It's well known President Obama is a talented basketball player. What many may not know is he also plays golf.

Like William Howard Taft, the first U.S. president to play golf, Wilson, Harding, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, the Bushes and Clinton - presidents before him who have risked all self-respect in the relentless pursuit of mastering the game - Obama too has put his ego on the line.

One of Obama's forays on the links took place in Hawaii where he went to relax after getting his party's nomination at Olomana Golf Course in Waimanalo on Oahu. Wearing khakis, a red polo, sunglasses and a baseball cap, he carried his own clubs from his motorcade to his golf cart then warmed up on the driving range alongside members and signed a few autographs for the kids. He didn't make a huge fuss.

There are rumors his first drive veered left. But after all he is a leftie and anything can happen when you tee off surrounded by press, Secret Service and a horde of eager fans. Gerald Ford's errant shots at the annual Bob Hope Chrysler Classic are legendary. "I know I am getting better at golf because I'm hitting fewer spectators," he is known to have said.

It remains to be seen if Obama might join former presidents in a little bit of creative scoring. Indeed Arnold Palmer who has played with just about every recent president when asked what they had in common, quipped, "Mulligans" - Clinton's are well documented.

Obama didn't reveal how well he played that day in Hawaii and his handicap (if he has one) has been kept as closely held as his plans on how he is going to pay for all his programs.

But let’s give the guy a break. He only took up the game in 1996 when he was elected to the Illinois legislature thinking it might be a good way to network with constituents. And let’s be realistic: Obama doesn’t get to play much.

That doesn't mean he doesn't try to sneak out to the links when he can, especially when he visits Hawaii where he was born. "It is the place where I feel if things get too hectic, I can come back to and get centered, and it will always be in my heart. Certainly I prefer it over Crawford, Texas," Obama quipped.

Obama looks like a golfer with his slim physique and 6' 1/2" height. But he admits his golf game hasn't gotten much better. "I am assuming the next time if I tee off, someone is going to have to give me a lot of strokes," he has said.

Already several pros are weighing in on his golf swing. Ted Britschgi, PGA pro, arguably one of the top golf teachers in the U.S., a former lead master instructor with the Jim McClean Golf Academy, says, "At the top his golf swing has some good alignments and his right wrist is arched. That's not a bad position to reach at the end of your backswing because it can put the shaft on plane fairly easily.

"If he focuses on being centered as he pivots up and swings to the top of the backswing where he has a tendency to sway a bit , this will help his contact tremendously. It will help as he starts the downswing, to put more emphasis on transferring his weight to his right."

Centered and balanced? Sounds like politics.

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