FOX SportsCriticism is nothing new for a President of the United States. But on Thursday, Americans from the blizzard-blasted Northeast to the sunny beaches of Hawaii woke up to a new criticism of President Barack Obama: His pace of play.
POTUS is in Hawaii right now, vacationing with his family over the holiday. Naturally, he has taken to the links during his trip, mixing in politics in the process. On Thursday, he was on the course with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
Well, on Thursday, loyal readers of the
New York Times opened their papers to find a story about President Obama playing golf. Along with some opinions on how much time he is spending on the course was this bit:
Mr. Obama is known for his slow, deliberative play.
On the 18th hole at the Mid Pacific Country Club on Oahu last week, Mr. Obama crouched to survey his final shot, took several practice swings and then putted, with the ball stopping just short of the hole. By the time he had finished, roughly five hours had elapsed since his arrival. (The P.G.A. frowns on slow play, threatening penalties.)
"Six hours is an especially long round of golf, and five is on the long side, too," said Mr. Van Natta, a former New York Times correspondent.
The Times also posted a video (which is credited to Reuters ) of Obama's golfing prowess. It showed multiple practice shots accompanied by the noise of dozens of cameras, and the footage was intermingled with some text that was . . . let's just say less than flattering when it came to the President's prowess as a duffer. See for yourself:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/bcvideo/1.0/iframe/embed.html?
Video at NYT link, above.