Barack Obama Archives - Golf Digest Middle East https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/tag/barack-obama/ Golf Instruction, Equipment, Courses, Travel, News Fri, 23 Dec 2022 12:21:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/gd-favicon.ico Barack Obama Archives - Golf Digest Middle East https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/tag/barack-obama/ 32 32 Brooks Koepka’s creative Christmas card, inspirational holiday gifts and the funniest Anthony Kim sighting yet https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/brooks-koepkas-creative-christmas-card-inspirational-holiday-gifts-and-the-funniest-anthony-kim-sighting-yet/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/brooks-koepkas-creative-christmas-card-inspirational-holiday-gifts-and-the-funniest-anthony-kim-sighting-yet/#respond Thu, 07 Jan 2021 22:00:38 +0000 https://golfdigestme.com/?p=42876 Welcome to another edition year of The Grind where we have discovered a foolproof way to keep your...

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]]> By Alex Myers
Welcome to another edition year of The Grind where we have discovered a foolproof way to keep your New Year’s diet resolutions: get an incredibly painful tooth infection. For the second consecutive year, an old root canal is wreaking havoc with my mouth, but if I’m being honest, my chompers could use a break. It’s been a bit of a break in this space as well, but I’m excited to be back for a ninth(!) year. To think, Charlie Woods was only 3 when The Grind started. Time flies, huh? Anyway, we’ve got a lot to catch up on so let me pop a couple more pain meds and let’s get to it.

WE’RE BUYING

Masters invites: ’Tis the season for a lucky few golfers to get the greatest piece of mail ever. No matter who you are, it never gets old. And it never gets old watching reactions like this:

By the way, we’re already inside 100 days until the Masters. Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that patrons will be back in April. And if I’m lucky enough to go, fingers crossed I’ll be able to chew again by then. As Dustin Johnson noted, those Augusta National sandwiches are incredible.

Valentino Dixon: While we’re on the subject of Augusta National, a rendition of the famed 12th hole by our favourite artist wound up in the hands of Barack Obama:

 

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A post shared by Barack Obama (@barackobama)

It’s the latest chapter in Dixon’s tragic, yet inspiring journey. The man who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit and was freed thanks in part to Golf Digest’s Max Adler, is now creating art that’s hanging in the home of a former President of the United States. Amazing. Speaking of Christmas gifts …

Josh Allen: In his third NFL season, the Buffalo Bills QB hasn’t just morphed into an MVP candidate, but one of the best teammates you could ask for. Just look at how he treated his offensive line for Christmas:

Just give this guy the MVP right now. What a great gesture. And a smart one as well for team bonding. Yep, the future looks bright in Buffalo. Speaking of bright futures …

Charlie Woods: Yeah, yeah, it’s been a couple of weeks, but how cool was seeing this young dude playing with Pops? And playing so well? The kid made his first eagle on national TV! And gave us the moment of the tournament with this familiar-looking fist pump:

He’s also already getting kids all over the country into the sport:

OK, so my daughter had no interest in watching one second of the PNC Championship, but she’ll get there. Hopefully. In any event, no matter how Charlie’s golf career winds up going, he’s already got better highlights than 99.999 percent of golfers. And after performing so well under such pressure, those sixth-grade finals are going to be a breeze.

WE’RE SELLING

People knocking people getting excited about Charlie Woods: Unfortunately, much of Golf Twitter clutched its collective pearls and couldn’t allow themselves to just enjoy this. “He’s just a kid! Stop putting all these expectations on him!” First of all, who exactly was seriously saying Charlie is going to win 100 PGA Tour titles and 25 majors? No one! Also, if the most private person on the planet wanted to trot his son out there for the world to see, then that’s all you need to know. It was awesome to watch. End of story.

People knocking Kyle Berkshire’s chances: In case you haven’t read or heard it (Subscribe to our Local Knowledge Podcast, please!), I put together a story about the reigning World Long Drive champ’s decision to pursue a second career as a tour pro.

And so far, about 90 percent of comments are that the 24-year-old is wasting his time or has no chance. Look, would I bet on him making it to the PGA Tour? No. But I think it’s pretty cool that a guy who dropped out of college before cracking the starting lineup would put so much on the line to give this such a serious try. And considering Berkshire’s staggering length and the importance of distance in today’s game (SEE: DeChambeau, Bryson), now seems like a good time to give it a go. At the very least, it should be fun to watch. So good luck, Kyle, and bombs away.

This shirt:

It’s actually a hilarious concept. Get a shirt to memorialize a golf buddy’s worst blowup hole. But it instantly gave me nightmarish flashbacks to the double bogey I made on the 10th hole at Mid Pines during the final round of last year’s HGGA Championship. And the triple bogey I made on the 14th hole when I was still in the hunt. I am such a choker it’s not even funny. But this shirt on someone else kind of is. OK, maybe I’m buying.

This jackass:

Now that is someone who deserves to spend a long time in prison.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour is back! And it’s calendar-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions is more loaded than it has been for a long time. Almost all of 2020’s winners accepted their invite and because of the weird season, anyone in the top 30 of the final FedEx Cup list got invited as well. So it’s not really a “tournament of champions” this year, but a tournament of champions and really good players.

Random tournament fact: All told, 17 players got the nod who normally wouldn’t, and 42 of the 45 players eligible accepted. A vacation in Hawaii to play for a big purse against a limited field with no cut? Merry Christmas, indeed.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Kyle Berkshire will win a major by the time he’s 25: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Charlie Woods will win a major by the time he’s 25: 825-to-1 odds (Actual odds!)
—Charlie Woods was the coolest kid in school when he returned from winter break: LOCK

PHOTO(S) OF THE WEEK

There were a couple of Anthony Kim sightings recently. First, with longtime swing coach(!) Adam Schriber:

 

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A post shared by Adam Schriber (@adam.schriber)

And then the funniest one yet. A sighting in which the person taking the photo didn’t even realize it was an AK sighting, but focused on former Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops instead:

That’s how long he’s been gone. Crazy. Also, many have pointed out the comparison to seeing Big Foot, but there’s one key difference. Anthony Kim is REAL. And he was spectacular. And as much as I’m happy to see he’s still out there, each sighting is a sad reminder of what could have been.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Check out Austria’s Matthias Schwab playing golf on his skis:

 

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A post shared by Matthias Schwab (@matthiasschwab)

How has this dude not won on the European Tour yet? Anyway, love the concept and the Hosung Choi-esque follow-through. See? It really works!

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PRO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

Props to Brooks Koepka and Jena Sims for coming up with the most creative Christmas card of the season:

 

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A post shared by Jena Sims (@jenamsims)

THIS AND THAT

Jon Rahm made huge equipment news by switching from TaylorMade to Callaway. I guess rocketing to World No. 1 faster than almost anyone in history wasn’t good enough. … Speaking of equipment, shoutout to Ryan French, AKA Monday Q Info on Twitter, for helping out high school and middle school golf teams in need this year. Here’s more info:

And finally, congrats to Kiawah’s Ocean Course for securing a second major championship of 2021. In addition to May’s PGA Championship, this year’s HGGA Championship—AKA my annual golf trip—will also be held there. What an honor for this spectacular venue!

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

What hole will I choke away this year’s HGGA?
Where will we see Anthony Kim next?
Why didn’t I listen to my dentist as a kid?

 

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]]> https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/brooks-koepkas-creative-christmas-card-inspirational-holiday-gifts-and-the-funniest-anthony-kim-sighting-yet/feed/ 0 Former President Barack Obama’s big Christmas gift from his wife? An original golf drawing by Valentino Dixon https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/former-president-barack-obamas-big-christmas-gift-from-his-wife-an-original-golf-drawing-by-valentino-dixon/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/former-president-barack-obamas-big-christmas-gift-from-his-wife-an-original-golf-drawing-by-valentino-dixon/#respond Sat, 26 Dec 2020 19:43:54 +0000 https://golfdigestme.com/?p=42686 The drawing of Augusta National's 12th hole was the first Dixon completed as a free man

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]]> The drawing of Augusta National’s 12th hole was the first Dixon completed as a free man

By Max Adler
Former President and current middle-handicapper Barack Obama received a special golf gift this Christmas. Michelle gave her husband a drawing of the 12th hole at Augusta National that she purchased directly from the artist Valentino Dixon.

As has been well chronicled, Dixon was exonerated in 2018 after serving 27 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. His story was recently told again in a segment on HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel that aired this October, which the former First Lady saw and was moved by. (Publicity disclosure: I’m interviewed in this show for my part in reporting the case.)

Dixon was both moved and surprised to get a phone call from Michelle’s assistant inquiring about an original. For much of the half a lifetime Dixon was locked in Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, N.Y., he imagined he wasn’t there, but the news of the result of the 2008 presidential election stands out as a vivid and real memory.

“It was a big day for us in the jail,” Dixon said. “Guys were going crazy, shaking the bars of the cells. That’s all we can do to celebrate a moment, and there was this feeling that here was a president who was finally going to do something for prison reform.”

Dixon’s mother, Barbara, worked the poll booths that election, the only time in her life she’s volunteered in a civic capacity.

So happens the result of the 2016 election created a similarly raucous atmosphere inside Attica. “Donald Trump wasn’t a politician, so he gave us hope, too, and people need that type of hope whether things will happen or not,” Dixon says. The success of the implementation of the First Step Act can be debated, but this bipartisan bill signed into law by President Trump in 2017 was the first criminal justice reform bill passed in nearly a decade.

Notable about the piece Michelle bought for Barack, a 20-inch-by-30-inch coloured-pencil on matte-board entitled “Augusta The Beautiful,” is that it was the first drawing Dixon completed as a free man.

“When I was in my six-by-eight-foot prison cell, I was drawing nonstop, 10 hours a day, never taking a day off. When I got out, I wondered would I have the same discipline?” Dixon says. In the two years he’s been out other ambitions have largely replaced a desire to work in isolation, such as travel, reconnecting with family, and hosting episodes of a program called ”Draw and Talk With Me” where invited guests to receive sketching lessons while discussing social issues. But the drawing that will presumably now hang on the wall of the 44th President of the United States is an answer to Dixon’s self-directed question.

“For me, my life is about redemption, leaving a legacy of some kind to remind people that they can overcome anything,” Dixon says. “Because we will each be tested in life, we just don’t know how.”

This Christmas morning of a trying year, for Valentino Dixon and the Obamas, it was good to both give and receive.

Along with the drawing Dixon recorded a video message for Barack Obama.

 

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A post shared by Valentino Dixon (@valentinodixon)

 

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]]> https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/former-president-barack-obamas-big-christmas-gift-from-his-wife-an-original-golf-drawing-by-valentino-dixon/feed/ 0 Masters 2019: Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama among stars to congratulate Tiger Woods on win https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/masters-2019-presidents-donald-trump-barack-obama-among-stars-to-congratulate-tiger-woods-on-win/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/masters-2019-presidents-donald-trump-barack-obama-among-stars-to-congratulate-tiger-woods-on-win/#respond Mon, 15 Apr 2019 06:05:17 +0000 https://golfdigestme.com/?p=25798 Kevin C. Cox By Christopher Powers Tiger Woods did it. He climbed back to the top of the mountain, completing what is arguably the greatest comeback story in the history of sports on Sunday at Augusta National. With a final-round 70, Woods won the 15th major championship of his career, as well as his fifth […]

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]]> Kevin C. Cox

By Christopher Powers
Tiger Woods did it. He climbed back to the top of the mountain, completing what is arguably the greatest comeback story in the history of sports on Sunday at Augusta National. With a final-round 70, Woods won the 15th major championship of his career, as well as his fifth green jacket. He’s now one green jacket shy of Jack Nicklaus’ record total of six, and three majors shy of Nicklaus’ all-time major record of 18. To say the sports world thought this was impossible not that long ago is the understatement of the century.

But everyone couldn’t be happier to be wrong. Woods’ victory has yielded congratulations from sports figures, political figures, pop culture figures and everyone else you can think of on social media, all of them offering their tribute to the 43-year-old. During a time when folks can’t seem to agree on anything, literally everyone and their mother is thrilled for the 15-time major winner. Here’s a sampling of the endless amount of social media reactions to Woods’ win at the 83rd Masters.

 

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]]> https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/masters-2019-presidents-donald-trump-barack-obama-among-stars-to-congratulate-tiger-woods-on-win/feed/ 0 George H.W. Bush, 1924-2018: Golf loses one of its greatest advocates https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/george-h-w-bush-1924-2018-golf-loses-one-of-its-greatest-advocates/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/george-h-w-bush-1924-2018-golf-loses-one-of-its-greatest-advocates/#respond Sun, 02 Dec 2018 04:02:25 +0000 https://golfdigestme.com/?p=22198 President George Herbert Walker Bush was taught to play golf the proper way, which is to say without undue delay.

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]]> By John Strege
President George Herbert Walker Bush was taught to play golf the proper way, which is to say without undue delay. Aerobic golf, he called it, and the example he set in his dashes around a golf course alone ought to have been sufficient to have warranted his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011.

The former president often boasted that he held the course record at Cape Arundel Golf Club in Kennebunkport, Maine. What, a 66 or 67? “An hour and 20 minutes,” Ken Raynor, Cape Arundel’s professional, would explain.

Golf lost an important advocate on Friday, when Bush, the 41st president of the United States, died, his family said in a statement. He was 94.

His golf pedigree can be found in his name. George Herbert Walker was his maternal grandfather, a former president of the United States Golf Association, who was instrumental in the founding of the biennial amateur competition that bears his name, the Walker Cup. Bush’s father, Prescott Bush, was also a former USGA president and a scratch golfer who impressed upon his son the importance of playing golf at a fast pace.

Hunter Martin

“Speed may be the only thing I’m known for on the golf course,” Bush told the authors of My Best Day in Golf: Celebrity Stories of the Game They Love. “My father, Prescott Bush, was a fabulous golfer. … He was the one who instilled the value of fast play in me, and in my son as well. In fact, he once told George W., ‘Son, looking at your swing, you’re probably not going to be a great golfer, so make sure you play fast.’ ”

Bush 41 not only played quickly, he played well enough to have won the club championship at Cape Arundel in 1947. Late in 2011, the club announced that it was renaming the clubhouse, 41 House, in Bush’s honor.

“President Bush is and will always be one of the most memorable men in Cape Arundel Golf Club’s rich history, and this is a way to thank him for all that he has done for this great club,” club president J. Pierce O’Neil said at the time.

Both George Herbert Walker and Prescott Bush were members at Cape Arundel, the latter winning the club championship eight times. It was at Cape Arundel that Bush learned the game and played what likely was his most enjoyable golf, often with other luminaries, including Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman and Golf Digest’s Dan Jenkins, who had become a friend over the years.

Reed Saxon

But it was in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in 1995 that he played his most newsworthy round, the shots heard ’round the world. He was part of a fivesome that included Clinton, the sitting president, as well as former president Gerald Ford, Hope and Scott Hoch.

It was a round marked by persistent shouts of “fore,” though no one added “more years” in what was a Republican stronghold in the California desert. By one estimation, 20,000 spectators were on hand at Indian Wells Country Club that day, many of them ducking for cover at various points of the round. Bush tagged two spectators with errant shots, drawing blood from one when his ball caromed off a tree and struck a woman on the bridge of the nose.

Bush never appeared comfortable during that round, for two apparent reasons. He often spoke of “the humiliation factor,” which no doubt was amplified in front of a large crowd. And the pace at which he prefers to play, measured with a stop watch rather than a sundial, was not remotely attainable. The round took “an obscene six hours,” former Golf World editor Jaime Diaz, then with Sports Illustrated, wrote.

Charles Tasnadi

Bush’s best work in golf, at any rate, occurred off the course, in the service of others. Service was his calling, as he demonstrated in public life as a war hero, Congressman, Ambassador to the United Nations, CIA Director, Vice President and President. He similarly served the game of golf selflessly and did so with honor and distinction.

When The First Tee was founded in 1997, he accepted the position of honorary chairman. At a World Golf Hall of Fame news conference in 2011, former PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem noted “4.7 million young people in the United States have been touched by The First Tee program. But for President Bush, that would not have happened.

“He attended openings of facilities. He wrote letters to people who gave money,” Finchem continued. “He traveled, he spoke, he got on the telephone. He wasn’t a chairman in name only. He worked at it. But because of his lending his prestige and image and commitment and enthusiasm to what The First Tee is it’s the success it is today.”

The major golf organisations in the U.S. all recognized his contributions to the game. In 1997, he received the PGA of America’s Distinguished Service Award. The USGA presented him its highest honor, the Bob Jones Award, recognizing distinguished sportsmanship, in 2008, and the PGA Tour accorded him its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. And the American Society of Golf Course Architects honoured him with its Donald Ross Award.

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

At his core, Bush simply loved the game, whether playing it or watching it. He attended several Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups and was a frequent visitor to the Shell Houston Open and other professional tournaments.

“His passion and love for the game is second to none,” Greg Norman said in a video played at Bush’s Hall of Fame induction. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re number one in the world or a 27-handicapper who loves the game, his commitment and dedication in seeing the game go from strength to strength, from one level to the next, has been phenomenal.”

It doesn’t matter, Norman might have said, so long as you play the game the way Bush and his family understood it should be played. Expeditiously.

“Your Bushes,” Jenkins wrote, “don’t throw a lot of grass up in the air when they play.”

 

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]]> https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/george-h-w-bush-1924-2018-golf-loses-one-of-its-greatest-advocates/feed/ 0 How much golf does Donald Trump play compared to average Americans? https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/much-golf-donald-trump-play-compared-average-americans/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/much-golf-donald-trump-play-compared-average-americans/#respond Tue, 07 Nov 2017 13:30:47 +0000 http://golfdigestme.com/?p=11388 President Donald J. Trump plays a LOT of golf.

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]]> HARRISON, NY – JUNE 9: Donald Trump on the ninth fairway during the pro-am prior to the start of the Buick Classic at the Westchester Country Club on June 9, 2004 in Harrison, New York. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

By Alex Myers
In his first nine months as president of the United States, Donald Trump unofficially played 71 rounds of golf. This number comes from TrumpGolfCount.com, which has replaced ObamaGolfCounter.com as the de facto tabulator of presidential golf, and it puts POTUS on pace for about 96 rounds of golf in his first year in office. That’s a lot of golf.

This is not an opinion or a critique. Donald Trump plays a LOT of golf, and that’s a fact backed up by figures provided by the National Golf Foundation. So how does the Donald stack up to the average American golfer in terms of time spent on the course? We took a closer look.

According to the NGF, there are 23.8 million golfers in the U.S., and they played an average of 19.7 rounds in 2016. Using that number, Trump plays approximately five times as much as the average golfer.

Clearly, Trump, who owns 17 golf properties (and a sporty 2.5 Handicap Index), is not an average golfer. So how does he stack up against “avid golfers”? Again, it’s not even close. The NGF says there are 8.8 million people who fall into this category, which makes up more than a third of all golfers, but only 3 percent of the entire U.S. population (ages 6+). These avid golfers play 33.7 rounds per year, meaning Trump plays nearly three times as much. Even if the president doesn’t post scores as often, with just one mysterious 68 appearing on his GHIN card since taking office.

New York Daily News Archive.

A smaller sect of the population called “golf nuts” has 3.8 million members and makes up just 1.3 percent of all Americans 6 or older. That group averages 38.6 rounds per year, which means Trump still plays 2.5-times as much. In fact, those 96 rounds might end up being more than some top PGA Tour pros play. (We’re looking at you, Adam Scott.) Obviously, there are still plenty of people who play more than Trump, like our man Barry Gibbons, who broke a record by walking 878 rounds in 2016. But Trump’s playing is pretty prolific. And Barry was also retired.

Related: Donald Trump posted a 68 in October on his GHIN account, first counting score of his presidency

So let’s make a more apt comparison between Trump and his predecessor, Barack Obama, another man not shy about professing his love for the game. During his eight years in the Oval Office, Obama averaged 38.25 rounds per year — a number that falls almost perfectly in line with the “golf nut” category.

Obama got up to that number thanks in large part to averaging 47.5 rounds during his second term, up from 27 during his first four years. That’s also a lot of golf, although even Obama’s second-term average is only half of what Trump is on pace to play in his first year as president.

And if Trump averages 96 rounds for his first four years and then makes an Obamaesque increase in rounds played after getting re-elected (yes, there are a lot of what-ifs in that scenario), he would jump to 167 rounds per year. That’s more than the estimated 100 rounds per year Dwight Eisenhower played while in office, and even slightly more than Woodrow Wilson’s approximated 150(!) average.

Of course, those two past presidents faced a lot less scrutiny for hitting the links at the time. They’re probably lucky there wasn’t a WoodrowRoundsCounter.com or an Ike Golf Tracker Twitter feed back then.

 

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]]> https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/much-golf-donald-trump-play-compared-average-americans/feed/ 0 Former President Barack Obama joins a second D.C.-area golf club https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/former-president-barack-obama-joins-second-d-c-area-golf-club/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/former-president-barack-obama-joins-second-d-c-area-golf-club/#respond Wed, 11 Oct 2017 04:12:04 +0000 http://golfdigestme.com/?p=10685 Former Golfer-in-Chief Barack Obama has joined Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md.

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]]> By Alex Myers
Barack Obama was last seen on a golf course when he attended the 2017 Presidents Cup at Liberty National on Sep. 28. But that doesn’t mean the former President has stopped securing his own tee times.

The Washingtonian reported Obama has accepted an invitation to join Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md. The club is just a six-mile drive from the Obamas’ home in Kalorama Heights.

“Following careful deliberation, the Board of Governors voted to extend an invitation for Honorary Membership to former President of the United States Barack Obama,” reads an excerpt of a letter from last Thursday obtained by the Washingtonian. “We have received official word from Mr. Obama of his acceptance of our invitation.”

This is the second D.C.-area private club that Obama, an avid golfer during his two terms as President, has joined since leaving the White House. CNN reported in May that Obama joined Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainseville, Va., the site of four previous Presidents Cups. However, that course is about an hour drive from the Obama residence.

Obama was also invited to join Woodmont Country Club amid reports of protesting members, but is not believed to be a member there. The Washingtonian reports there is some hesitancy from Columbia Country Club members over their newest addition, but most seem happy about the decision.

“I think most members will welcome him,” one member told the Washingtonian. “Columbia, in a sense, is in competition with the Chevy Chase Club, which is just down Connecticut Avenue, and so I suppose there [are] some bragging rights.”

 

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]]> https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/former-president-barack-obama-joins-second-d-c-area-golf-club/feed/ 0 An epic Presidents Cup (press conference), Tiger Woods’ new girlfriend, and Team USA PDA on full display https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/epic-presidents-cup-press-conference-tiger-woods-new-girlfriend-team-usa-pda-full-display/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/epic-presidents-cup-press-conference-tiger-woods-new-girlfriend-team-usa-pda-full-display/#respond Wed, 04 Oct 2017 07:51:33 +0000 http://golfdigestme.com/?p=10408 Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we have the perfect solution for the Presidents Cup after the Americans’ latest lopsided victory...

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]]> By Alex Myers

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we have the perfect solution for the Presidents Cup after the Americans’ latest lopsided victory. Make the foursome of U.S. Presidents who came to Liberty National actually play in the event next time. They wouldn’t have to pair with each other (that would be absurd), but imagine a lefty pairing of Phil Mickelson and Barack Obama? Or a Houston tandem of Patrick Reed and George W. Bush? Would Kevin Kisner do the Three Amigos dance with Donald Trump? And let’s see Dustin Johnson go a perfect 4-0 in foursomes and four-balls while carrying Bill Clinton around as a partner. Sounds fun, right?

Rob Carr

We can only hope. In the meantime, let’s discuss this “Romp By The Swamp.” Or was it the “Thump On A Dump”? Either way, it still gave us a lot to talk about.

WE’RE BUYING

Team USA: Tiger Woods called this the best collection of putters he’s ever seen. Johnny Miller pondered if this year’s U.S. squad was the best golf team of all time. Yeah, these guys are good. And the scary thing for the rest of the world is that this squad could get better with a young core and guys like Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Beau Hossler, and others waiting in the wings. Team Europe gets the next crack at next year’s Ryder Cup in France. Good luck to Thomas Bjorn’s squad.

Team USA’s winning press conference: As expected, this was a real laugher following The Laugher at Liberty National. It began with Matt Kuchar playing the role of moderator and ended with Dustin Johnson climbing on a chair and singing “Si-Woo shakin’ that ass.” If you think I’m kidding, here’s visual proof.

Paul Dunne: The British Masters wound up providing golf’s most drama over the weekend as Rory McIlroy stormed into contention by finishing 64-63. But Paul Dunne (Remember him? The amateur who played in the final group of the 2015 British Open?) answered with a 61, including this walk-off chip-in:

As if golf fans needed more evidence that 2017 was not Rory’s year.

This “foot” wedge: Check out the humorous club a pro-am partner of Greg Chalmers used:

We’re not sure if that’s on the USGA’s conforming list, but that’s great. Side note: Paul Dunne does NOT need one of these.

WE’RE SELLING

Matt Harmon’s finish: The saddest golf tale of the week involved this 32-year-old journeyman. Harmon was on the cusp of earning his PGA Tour card for the first time at two under with two holes to play at the Web.com Tour Championship before missing a three-footer for birdie and then three-putting the final hole for bogey. As a result, Harmon will be back on the Web.com Tour this season. And he’ll have a new putter in his bag after that rough finish.

Hole-in-one prize loopholes: Belen Mozo was the latest victim to one of these in New Zealand. After Mozo aced the 13th hole at the Mckayson New Zealand’s Women’s Open on Friday she ran up to the car she thought she had won in celebration, but was eventually told it was only for players who made an ace on the hole over the weekend. Ouch.

Still, speaking as someone who has never had a hole-in-one, just making one seems like enough of a prize.

Dangerous playing conditions: More from Mozo, who found herself avoiding flying signs and debris while trying to putt through gale-forced winds. Not surprisingly, she wasn’t happy, yelling in this crazy video, “We are like sheeps” before play was finally suspended.

But it wasn’t all bad news for Belen. Despite losing the 54-hole lead, she finished T-5 at the new LPGA event — her best performance of 2017. And she took home plenty of prize money to buy a new car. Maybe even that sweet Infiniti Q60. If she goes easy on the amenities.

ON TAP

And just like that, a new PGA Tour season starts again with the Safeway Open, AKA that event that Tiger almost played in last year. Why are they already playing again on the PGA Tour? Because THERE’S NO OFF-SEASON IN GOLF! These guys are too tough for that!

Random tournament fact: Forty-seven-year-old Phil Mickelson is cutting his Presidents Cup celebrating short and teeing it up in the event. Amy must really want to spend a few days in Napa Valley.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

— This week’s winner’s press conference will be as fun as last week’s: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds

— Si-Woo Kim will win his next tournament: 100-to-1 odds

— Si-Woo Kim will be asked to sing “Si-Woo shakin’ that ass” at his next tournament: LOCK

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (NOT INVOLVING “SI WOO SHAKIN’ THAT ASS”)

This brief interaction between a rules official and Tiger Woods was fantastic.

OK, so it wasn’t much. But we had so little to get excited about at the “Bore By The (Jersey) Shore.”

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Phil Mickelson took a selfie with three U.S. Presidents. Pretty cool.

Although, apparently Phil needs to work on his selfie skills.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I’m the worst selfie taker, I’m the worst Three Amigos dancer, but I can putt.” – Phil Mickelson. No arguments here.

SAD QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Yeah, definitely. I don’t know what my future holds for me. As I’ve told you guys, I’m hitting 60-yard shots.” — Tiger Woods when asked if he could see a scenario in which he doesn’t return to competitive golf. Let’s all pretend we didn’t hear that.

THIS WEEK IN DUSTIN JOHNSON-PAULINA GRETZKY AND THE REST OF TEAM USA PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

The 2017 Presidents Cup will go down as “The Pity In Jersey City” to NBC executives, but it delivered as promised on the WAGs front. There were on-course selfies:

Icon Sportswire

Off-the-course activities:

And, of course, plenty of PDA:

Oh yeah, there was even a bit of breaking news as Tiger Woods showed up with Erica Herman.

Rob Carr

And if there was any doubt the two are a couple, that disappeared when Erica joined in for the official winning WAGs photo:

Chris Condon

Welcome to the WAGs club, Erica! And for more of the WAGs’ big week, read Jena Sims’ (Brooks Koepka’s girlfriend) photo diary from the event.

THIS WEEK IN JOHN DALY BEING JOHN DALY

It was a huge week for JD, who opened up a steakhouse in Arkansas on Wednesday:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZhqziPAexi/

And then took a trip to Paris:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZrDMRfgLjQ/

Please let us find out that Jim Furyk has already named Daly a vice captain for next year’s Ryder Cup and that this was a scouting trip. Please!

THIS AND THAT

After a disappointing regular season on the Web.com Tour, Jonathan Byrd recaptured his PGA Tour card with a four-shot win at the Web.com Tour Championship. Good to see the man who once had a walk-off ace still has his good sense of timing. . . . Congrats to Sam Saunders, who used a first-round 59 to lock up his card again with a T-2 finish. The 59 also happened to come almost exactly one year after the death of his grandfather, Arnold Palmer. Talk about a fitting tribute. . . . I never saw Tom Petty in person, but I heard him warming up once while playing a round of golf in Saratoga, and I’ve worn out my Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Greatest Hits CD driving on golf trips. I especially love the line “Even the losers get lucky sometimes,” because it gives me hope that one day I’ll get that elusive hole-in-one. Thanks, Tom. You’ll be missed. . . . And finally, this chocolate milkshake I got at a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike might be the best milkshake I’ve ever had.

Considering how many milkshakes I’ve consumed, that’s high praise.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will Tiger Woods play on the PGA Tour this season?

Will Tiger Woods play in the 2018 Ryder Cup?

Is there a better car song than “American Girl”?

 

The post An epic Presidents Cup (press conference), Tiger Woods’ new girlfriend, and Team USA PDA on full display appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

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