Golf is a sacred game to Brits and Americans. Business deals are made on the links, not in board rooms. Amateurs and professionals look at the game of golf as an outdoor walk with some sports thrown in. For American politics, golf has been a way of life for American presidents going back nearly a century.

Golf Digest reports 15 of the last 18 presidents took up golf to varying degrees of skill. John F. Kennedy was largely regarded as the best golfing president with an 80 average, despite back problems. Dwight D. Eisenhower loved the game so much he had a putting green installed outside the Oval Office.

The history of golf in the White House goes back even further.

William Howard Taft was the first president to take up golf, according to the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. Critics of Taft felt he should have spent more time in the White House and less time on the course. His affection for the game double its participation on public courses. Taft was golf’s first free publicity. The Library of Congress has a picture of Taft in Hot Springs, Va., in 1908 before he was elected president.

Life Magazine snapped a famous photo of the 29th president of the United States. Warren G. Harding took to golf as a way of relaxing from the rigors of the office.

Fast forward to the modern day. The Telegraph of Britain reports President Barack Obama was playing golf on Martha’s Vineyard the morning Osama bin Laden was killed. Sen. Jim Clyburn said Obama’s golf game is “confident,” especially as he comes out of sand traps.

Ahead of a speech in September, Speaker of the House John Boehner and Vice President Joe Biden discussed golf. Biden wanted to talk business but then Boehner interrupted and told him about Sandhills and Dismal River in Nebraska.

The Wall Street Journal reported in October that former president Bill Clinton’s foundation helps co-sponsor an annual golf tournament in California. Both Clinton and Obama have been seen golfing together in Washington, D.C.

USA Today reports presidential candidate Mitt Romney has created a website based upon Obama’s golf game. The fundraising website states Obama has played 1,584 holes since taking office (88 rounds) and voters need to send Obama on a permanent golf vacation.

Even 100 years later, golf is still being used as a political ploy. In November 2012, golf fans will find out just how good Obama’s golf game pans out.

William Browning has covered sports for the Yahoo! Contributor Network including golf and local golf courses in southwest Missouri. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.

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