This presidential hackers’ circus did not play well with all. Bush hated slow play, and their round ended up taking about six hours. Hoch recalled in his TV interview that Tom Kite, playing in the group directly behind, laid down in the fairway to rest as he waited.
None of the three presidents would prompt Golf Digest to hire them for a swing photo shoot. Besides Hoch, the best ball-striker in the group was Hope, who at 91, was about to play his last full 18 holes of golf. The three presidents — and Hoch, of course — walked. Hope rode in a cart. As the story goes, a few tournament officials, fearing health issues, tried to entice Hope off the course after about five holes, with offers of taking him to a nearby ice cream concession stand. Hope loved ice cream. But his response was that, if the presidents were going to go 18, so was he.
The anticipation of those first…
