Presidential Golf

US presidents have always managed to find time for a round of golf.

First up William Howard Tait, insisted on playing as often as possible. He was once due to meet with a Chilean diplomat but said, ''I'll be dammed if I'm going to give up my golf game to meet see this fellow, '' and went off to play 18 holes instead.

Woodrow Wilson was obsessed with Golf, he played every day but Sundays. Extreme weather conditions like snow were no deterrent to Wilson's routine. He simply got the Secret Service men to paint the golf balls red.

Dwight 'Ike' Eisenhower was an extremely good golfer who played who played a staggering 800 rounds during his eight years in office.

JFK was secretly a keen golfer who occasionally used the game as an alibi for his extramarital activities.

As for Bill Clinton, he followed the rules for about a hole and a half. Then he let his guard down and started taking these do-over shots and gimme putts, and at the end of the 18 holes, it took him about 200 swings to score 82.

The Bushes tend to race around the golf course in record time. They want to get off the course as quickly as possible. The score doesn't matter. It's the time elapsed that matters the most to the Bushes.
* extracts from First Off the Tee by Don Van Natta
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