Baller-in-Chief

(From Emily Rauhala for Newser.com)

Obama has traded basketball for golf

(Newser) – The old Obama played hoops—and he did it quite well. So why do we keep seeing him on golf courses? Since he took office, the one-time “Baller-in-Chief” has played basketball about seven times, compared to 25 rounds of golf. The White House has remained mum on what’s behind the change, and won’t say why the televised games on the court have turned into secretive, no-press-allowed sessions on the course—but that hasn’t stopped critics from analyzing, and bashing, his game.

“Let me put it in language you might be better able to understand, Mr. President,” a sports columnist wrote recently: “Basketball? Yes, you can. Golf? No, you can’t.” Political adviser David Axelrod told the Wall Street Journal Obama’s score was a matter of “national security.” And, a pro shop worker that saw him play described the presidential swing as “Eh, not so much.” His advice?’ The president “ought to play a little more basketball.”

President Obama takes practices his game at Mink Meadows Golf Club in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts.   (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

(From DemConWatchBlog.com)

If you’re a regular reader, you know I know better than to even attempt anything relating to sports, but I actually DO know the difference between basketball and golf. Mostly because of the clothing: my recollection is that basketball players have very long legs and very tight short shorts. Golfers wear plaid below their knees.

So, we know that candidate Obama played a lot of basketball on the campaign trail. That he had a mean game, he played with all sorts of different people, and he played publicly. Have you seen him playing recently? There was that one game of politicos, and a White House tennis court has been remade into a hoops court, but he doesn’t seem to have been playing. The Wall Street Journal says Obama has played seven basketball games since becoming president.

Yup, WSJ – this is one of the articles on their FRONT PAGE today. (Yet another reason I read USA Today. No nonsense.)

WSJ says that President Obama, like 15 of the last 18 presidents, has been playing golf. They say he’s played 25 times since taking office. And that NO ONE gets to watch. The WSJ spends the rest of the article dissing the President’s golf game, taking shots at President Clinton’s golf game, and goes on to lie about Shrub pretending to give up golf because of the soldiers serving in Iraq. I trust their sports reporting as much as I trust their other reporting: I found a bunch of pictures of Obama playing golf.

This a waste of dead trees: if the president wants to play golf, he’s an American, let him play. If he wants to play basketball, fantastic. It pleases me that the right wingnut press has chosen this as something to place on their front page. I’m glad this is what Rupert Murdoch is sending his minions out to investigate. I wonder if he’ll apply that “no error” thing to WSJ….they’re related to Fox Noise.

For me, I am just confused since in the photos, he’s playing basketball in long baggy pants, and he’s lacking plaid on the golf course….

(From David Saltonstall for the New York Daily News Online)

Egan-Chin/News
President Obama plays golf at Farm Neck Golf Club on Martha’s Vineyard on Monday.

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. – President Obama has been known to talk some trash on the basketball court, but on the golf course he leaves pride behind.

“I just want to say ahead of time that I am terrible,” the First Duffer told a crowd of onlookers Monday as he began his vacation on celebrity-studded Martha’s Vineyard with a round of golf. “Thank you.”

With that, Obama stepped up to the first tee at the Farm Neck Golf Club, took two casual practice swings, then clubbed his drive a solid 200 yards or more – and into the woods left of the fairway.

The crowd cheered anyway, and Obama – dressed in a black golf shirt, brown pants, a beige cap and two-tone golf shoes – acknowledged his gallery with a small bow.

“Look at that – no mulligan,” one woman exclaimed after Obama – said to be a stickler for the rules – declined to take a do-over.

Obama golfs regularly, but almost never in front of an audience. Experts on hand for Monday’s rare peek at his form declared themselves impressed – to a point.

“He has a naturally athletic golf swing, very well-coordinated,” said Farm Neck golf pro Michael Zoll, a PGA member who watched Obama warm up. “He does what few golfers do, and that is he trusts his wrists at the top of his backswing. And he generates a lot of club head speed not by trying to muscle the ball, but as a result of the natural timing he has.”

On the other hand . . .

“He did push the ball to the left,” noted Zoll, “and that came from his picking his club up, as opposed to swinging his arms more freely. . . . That kept the club face slightly open at impact.”

Left unknown was the President’s final score Monday in a round that included included UBS CEO Robert Wolf, Chicago pal Eric Whitaker and White House aide Marvin Nicholson. Once the foursome left the first tee, Secret Service agents kept the public and the press away.

Obama’s sporting day also included a round of tennis with First Lady Michelle Obama at the family’s rented 28-acre compound.

The President has no calls or meetings on his schedule at the moment, presidential spokesman Bill Burton said, but he is staying up-to-date with developments on the economy, health care and foreign policy.

Burton hit back at Republican critics who said Obama should forgo his week-long vacation when many Americans are struggling economically.

“As I recall, the previous President took quite a bit of vacation time himself, and I don’t think anyone bemoaned that,” Burton told reporters, referring to George W. Bush’s month-long summer getaways. “I think it’s important for the President, as with anybody, to take a little time, spend time with his family, and recharge his batteries.”

Obama’s plan for the week is not to have one, Burton said. “You know, he’s on vacation, so everything is a little bit loose,” Burton said. “You know, you wake up, you have some breakfast, you work out and then you decide, oh, what do I feel like doing today? He’s doing that just like anybody else.”

Egan-Chin/News
Obama plays a lot of golf, but doesn’t often play in front of an audience.

(From Huffington Post via Plum TV)

The Obamas touched down on Martha’s Vineyard soil Sunday afternoon, and Plum TV was there to capture President Barack Obama’s first golf swing on the Vineyard. It was a fine cut, followed by a fist pump and bow. Plum TV was also treated exclusive tour of the course by resident golf pro Mike Zoll and took a sneak peak into the gift bag Farm Neck will be presenting to the first family.

Golfing nearby were Larry David and Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck.

In June, the president told “The Early Show” that he enjoys golf because it makes him “almost feel normal … you’re out of the container … It’s as close as you’re going to get to being outside of this place.”

(From Michael Walker, Jr. for Golf.com)