Obama the Golfer: Hail to the Eighth

In a blog post last month, we noted that Barack Obama will be the 15th of the past 18 United States Presidents to enter office as a golfer. And we linked to a video clip that shows Mr. Obama's swing ... well, needs a little work.

In its January 2009 issue, on newsstands Dec. 9, Golf Digest tees off on the subject of golfing presidents, and produces a ranking, from 1 to 15, best to worst. According to the magazine, this is how the golfing presidents rank:

1. John F. Kennedy
2. Dwight D. Eisenhower
3. Gerald R. Ford
4. Franklin D. Roosevelt
5. George H. W. Bush
6. George W. Bush
7. Bill Clinton
8. Barack Obama
9. Ronald Reagan
10. Warren G. Harding
11. William Howard Taft
12. Woodrow Wilson
13. Richard M. Nixon
14. Lyndon B. Johnson
15. Calvin Coolidge

President Ford was notorious for wayward shots struck during his many appearances at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Hope once said of Ford's golf game, "At least he can't cheat on his score, because all you have to do is look back down the fairway and count the wounded." He still ranks No. 3 on the GD list, however (Ford did take lessons from Jack Nicklaus, after all), an indication that Obama has room to move up.

But it's pretty doubtful he'll have time to work on his game.

In the Golf Digest archives are some great articles about President Eisenhower's love of golf. He loved it so much that in his eight years as president, Ike played golf more than 1,000 times! Start with the article, "1,000+ Reasons to Like Ike."