Let’s talk about golf.
Or rather, let’s talk about the symbiotic relationship golf seems to have with other aspects of society and its use as an away-from-the-office meeting place where people of differing views can perhaps meet each other halfway over the common ground walked over the course of 18 holes.
I’ve never experienced this. I’ve golfed a few times in my life — mostly when I was a lot younger and one of the sorest losers you ever saw. And I concluded, right from the start, that golf was not for me.
Remember Ted Knight in “Caddyshack?” That’s me. Some people leave divots while they’re following through with their shots. Others, like me, leave them after pounding the ground in frustration with our 3-irons.
Apparently both Barack Obama and Donald Trump see this as a way to relax. To each his own. I’d find driving around the track at breakneck speed at Daytona infinitely more relaxing than lining up a putt.
For one thing, before I even putted, I’d know I was going to miss it, setting in motion the usual chain of events. I’d swear, pound my putter into the green (which is a violation of every golf protocol known to man) and then, if I was still exasperated with myself, throw it into the drink.
Can we be serious for a moment? And I promise I won’t drag my politics into this.
Presidents of the United States, whether we like them or not, have tremendous stress and responsibility on their shoulders 24/7. As Bill Belichick is fond of saying, there are no days off.
If any of them, whether it’s Trump or Obama, find relaxation on the golf course, then good for them. I say golf away. The last thing anyone in this country needs is a stressed-to-the-max president. That’s probably more of a formula for serious, life-altering mistakes than sticking your tongue out via Twitter at Kim Jong un.
People have a right to relax when they can. And as long as said relaxation isn’t distracting to the point of negligence or malfeasance, people should just chill out about it and perhaps relax themselves.
I know … I know … that isn’t the entire issue. Our current president was pretty hard on our previous president when it came to how often he played golf. And now, according to reports, he plays golf more often than Obama did.
I’m willing to cut The Donald a little slack on this one. It’s easy to say, from the safety of your tower, what is and isn’t appropriate activity for the president. Heck, I do it all the time.
But I also freely admit that if I ever found myself with all that responsibility thrust upon me, I’d be looking to escape to the beach every chance I got. I’d be Chris Christie in the lounge chair, except I’d be smarter than to do it in a beach I’d closed because of a government shutdown. Besides, there’s only one reason to go to the beach (besides the sun) and that’s to people-watch.
But getting back to golf, the game does have its benefits. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tried to justify Trump’s passion for golf by saying he uses the game to cement relationships with people he needs to carry out his agenda.
Fair enough. I don’t know why people consider that so outlandish. It happens all the time among the CEO set. I’d imagine there’s a lot you can talk about when you’re with someone for 18 holes of golf.
But Trump doesn’t need to justify his passion for golf. More presidents than not have used the game as an outlet. John F. Kennedy’s staffers used to joke that footprints from Dwight Eisenhower’s golf shoes could still be seen on the White House rugs. Kennedy liked to play, bad back and all. As did Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton.
And if it wasn’t golf, it was something else. George H.W. Bush used to cavort around the waters off Kennebunkport in his motorboat. I can still remember, after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Bush was out on that boat every day as he was putting together the coalition that fought the first Gulf War.
Ronald Reagan chopped wood. George W. Bush liked to go fishing and ride his mountain bike.
None of these activities reduced their effectiveness. The country survived, as it will now, no matter how many times Trump takes to the links.
And as I said earlier, he can have it. With my blessing.
There. That’s not political, is it?
