That’ s a different twist on a little-known partnership between our nation’ s commanders-in-chief and the Commonwealth’ s bountiful supply of golf treasures. In truth, it’ s a distinction that Virginia has shared with neighboring Maryland, as Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Dwight Eisenhower seemed partial to Burning Tree Country Club in Bethesda.

Johnson wasn’ t averse to an occasional round at VSGA member Army Navy Country Club in Arlington. And while visiting Norfolk once, Eisenhower played Sewells Point Golf Course and shot 43 / 44— 87 on the par-72 course. When asked about it, Sewells’ pro, Johnny O’ Donnell, who happened to be that year’ s state open titlist, was impressed.

“ People who play this course regularly consider 87 to be a pretty good score,” O’ Donnell told the Associated Press.

Conventional wisdom considers“ Ike” to be the presidential poster boy for golf. And the notoriety he gained from his cozy relationship with Arnold Palmer and, of course, Augusta National, provided ample support for that position. But Woodrow Wilson would not only give Eisenhower a run for his money, he almost lapped him.

Wilson, born in Staunton, was president from 1913 to 1921, during which time he literally played golf almost every day. Washington Golf & Country Club in Arlington was by far his favorite, in part because Wilson could get there in 20 minutes( try that today).

Maybe Wilson was crying wolf with a public that didn’ t approve of him spending so much time away from the nation’ s capital when he once denigrated the game as“ an ineffectual attempt to put an elusive ball into an obscure hole with implements ill-adapted to the purpose.” But nothing stopped our

28th president from pursuing his passion, most often with White House physician, Cary Grayson.

If there was a dusting of snow on the ground, Wilson, who almost never broke 100 and putted with a style eerily reminiscent of LPGA contortionist Michelle Wie’ s, played a ball painted red by a Secret Service agent. In 1918, Wilson scalded his right hand when he grabbed a hot pipe climbing out of the British tank, Britannia, which had been brought to the White House. Undeterred, Wilson began playing by using only his good hand. God knows, that didn’ t help his scores any.

Warren G. Harding already belonged to Washington G & CC when he was elected. When he received a letter from the club asking what special desires he had now that he was president, Harding replied that he wanted nothing more than to be treated as he always had been.

Unlike Wilson, Harding showed occasional flashes of competence in the sport. Playing in a national newspaper correspondents event at Washington G & CC, he shot a 76 that left him highly unsatisfied.

The New York Times, which covered the event, quoted a spectator who said Harding was disgusted with himself for“ inexcusable errors of judgment or stroking,” and“ would listen to no condolence.”

By the time he won the presidency, Franklin D. Roosevelt had long been stricken with polio, causing wife Eleanor to say that her husband never mentioned the word“ golf” again. But that’ s not true.

In Charlottesville on business one Independence Day, Roosevelt showed up at Farmington Country Club and was treated to a putting exhibition by VSGA amateur contestants Morton McCarthy of Norfolk and Bobby Riegel of Richmond.

The president’ s limo parked just a few feet from the 10th green, and he never left

President Bill Clinton’ s letter to the Golden Horseshoe when the VSGA member club hosted the U. S. Men’ s and Women’ s State Team Championships in 1999.

the car, but he enthusiastically encouraged both men to strike their putts“ accurately and smoothly now.” That doesn’ t sound like a man who had turned his back on the game, despite his condition.

Having seen the pasting Eisenhower took from Democrats over the amount of golf he played, John F. Kennedy was so secretive about his outings that his name rarely comes up when mentioning the pantheon of golfing presidents.

For example, Kennedy actually played two rounds at Fauquier Springs Country Club in Warrenton— one on April 9, 1961 and the other a week later. There’ s no physical evidence that Kennedy was there and no record of his scores, but an eyewitness claims to have seen him.

One president who never cared what the public thought of his golf addiction was William Howard Taft. He created a national scandal one 4th of July when, instead of spending the entire day in patriotic reflection, the vacationing Taft played golf at The Homestead in Hot Springs.

America howled its disdain. Ever defiant, Taft kept swinging.

Donald Trump would be proud.

CHRIS LANG