Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is superb and here's why: Because no matter what the form -- novel, poetry, essays, history -- a successful piece of writing must tell you something new. As an avid reader of history and presidential biography, I subconsciously felt I had the 20th century's presidents nailed: Wilson was a tragically lofty prig, FDR a crippled Machiavelli, Nixon a man woefully uncomfortable in his own skin. But what Van Natta does, through golf of all things (and I'm no golf nut) is revitalize these men, bring them back alive through their comical passion for the little white ball. Wilson played EVERY day, rain, snow or shine? FDR designed dozens of golf courses? Taft blew off diplomatic appointments for his putter? Powered by Van Natta's adrenalized prose and exhaustive research, this finely-woven narrative gives an entirely fresh look at these men. And then it does more.
The book's most publicized gotcha! is Van Natta's round with a cheatin' Bill Clinton, which, naturally, serves the purpose of right-wingers everywhere. Less noticed, though, is the insight Van Natta provides in the most revealing portrayal of Clinton yet. By showing Clinton's loosey-goose attitude toward the rules -- and the way he charms those around him into helping out with the bending -- Van Natta offers not only a subtle metaphor for Slick Willie's mindset during the Lewinsky mess. He also shows us why Clinton's approval ratings remained high throughout that mess, why as he puts it, "it's impossible to dislike the guy" even as Clinton is cheating you to your face, why the American public liked him in spite of -- or maybe even because of -- his peccadillos. It's a rare thing to get all this out of a sports book, but then again, we are a differnt nation now, a place where only a fool pays his rightful share of taxes -- and Billigans rule.

For years I have reached for the New York Times whenever I saw Don Van Natta's byline. As one of the nation's top investigative reporters, his stories were always incrediblly well written and chock full of insider information that most of the times his subjects would rather not reveal. He found out and reported facts but never forgot the importance of color and detail and good old fashioned story telling. First off the Tee combines these traits into a highly entertaining book that brings these Presidents and the pasttime they share with millions of Americans to life. I gave it to my husband for his birthday and he read it in a weekend but not until I had finished it. I work in politics and he loves golf and we both loved the book. You can't do better than that.

Interesting angle. Using the sport and game
of golf as the foundation to add insights and discuss the Presidents who played it. Author Van Natta Jr. brought forth an original avenue to bring a topic that is commonly written about (presidents) to light. Golf, the ever-increasing mainstream sport to the American public, is no longer stereotyped (falsely) that it's an elitist sport to play. In "First Off The Tee," there are many interesting facts about the habits of some of the commanders-in-chiefs that hit the greens.

Bill Clinton took so many mulligan's the author called
them "Billigans." He scored himself in the low 80s, similar to his idol JFK, but he literally took over 200 swings. Clinton played loosely with the rules, at times bending them to conform to his ends. Can the phenomena of how a person plays golf be taken and applied to political and administrative behaviour? Psycho-social analysis? Perhaps a dissertation has started somewhere regarding this.

One President drank booze while golfing during prohibition. He also gambled on a every game.

John F. Kennedy was an avid golpher, and fairly decent one at that,
getting scores in the low 80s. But he did keep the fact that he
played the game secret from the public.

Gerald Ford played amateur tourneys and pinged the
bystanders in the crowd from time to time.

The author played with the likes of Clinton and George W.
Bush. G. W. Bush could play through 18 holes in an hour

and a half, while Clinton took six hours. (He liked
to talk a lot more.)

In the past, Presidents didnt' want to be
photographed on the greens. Today it's acceptable, and
perhaps even expected.

14 mini-biographies highlighting the lighter side of the Execs as men and the sport of golf. Very interesting.

Author Van Natta, a New York Times correspondent and 100+ golfer, believes (like most golf-lovers everywhere) that you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about someone by watching him/her play golf. He takes it one step further, however, finding golf particularly revealing of a President's personality and values. "Nearly every person in a president's privileged life says yes...Only the golf course says no."

Accumulating fascinating anecdotes from his research into the golf games of the Presidents, and combining these with his own experience as a reporter, which includes more than two years spent covering President Clinton, he shows how a President's golf game reflects the inner man. Fourteen of the last seventeen Presidents were golfers to one degree or another, and no reader, whether a golfer or not, will be disappointed in the unique insights and revealing anecdotes the author gives us of Presidents at leisure. What makes this book different from so many others, is that Van Natta is a real writer, carefully choosing his quotations (including on-course remarks), narrating anecdotes so that they have real climaxes, and emphasizing details that are so telling that no reader will fail to see parallels between the man's golf and his Presidential administration.

Though JFK is adjudged the best player of the fourteen, with an "effortless swing," few citizens knew how addicted he was to the game, something he kept secret because, after Eisenhower's administration, golf was considered a political liability. (Ike left cleat marks in the floor leading from the Oval Office to the practice green outside his window.) Ike, JFK, FDR (who was a passionate golfer until he was stricken with polio at age 39), and Gerald Ford are considered the purists of the game, and none of them were ever caught lying about a score, using mulligans (extra shots off the tee), or tossing the ball out of the woods. Not surprisingly, Bill Clinton is considered among the White House's "most polished and prolific golf cheats." As one observer noted, "You don't have to subpoena Whitewater documents. Just watch him on the golf course." He elevated the mulligan to such a new level that it was referred to as a "billigan." Nixon, LBJ, and Warren G. Harding, were also considered cheats.

With a final section devoted to the Bushes, father and son, Van Natta closes his analysis of Presidential golf games with particular panache, since the Bushes so often play together. The book is pure delight, providing a unique take on Presidents, who, on the golf course, face the same challenges as the rest of us, with some of them responding more gracefully to the challenges than others. Mary Whipple

I read this book in two days and couldn't put it down. Even if you are not a big golf fan, you will really enjoy this book because it deals with personalities. The fact that these personalities happen to be Presidents of the United States makes it that much more interesting. I highly recommend First Off the Tee.

I'm a classic golf widow who happened to pick this book up in the bookstore for my husband. He loved it. But, to my surprise, I loved it, too. I wound up learning a lot more about presidents, and what makes them tick, than I ever expected. It's a breezy, fun read, full of quirky surprises and amusing anecdotes. Rather than bore you with too much golf lingo, the book actually brings the game and the presidents to life without tumbling into cliches. I highly recommend it.

This book represents a great idea, perfectly executed. Analyzing presidential personalities and styles through the game of golf is a novel, intelligent approach: it provides a tidy, concise method for making observations about the presidents, and it allows the author to deliver insights and information in an incredibly entertaining way. You don't have to know a lot about golf to find this well-written, well-organized book entertaining; you just have to have some curiosity about the men who have led the United States. Many of them, Van Natta smartly realized, liked their time on the fairway, and so he visits them there, and golf becomes the metaphor for so much more.

First Off the Tee is a very entertaining book and its filled with humor page after page. I found the book to be more than a sports book or golf book, and am not sure that it belongs solely in the sports section. Non-fiction or history seems more appropriate. Van Natta reveals our past presidents characters by showing how they conducted themselves on the golf course. The book trully examines the men behind the most powerful job in the world and humanizes them in the process. A very well writen book and a must read for all Americans.

I don't golf. Never did. Never will. I think golf is borrrring.... but, I bought this book for a guy who loves golfing. Absolutely loves it. He claims to be good at it. Well, he loved the book. He was laughing when he told me about how much he enjoyed it. I think he really appreciated getting the book, especially getting it from someone who doesn't know a thing about golf! I recommend this as a gift for anyone who golfs. Especially someone who would enjoy the history of the presidential golfers.

I bought this book for my father-in-law but I enjoyed reading it when I visited him. Good for any golfer that likes to read, or for someone who enjoys presidential history. Most of the anecdotes have no quoted source, so who knows if they've been embellished, but that doesn't spoil the book.