First off the Tee: Presidential Hackers, Duffers, and Cheaters from Taft to Bush

From Publishers Weekly
Presidents who cheat at golf? What's next? A Washington correspondent for the New York Times, Van Natta has the inside scoop on presidential golfers both then and now: who has game, who doesn't and who should lay down his clubs in deference to those who appreciate fair play. From the best (John Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt) to the worst (Calvin Coolidge and Ronald Reagan), to the cheaters (Bill Clinton and Lyndon Johnson), Van Natta shares insights about our nation's leaders and their passion for the game. Lyndon Johnson used golf to intimidate political opponents. Woodrow Wilson played every day, often during political crises. JFK feared the implications of public knowledge of his prowess. The public had not appreciated Eisenhnower's obsession, since golf was still seen as a "rich man's game," and not an appropriate activity for the "champion of the people." Van Natta's research is impressive and his writing style is engaging, but the text feels a bit like a one-trick pony. Filled with anecdotal bits and pieces, there is more of interest here to historians than to serious golfers. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Surprisingly, it was Woodrow Wilson, not Eisenhower, who played the most rounds of golf as president. Wilson was also the worst at the sport, although LBJ rivaled him for ineptitude. Whether for love of the game, or as a distraction from the pressures of office, all presidents since Taft (excepting Hoover, Truman, and Carter) have snuck off to the links of an afternoon. New York Times reporter Van Natta plays the humor angle to the hilt in handicapping the presidents, sorting them by skill and mendacity. In terms of the latter, Bill Clinton's claim of breaking 80 got Van Atta's attention, and playing a round with Bubba after his term, the writer discovered Clinton's method--liberal use of the "Billigan." The mere fact of indulging in a sport with lingering elitist connotations has political implications for presidential golf nuts, whose flouting of electoral good sense in pursuit of an uncontrollable tiny sphere adds up to a humanizing carnival of anecdotes, history, and character. Expect duffers to be reserving their time for Van Natta's comical chronicle. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Deseret News, June 22, 2003.
"Thoroughly charming."


Booklist, April 15, 2003.
"...a humanizing carnival of anecdotes, history, and character. Expect duffers to be reserving their time for Van Natta's comical chronicle."


Library Journal, May 1, 2003.
"An unusual concept...It functions best as a work of presidential biography...This is a niche item but very well done."


New York Times Book Review, April 13, 2003.
"The tale of [Van Natta and Clinton's] six-hour round is precious-and frightening."


Miami Herald, April 26, 2003.
"an anecdote-filled examination of how Oval Office values...were reflected in the games of 14 golfers who occupied the White House."


New York Times, May 9, 2003.
"well-written, hilarious anecdotes... far-reaching research and beautiful prose... an easy, engaging book, and not such a bad history lesson."


The Hill, May 6, 2003.
"Van Natta cleverly organizes the book and weaves the narratives...to use golf as a window into each president's personality. "


Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2003
"Interesting stuff about our golfing presidents... we're indebted to...Van Natta for giving us a first-hand account of [Clinton's game]."


Washington Monthly, June 2003.
"Van Natta is a very fine investigative journalist...entertaining for all the cool presidential trivia it includes."


Book Description
Golf is the favorite sport of America's presidents, and an award-winning New York Times reporter tells great stories that show why it's so much more than a game for them. Some students of the presidency say that we can learn the most about the men who've occupied the Oval Office by studying their ideology. Others say political savvy or family background or regional influences are paramount. But Don Van Natta argues for another standard--by observing the way they play golf. Fourteen of the last seventeen presidents have been golfers, and Van Natta explores two questions: Why is the game of golf so attractive to the men who occupy the Oval Office? And what do their golf games reveal about their characters? Some presidents relied on golf to escape the burdens of office, while others brought those burdens with them. And few have been able to resist the perks of high office, bending the rules and freely taking mulligans. Is it really surprising to learn that the section called "Hail to the Cheats" features the golfing escapades of Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, and Warren Harding? Not content to rely solely on the history books, Van Natta takes the reader on a round of golf he recently played with Bill Clinton and draws on extensive interviews with the golfing ex-presidents about what the game means to them. For history buffs and golf aficionados alike, First Off the Tee is a cheerful romp and a unique way to share the links with America's duffers-in-chief.


From the Inside Flap
Some students of the presidency say that we can learn the most about the men who've occupied the Oval Office by studying their ideology. Others say political savvy or family background or regional influences are paramount. But Don Van Natta Jr., an award-winning New York Times reporter, argues for another, more light-hearted standard--by observing the way they play golf. Fourteen of the last seventeen presidents have been golfers, and First Off the Tee shows why this sport is so much more than a game for them. Recounting some of the most entertaining yet little-told stories of the American presidency, Van Natta seeks to answer two questions: Why is the game of golf so attractive to the men who occupy the Oval Office? And what do their golf games reveal about their characters? Some presidents relied on golf to escape the burdens of office, while others brought those burdens with them. And few have been able to resist the perks of high office, bending the rules and freely taking mulligans. Each president also brought his own personality to bear on his golf game: John F. Kennedy often sneaked out of the White House to play golf on the sly, because he didn't want anyone to think he was as golf-obsessed as his predecessor, Dwight Eisenhower. But he was. Woodrow Wilson played golf every morning, because his doctor told him he needed the exercise. Little did he know that through golf he would meet and court the woman who would become his wife. Gerald Ford's first public appearance after pardoning Richard Nixon was at the opening of the World Golf Hall of Fame, where he played with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player, and hit the best tee shot of his presidency. Franklin Roosevelt fell in love with the game while still in prep school, helping to found a golf club at age seventeen and bringing his clubs with him to Harvard. It was a love that was tragically cut short. "After he was stricken with polio," Eleanor Roosevelt recalled, "the one word that he never said again was golf." And is it surprising at all to learn that the section of this book called "Hail to the Cheats" features the golfing escapades of Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, and Warren Harding? For these chief executives, being president meant never having to say double-bogey. Not content to rely solely on the history books, Don Van Natta also takes the reader on an eye-opening round of golf he recently played with Bill Clinton and explores how the strong father-son bond between the two George Bushes comes into its sharpest focus on the links. He also draws on extensive interviews with the golfing ex-presidents about what the game means to them. For history buffs and golf aficionados alike, First Off the Tee is a cheerful romp and a unique way to share the links with America's duffers-in-chief.


From the Back Cover
"First Off the Tee is an intelligent, lively and richly entertaining excursion that shows us the surprising things we can learn about presidents by scrutinizing their behavior on the golf course." --Michael Beschloss "Thanks to Don Van Natta, history must now be revised to document the insidious influence of golf on the American presidency, and vice versa. What a kinder, gentler nation we might be today if Richard Nixon had been able to break 80 honestly, just once." --Carl Hiaasen "Don Van Natta Jr. has managed to morph my two favorite subjects--golf and president-watching--into a marvelously funny, wickedly delightful book. First Off the Tee makes it clear that any president who rejects golf will be condemned to a single term in the White House. It's gratifying to learn that when it came to golf JFK and Ike never cheated. Nixon and Clinton . . . well, that's another story. A great read." --Douglas Brinkley "What could be more complimentary to the great game of golf than to know how much it has intertwined the recreational lives of so many of our nation's presidents and provided them with occasional moments of relaxation and enjoyment amid the overwhelming demands of that highest of offices. Don Van Natta's chronicle of the exploits of our golfing presidents provides most interesting reading and adds measurably to the written history of the game." --Arnold Palmer "This is a wonderful laugh-out-loud book about golfing presidents and presidents golfing that shows that on the greens they're just like the rest of us-only more so." --Richard Reeves


About the Author
Don Van Natta, Jr., is a Washington correspondent for The New York Times. He was a reporter for The Miami Herald before joining the Times in 1995, and he has been a member of two Times reporting teams that were awarded the Pulitzer Prize. He is also a 100-plus golfer who once shot an ugly hole-in-one. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Alexandria, Virginia.


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"Just remember the three ups," a seasoned caddy tells the sportswriter Rick Reilly, before Reilly makes his caddying début at the Masters. "Show up, keep up, and shut up." In Who's Your Caddy?, he carries the bag for the likes of David Duval and Casey Martin and listens in on the conversations taking place on those hushed sunlit greens. Reilly quickly becomes attuned to the demands of pros, who can be "just slightly more finicky than the Sultan of Brunei." Still, as he learns how to avoid rattling the clubs or knocking over Jack Nicklaus's bag, he gets plenty of experience approaching not only the greens but the golfers, both the famous and the famously avid. Reilly chats with Donald Trump about building seven-million-dollar waterfalls and asks Deepak Chopra, "Is cheating in golf wrong?" Don Van Natta, Jr., takes up that same question in a round with Bill Clinton, in First Off the Tee, a look at America's various golf-playing Presidents. Theodore Roosevelt steered politicians away from the sport's apparent élitism, warning, "Golf is fatal." Likewise, John F. Kennedy, probably the best of the Presidential duffers, didn't want voters to know he was any good; unlike his predecessor, the golfophilic Dwight D. Eisenhower, Kennedy vigorously avoided being photographed on the links. Today, golf has shed some of that high-class sheen; Alan Shipnuck's Bud, Sweat & Tees chronicles run-ins with strippers and gamblers as it follows the ascent of 2002 P.G.A. Championship winner Rich Beem on the pro tour. Beem's philosophy is similarly rebellious: "Pedal to the metal, fire at every flag. It's go low or go home. (Lauren Porcaro) Read all 7 "From The Critics" >


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