Harper Lin
Former US President Barack Obama has been criticised for playing a lot of golf during his presidency. Obama played 333 rounds of golf during his eight years as president, which equates to about once every 8.77 days. This included three vacation trips to Hawaii, his birth state, and an infamous game in 2014, minutes after he condemned the murder of journalist James Foley. Obama later conceded that the timing was a bad idea. Despite the criticism, Obama's golf habit has cost US taxpayers a lot less than that of his successor, Donald Trump, who has spent all or part of 248 days at a golf course during his time in office.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of rounds played during presidency | 333 |
| Average rounds played per year | 41.625 |
| Average rounds played per day | 0.112 |
| Golf partners | Robert Wolf, Allison Davis, Vernon Jordan, Brian Roberts, Trade Ambassador Ron Kirk, former Speaker of the House Boehner |
| Golf courses played on | Local military base golf courses, Martha's Vineyard |
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What You'll Learn
Obama played golf once every 8.77 days as president
Former US President Barack Obama has been criticized by some for playing golf during his presidency. Obama played 333 rounds of golf during his eight years as president, which equates to once every 8.77 days. This data was provided by Mark Knoller, a CBS News White House correspondent, who tracks presidential activities.
While some have taken issue with Obama's golfing, it is worth noting that he often played on local military base golf courses, which resulted in a lower cost to the US taxpayer compared to his successor, Donald Trump. Trump has been criticized for spending far more time at golf clubs and for the promotional value of his trips to golf courses owned by his company.
Obama's golfing partners included political rivals, such as former Speaker of the House Boehner, as well as businessmen, bankers, lawyers, and staff. During an eight-day vacation, Obama played golf six times, with Trade Ambassador Ron Kirk joining him on three of those outings. Obama's golfing has also been the subject of jokes by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who teased the president for golfing minutes after condemning the murder of journalist James Foley.
In comparison to other presidents, Obama's golfing frequency falls somewhere in the middle. While President Bush gave up the game at the start of the Iraq War in 2003, President Harding was able to golf twice a week, and President Eisenhower played every Wednesday in DC.
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Obama golfed with political rivals
Former US President Barack Obama has been criticised for golfing during his two terms as president. Obama played 333 rounds of golf during his eight years as president, which equates to once every 8.77 days. This is fewer than his successor, Donald Trump, who had played 70 rounds of golf during his first two years as president, and visited a golf course once every 4.92 days.
Obama was known to be a distant politician, reluctant to engage with members of Congress, and more concerned with policy than with the political battles that make for successful and sustainable policy. This may have contributed to the perception that he was "always playing golf".
Obama's golfing habits were criticised by Trump during his presidential campaign, with Trump claiming that he would not have time to play golf if he were elected. Despite this, Trump has played golf more frequently than Obama, and his company has generated revenue from charges to the Secret Service for their visits to his golf courses.
Obama's golfing habits have also been defended, with some arguing that his reluctance to engage in political battles and focus on policy-making contributed to his success as a policymaker. It is worth noting that some of Trump's golf outings, such as when he played with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, mixed leisure with official business.
While the number of days Obama golfed during his presidency is lower than that of Trump, the perception of his golfing habits may have been influenced by his distant political nature and the optics of his golfing outings, such as when he teed off minutes after announcing the murder of journalist James Foley by ISIS.
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Obama's golf partners included businessmen, bankers, lawyers and staff
During his eight years as president, Barack Obama played approximately 333 rounds of golf, which equates to once every 8.77 days. Obama's golf partners included businessmen, bankers, lawyers, and staff.
One of Obama's golfing partners was Robert Wolf, the founder and CEO of 32 Advisors, a Wall Street consulting firm, and the former CEO of UBS Americas, a banking company. Wolf was a vocal supporter of Obama during his 2012 re-election campaign and served on his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness from 2011 to 2013.
Another golfing partner of Obama was Allison Davis, a lawyer and real estate developer in Chicago. Davis co-founded a law firm where Obama worked after graduating from Harvard Law School and contributed to Obama's early political campaigns.
Vernon Jordan, a lawyer and partner at Lazard Freres & Co., also joined Obama for a round of golf. Jordan is often described as a longtime Washington, D.C., power broker.
Obama's trade ambassador, Ron Kirk, was his most frequent golfing partner during one of his vacations, joining him on three out of six golf outings. Kirk was the first African-American mayor of Dallas and served as the U.S. trade representative in the Obama administration.
Obama also played golf with some of his political rivals, including former Speaker of the House Boehner, in an attempt to get legislation pushed through.
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Obama's golf trips were shorter than Trump's
While both former President Barack Obama and his successor, Donald Trump, have been criticised for their golfing habits, a comparison of their golfing trips shows that Obama's trips were shorter.
Obama played 333 rounds of golf during his eight years as president, which equates to once every 8.77 days. By contrast, Trump has been at a golf club once every 4.92 days so far.
Trump has spent all or part of 248 days at a golf course, according to data provided to CNN by Mark Knoller, a veteran CBS News White House correspondent. CNN's count puts Trump at 266 days. Trump's trips have almost exclusively been to resort properties and golf courses that his company owns.
Obama, on the other hand, played mostly on local military base golf courses, which meant his trips were shorter as they did not involve travel to far-flung resorts. During an eight-day vacation in 2013, for example, Obama played golf six times, with businessmen, bankers, lawyers, and staff making up his various foursomes.
While Obama did take three vacation trips to Hawaii during his presidency, these were to his birth state, and totalled 29,978 miles in the air. Trump, on the other hand, has made 30 trips to Palm Beach, Florida, totalling 51,540 miles.
In addition to the promotional value of these trips by a president, Trump's company has also generated hundreds of thousands in revenue from charges to the Secret Service.
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Obama played 333 rounds of golf during his presidency
Barack Obama played 333 rounds of golf during his eight years as president, according to veteran CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller. This equates to Obama playing golf once every 8.77 days as president.
Obama's love for golf is well-known, and he has been criticised for playing a lot during his presidency. Notably, Obama played golf in 2014 while on vacation in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, minutes after condemning the murder of journalist James Foley. Obama later conceded that golfing so soon after announcing Foley's death was a bad idea, saying, "I should've anticipated the optics."
Despite the criticism, Obama's golf habit cost significantly less to the US taxpayer than that of his successor, Donald Trump. This is mainly because Obama played mostly on local military base golf courses, whereas Trump has played at golf clubs and resorts that his company owns.
Trump has also spent far more time at golf clubs than Obama had at the same point in their respective first terms. By the time he had been president for two years, Obama had played 98 rounds of golf, whereas Trump had spent all or part of 248 days at a golf course.
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Frequently asked questions
Obama played 333 rounds of golf during his eight years as president, which equates to once every 8.77 days. Trump, on the other hand, has been at a golf club once every 4.92 days so far.
Obama played 333 rounds of golf during his eight years as president, or 24 rounds per year on average.
Obama golfed with some of his political rivals, including former Speaker of the House Boehner. He also golfed with Trade Ambassador Ron Kirk, Robert Wolf, Allison Davis, and Vernon Jordan.
