Tales from the Trail

On the day after Christmas, President Barack Obama had an early morning conference call with national security advisers about the Northwest plane incident, went to the gym with his wife Michelle, went back to his Kailua holiday home and then… it was tee time!

Obama and four friends, yes that’s right a group of FIVE, went for 18 holes on the Kaneohe Klipper course at a nearby Marine Corps base.

Now for non-golf aficionados (like me) a foursome is the customary maximum for a golf  game. So five would raise some eyebrows in golfing circles.

But of course, there is also a long-standing tradition that the President of the United States gets to play the game any way he wants.

For example, there are stories that Bill Clinton, when he was president, apparently had a rule that he was allowed as many mulligans — or do-overs — as he wanted (some called it the billigan).

President Barack Obama’s weekend outings to play golf have become regular events, especially when the weather cooperates.

But Sunday afternoon, an almost picture-perfect fall day, marked the first time in Obama’s presidency that a woman joined the golf game.

White House domestic policy aide Melody Barnes was among those who headed out to the Fort Belvoir army installation in Virginia to play golf with the president.  White House aides of varying levels of seniority typically play golf with the president but until Sunday, the games were all male.