Children 12 years and under are free if accompanied by a paying adult.

The tournament will be played on four courses – SilverRock Resort, La Quinta Country Club, the Nicklaus Private Course at PGA West and the Palmer Private at PGA West, which is a very scenic course.

At the Bob Hope Classic there are nearly 2,000 volunteers who contribute approximately 100,000 hours to help make the event such a success. Thanks to the volunteers? efforts, the tournament has donated more than $48 million since its inception. If you are interested in being a volunteer, go on bhcc.org or call (760) 346-8184. Proceeds from last year?s Classic netted $1.5 million for charity.

At all of the courses, there are food concession stands where you can enjoy a variety of food and drinks. Another good thing about the tournament is that you do not have to pay for parking. There are plenty of hotels near the tournament for out-of-town fans. Also at the tournament there is a gift shop where you can get all types of golf accessories, clothes and sundries. So Come on down to the Bob Hope Classic in La Quinta; you won’t regret it.