Golf fan Barack Obama who plays off a 16 handicap, donned his khakis, a red polo, and a baseball cap, carried his clubs from his Secret Service motorcade to a waiting motorcade of golf carts. The Democratic nominee dropped by Luana Hills Country Club in Kailua, Hawaii today for a round of golf - the second golf outing of his week long vacation.The entourage left the clubhouse for the "high risk/high rewards" 18-hole course that boats breathtaking views of nearby Mount Olomana and Ko’olau.
When Luana Hills first opened in 1993, the club charged a lifetime membership fee of $250,000. Today the course is open to the public and, sure to please Republicans, the club’s website boasts, “The hidden valley course is a site for feature films and a frequent stop of celebrities visiting Hawai’i, including former golfing President Bill Clinton.” No word on if the club will update its website to include “celebrity” guest golfer Barack Obama.
Alas, press was not permitted to photograph Obama on the 10th hole, which was adjacent to the clubhouse where we were permitted to wait for the candidate. When the staffer minding the press pool was notified that Obama was nearing the green within eyeshot, we were escorted back to the press bus and out of sight.
In no way are these stories related besides the golf connection; however it was amusing to note that shortly after Bush made the sacrifice to 'quit' golf he was admitted for knee surgery.
15 handicapped US President George W. Bush said in an interview out Tuesday that he quit playing golf in 2003 out of respect for the families of US soldiers killed in the conflict in Iraq, now in its sixth year.
"I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal," he said in an interview for Yahoo! News and Politico magazine.
“I don’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander-in-chief playing golf,” he said. “I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them.”
The US president traced his decision to the August 19, 2003 bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad, which killed the world body’s top official in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. “I remember when de Mello, who was at the UN, got killed in Baghdad as a result of these murderers taking this good man’s life. And I was playing golf — I think I was in central Texas — and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, it’s just not worth it anymore to do,” said Bush.
Bush's last round of golf as president dates back to October 13, 2003, according to meticulous records kept by CBS news. On the day of the bombing two months earlier, he had cut short his golf game at the 12th hole and returned to his ranch in tiny Crawford, Texas.
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