News

President Obama’s “POTUS 44” golf ball found… in the woods

Published

12 years ago

Jul 30, 2014

Over the weekend, President Barack Obama reportedly sniped his opening tee shot into the woods during a round at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. Apparently the guys from PTI either let the President take a “breakfast ball,” or his caddy/Secret Service didn’t do a good job finding the shot that went astray.

A golfer, known by his Instagram alias “Larrydoh,” went into the woods the next day and recovered the head honcho’s customized Titleist Pro V1 golf ball. Certainly the reports bear some truth, since President Obama is the 44th and current POTUS (President of the United States).

President Obama has reportedly played 81 rounds of golf in his second-term. With all that practice you think he’d have the shanks under control. A video that surfaced in 2009 from a range session in his home state of Hawaii shows he had a lot of work to do.

[youtube id=”H9m3GyDh6M8″ width=”620″ height=”360″]

As the POTUS, you’d think he’d have better access to the world’s best instructors, no? I guess even the guy with control over the free world can’t control an unruly golf ball.

Fore left Barry, fore left.

Related Topics:golf balls Titleist

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Andrew Tursky

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

17 Comments

Joe American

Jul 31, 2014 at 7:29 pm

Obama has decided to “darken” the nation (it’s too white), illegally I might add, by rolling out the red carpet for illegals to cross the border. He really did have a plan to “transform America”. Right out of the Saul Alinsky’s and Cloward/Piven playbook. Thank you white progressives….hope you will be happy when we end up like Europe, whose leaders did the same thing, in order to keep power permanently.

Reply Report comment
- John
  
  Aug 1, 2014 at 3:21 am
  
  Is some marshal going to get this idiot’s post off of here anytime soon. I read this site for golf not racist tripe like this.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Sean
    
    Aug 1, 2014 at 10:38 pm
    
    +1 John
    
    Reply Report comment
  - James
    
    Aug 4, 2014 at 4:59 pm
    
    What Joe said is true…to stay on topic….how many golf courses has this President’s policies put out of business or put on the threshold of going under? The golf business needs a vibrant economy to thrive, and this President has given us anything but that…and please do not quote me the manipulated stock market…I am talking about disposable income…that is what the golf market needs to flourish. Rising healthcare…3-4 dollar gas…limited hours if you are lucky enough to have a job…etc…
    
    Reply Report comment
- Sarah P.
  
  Aug 1, 2014 at 10:03 pm
  
  I agree with Joe’s educated and rational post.
  
  Reply Report comment
- SBoss
  
  Aug 3, 2014 at 10:00 am
  
  If I found his ball, I’d throw it in the lake…it’d be like finding a ball with a cut in it. Sorry, nothing special about this guy. What he’s brought into the White House has permanently ruined the office and reduced it to nothing special…both here and abroad.
  At least his voters got their stuff.
  
  Reply Report comment
Sarah P.

Jul 31, 2014 at 12:55 pm

Ok, you betcha that we found his golf ball in the woods, but we still haven’t found any answers on Benghazi!

Where are the answers?!

Great post, Andrew. Nice use of Barry in the last line. Glad you’re taking sides, Real American!

Reply Report comment
Tommy

Jul 31, 2014 at 11:15 am

Looks like he’s as incompetent as a golfer as he is as a president. And of course he changes the rules as he sees fit. Disappointed golfwrx gives him or any other politician/entertainer mentions. What about a story on why international competitors are starting to dominate golf when the 2 governing bodies are in the USA and UK.

Reply Report comment
BW

Jul 30, 2014 at 5:45 pm

politics aside… if he’s playing that much when is he going to learn how to dress?

Reply Report comment
- Mexico joe
  
  Jul 30, 2014 at 7:19 pm
  
  Yeah, who wears a white shirt and khaki shorts?
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Jim
    
    Jul 31, 2014 at 4:34 pm
    
    He makes the white shirt and khaki short combo look the worst I’ve seen and he’s the president!
    
    Reply Report comment
Jeremy

Jul 30, 2014 at 5:16 pm

I hope some day I’m important enough that strangers go looking for my “breakfast balls” in the woods the next day.

BTW, Andrew, this is the sort of post in which a lot of blogs will tend to encourage their readers not to get too political. Judging from comments like “Joe’s” this could get real ugly real quickly.

Reply Report comment
HD

Jul 30, 2014 at 5:16 pm

Clearly an “amateur”

Reply Report comment
Joe American

Jul 30, 2014 at 4:59 pm

Is it any surprise that Barry the “Community Organizer” cant play? At least when he is attempting to play golf, he has taken a break from destroying the country. God knows he has just about finished off the USA. Another 10 trillion should just about do it. He and Eric Holder are busy saving the county from white males. Was Bill Ayers in his foursome, along with Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson? Forget impeachment, this Muslim plant and front man for George Soros open borders society should be arrested immediately for crimes against America.

Reply Report comment
- Jeremy
  
  Jul 30, 2014 at 5:14 pm
  
  Well that’s just about every single lunatic fringe talking point all rolled up into one tidy little paragraph. Well done Joseph.
  
  Reply Report comment
- JR
  
  Jul 30, 2014 at 5:57 pm
  
  you sir are NOT an american
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Jedidiah
    
    Jul 30, 2014 at 10:04 pm
    
    Shut up JR and come have a tickle fight
    
    Reply Report comment

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Tour Photo Galleries

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News

Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

3 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Around the world, the golf wheel spun this final week in May of 2026. From New Jersey to Austria, with stops in Korea, Texas, and North Carolina (don’t let me route your next trip) the world’s finest put their golf games on display. There were three playoffs, some known commodities and some new talent. It was the sort of week that we hope to have at this point in the seasons. June and July afford double-digit major events, and perhaps, one of this week’s champions will use this success as a springboard to new heights. Time to run it all down, tech style, in this week’s Tour Tech Rundown.

Thanks to WITBHub, Today’s Golfer, GolfWRX, and Inside Tour Golf for initial research into equipment.

PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge: Heroic Henley denies Cole

Eric Cole did nearly everything that a fellow can do, to secure a first PGA Tour title. He stayed one shot clear of Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin. He kept US Open champion Gary Woodland and wunderkind Michael Brennan two shots distant. He posted 70 on day four to reach twelve under par. And then, Russell Henley revealed his Dr. Strange cloak. Henley made 47 feet of birdie putts on holes 16, 17, and 18, to jump from minus-nine to twelve-deep, and secured a spot in a playoff with Cole. The duo returned to the final tee, and put on a stripe show.

Both golfers found the fairway off the tee, and Henley improved on his regulation play with an approach to four feet. Cole did himself proud, tucking an iron to a dozen feet, but he was unable to convert the putt for three. Henley is one of the best putters on tour, and he proved it once more by draining a putt for a fourth consecutive birdie, and a sixth PGA Tour title. For Eric Cole, that first victory should come, and soon. He has done everything necessary to earn the chalice lift.

Henley’s Suitcase

Driver: Titleist TSi3 at 10 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
Metal: Titleist TS3 at 16.5 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
Iron: Titleist T250 4-iron. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 5-6 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 48 and 50 degrees. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 54 and 60 degrees. Shaft: rue Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron T5 Tour Prototype

LPGA @ Shoprite LPGA: Welcome back, Celine!

Soo Bin Joo had her eyes on a maiden LPGA title. She held the lead after two rounds, then hit a red light at the intersection of can-I and how-To. Joo posted plus-two on day three in New Jersey, and dropped to a T4 finish, which was still a career-best for the young Korean golfer. Instead of a new face, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium.

Celine Boutier was the It Girl in 2023. She collected four victories, including a major title at Evian. Boutier reached world number one status, then simply faded into the background. No wins came her way over the next 30 months. On Sunday, she collected LPGA victory number seven, at the same trace as LPGA victory number two.

Day three saw Boutier manage the windswept Seaview Bay course with six birdies and a bogey. She was challenged in the end by Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who signed for a 66 of her own. Yubol came up one shot shy of the top ladder rung. Finishing in third place at -7, two back of the winner, was Ireland’s Lauren Walsh.

Celine’s Suitcase

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 at 9 degrees. Shaft: Graphite Design AD IZ-5
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops at 19 and 22 degrees. Shaft: KBS Hybrid Prototype
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Gen5.
Iron: PXG 0311 P Gen 4 5-9 irons
Wedge: PXG 0311 T Gen 4 PW
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II at 50, 54, 58 degrees
Putter: Bettinardi Studio Stock 3 DASS

DP World Tour @ Austrian Alpine: KK? KK!

Kota Kaneko has a rhythmic name. It has strong vowels and a run of voiceless stops in its crunchy K sounds. On Sunday in Austria, Kaneko put a stop to a challenge from Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and everyone else, and claimed a first-ever title on the DP World Tour. Gouveia did well to reach 16-under par over four days, but Kaneko held firm, two shots in the clear.

Davis Bryant of the USA also forged a strong challenge for the win. He ended in a tie with Gouveia for second place. Kaneko began and finished his final round in a bit of a malaise, but he caught fire midway through. Birdies at 10, 12, and 13 provided the necessary cushion to cruise to the finish line without breaking a serious sweat.

Kaneko’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping Max G440
Metals: TaylorMade Qi4D at 15, 16.5, 21, and 24 degrees
Irons: TaylorMade P760 5 and 6 irons
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW 7-9 irons
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design at 46, 52, 56, and 60 degrees
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Cruiser Arm Lock #7

Korn Ferry Tour @ UNC Health Championship: Improbably Alvaro

Alvaro Ortiz may have had a bit of scare on the outward nine on Sunday, but he came through in clutch fashion in the end. Ortiz began the day bogey-double, and added another double bogey at the 11th hole. He was mired in a downward trend, spiraling away from the top of the leader’s board. Ortiz found hope at the 14th, where his first birdie of the day tumbled home. Inspired, he closed with birdies and 17 and 18 to catch Ross Steelman at 10-under par, and the duo returned to the 18th deck for overtime.

The extra session concluded in brief time. Ortiz, buoyed by his newly-retrieved confidence, hit the fairway with driver, then approached to six feet and drained the putt. Gobsmacked, Steelman could do little more than smile and applaud, as his run at the top came to a close. The victory was the first for Ortiz on the KFT, and will implant him squarely in the chase for a PGA Tour promotion.

Alvaro’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping G430 MAX driver at 9 degrees loft
Metal: Ping G430 MAX 3W
Iron: Ping iDi Driving Iron
Irons: Ping Blueprint S irons
Wedges
Putter: Scottsdale TR Piper C

A party on the green!

Alvaro’s time comes in Raleigh with his first win @UNCHealthChamp ? pic.twitter.com/2dmtZdbSzk

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2026

LIV @ Korea: Me llamo Joaquin

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had been away from the LIV winner’s circle throughout all of 2026. This week in Korea, he reminded us that he is still a force to consider. Niemann chased down Taylor Gooch over the closing holes at Asiad Country Club, then claimed victory with a hole-one birdie in extra time. Bryson DeChambeau claimed solo third, one shot in arrears at minus-eleven. Dustin Johnson finished on fourth, one putt farther back.

Niemann’s Suitcase