Being a member of Congress might come with a few perks, but it sure can interfere with your golf game. Several members spoke to the difficulty of getting in a round while serving their home districts during a reception Tuesday to benefit First Tee of D.C.
“I used to play a lot of golf until I was elected to Congress,” Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark. told Yeas & Nays. “And now I just don’t have the time.” He added that his handicap is “not great”— it’s in the 20s — and called the situation “sad.”
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., confirmed the sentiment. “In the Senate, we just don’t get to play enough to keep our handicap where we want it to be,” he said. Not that a lack of tee time is an excuse. “The best golfer, who probably plays less than any other golfer, that’s Bob Corker,” Chambliss said of the Tennessee senator.
Boozman suggested that his golf time has dwindled further since moving from the House to Senate this term. “Because I have the whole state now, it makes it more difficult,” he explained. But Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., paints a different picture.
“I used to play a lot of golf,” he said, but has “scaled back significantly.” Ross says Rep. Trey Gowdy, a Republican from South Carolina and a scratch golfer, is the best in the House, though Speaker John Boehner is pretty good too.
