President Obama earned his title as “golfer in chief” over eight years, becoming the first duffer who spent the most time on the greens since former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
CBS White House reporter Mark Knoller, who keeps an accurate database on presidential movements and actions, said Obama has golfed 333 times during his eight years, the last few outings in Hawaii during the first family’s Christmas vacation last month.
AP Photo
While many presidents since Eisenhower have golfed a lot, only Obama has come close to the estimated 800 times the World War II hero hit the links.
Obama can take more than four hours for a round of golf, and friends said that he always kept an accurate score, refusing do-over shots, or mulligans, that former President Bill Clinton often took when his balls flew off course.
President-elect Trump is also an avid golfer and, of course, owns many world-class courses. The PGA had planned to make a stop at his Miami course, but pulled out after concerns were raised about Trump’s derogatory comments about Mexico and Mexicans.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
