More-Than-You-Ever-Wanted-To-Know-Alert: Experts Break Down Obama's Swing

After his third round of golf, it's becoming apparent that President-elect Barack Obama is not only determined to save the world, but more importantly, the game of golf. Or at least, instill a much needed coolness factor. We can't buy this kind of pub! (And Michael Bloomberg just made an Obama golf reference on the Times Square show...the hits just keep on coming.)

Mark Silva of the Chicago Tribune has fun analyzing the pool reporter's round three notes.

As highlighted by Larry Dorman in today's New York Times, Golf Digest debuts its presidential rankings in the February issue due on stands Tuesday (already on my newstand). Presidential golf historian Don Van Natta Jr. shares many new insights into Obama's game, including this:

And in golf, as in life, Obama refuses to take any shortcuts. "When he'd shoot an 11 on a hole, I'd say, 'Boss, what did you shoot?' " says Marvin Nicholson, 37, the Obama campaign's national trip director and now a special assistant to the president-elect. "And he'd say, 'I had an 11.' And that's what he'd write on his scorecard. I always respected that."

Okay, it's a new year and I vowed to be less of a bitch, but someone needs to tell them we don't shoot 11s. We make them! Shoot? Maybe cats, or in Alaska, a moose, but not golf scores that we put on little cards.

As for the swing analysis you've all been waiting for, John Hopkins and gets into the act.  And at GolfDigest.com, they managed to pull Butch Harmon, David Leadbetter and Jim Flick away from prized pupils to break down Obama's swing via the good old fashioned telephone.

Here's Flick's take. And Leadbetter's is here. And if you absolutely have no life whatsoever, here's Butch's take.

Obama Goes With The Raynor

Granted, Seth Raynor's touch there is probably limited to the routing at this point, but the President-elect played his second vacation round at the spunky Mid-Pacific Country Club. Also the course having the dubious honor of hosting my collegiate golf debut (I'm still haunted by having to start on the treacherous 15th hole).

More importantly, he hasn't been shy about showing the world he's a golfer. So we've got that going for us.

Later in the morning, Obama's motorcade left the Kailua rental home at 11:50 a.m. and arrived at Mid-Pacific Country Club about 10 minutes later.

Pool media were allowed to watch for about 12 minutes as Obama took practice swings with an iron before switching to a driver. He was dressed in a black polo shirt, khaki Bermuda shorts and a beige cap.

His golfing group included close friends Marty Nesbitt, Eric Whitaker and Eugene Kang, among others.

Obama also played a round of golf on Sunday at Olomana Golf Links in nearby Waimanalo.

The president-elect is a frequent visitor to the greens when he visits Hawaii. During his last vacation here, in August, he played two rounds of golf at Olomana and at Luana Hills Country Club.

Update on 2008-12-27 04:28 by Geoff

** Michael Bamberger dissects a semi-swing sequence of Obama posted on golf.com.

Cargos Redux

Who knew that a Barack Obama thread would lead to over 50 comments with nary a mention of Rick Warren?

I'm glad we could get this cargo pant debate out in the open, even if the peanut gallery has to chime here and there with cliched rants.

Still, no one has answered for me why those side pockets are so offensive to clubs that for two decades sold flammable polyester shirts adorned by cardboard collars and a breast pocket designed for a cigarette pack?

So I called on Golf Digest Fashion Director Marty Hackel to help out here. Marty replies to my question about the long-standing ban on cargos at most country clubs:

I would venture a guess that the clubs that do not allow "Cargo" shorts see them as too casual for the golf course. I do not know how this got started and it's the same clubs who mandate that ladies shorts be 19".

Cargos are often placed in the "Grange Look" category and as I always say "It's not what you wear but how you wear it." Obama looked ok to me in his "Cargo" shorts that he wore on the course on the 22nd. So lets not get out of control here. 

I'd go a step further and say he wore them very well, which is not easy when you are talking about cargo shorts and anyone over 25. But I'll defer to Sir Hackel.

Obama Would Be Turned Away From Most Country Clubs... **

...for wearing cargos.

One of those arcane rules that I believe is reason #459 why the game's in need of a coolness intervention.

After all, those side pockets are so offensive.

More importantly, what ball is that he's playing?

Update on 2008-12-23 03:51 by Geoff

Phillip Rucker with more than you ever needed to know about Obama's round:

Then it was off to the green for the president-elect, who was joined at the picturesque Olomana Golf Links in Waimanalo by two friends and a political aide, Eugene Kang. The foursome played for five hours at the challenging public course, a par 72, set near the Ko'olau Mountain Range.

Obama, a left-handed golfer, sported black shades and wore a white polo shirt, brown cargo shorts, short white socks and golf shoes. About midway through the course, Obama stopped by the snack bar, where he purchased two hot dogs, two passion-orange sodas, one Powerade and one Coke. He also bought two Spam musubi, a sushi-like Hawaiian delicacy consisting of Spam and fried egg on a slab of rice, all held together with a dried seaweed wrap. (He paid a total of $17.75, but it was unclear whether the president-elect ate a Spam musubi.)

At the clubhouse, Obama unexpectedly bumped into a pool of reporters, who asked how his game was going. He smiled and conceded: "I'm not that good."

When he arrived at the driving range earlier, he spotted the reporters and cameras about 15 feet away on the other side of a fence and said: "Okay, guys, come on. How many shots do you need?"