President Obama has officially joined the swingers club.
As he welcomed Tiger Woods to the White House last week, Obama revealed his taste for golf, which every other modern-day commander-in-chief has played, except Jimmy Carter.
Boasting a compact, left-handed swing and a rumored handicap of 16, Obama ranks as one of the better Oval Office duffers.
Here’s how power players past and present stack up — based on their handicap, or measure of how many swings over par it takes them to complete an average round — according to golfing experts:
Kim Jung Il: scratch (zero handicap)
According to the North Korean media, the Divine Leader played just one round, back in 1994, and despite never having taken a lesson, hit a 34 on a par-72 course in Pyongyang. The dubious duffer allegedly scored five holes-in-one: a score 24 strokes better than the lowest known round in history.
Joe Biden: 8 handicap
Impressive handicap for the veep, especially since he took up the game only 10 years ago.
Gerald Ford: 12 handicap
“I know I’m getting better at golf,” the stumblebum 38th president once joked, “because I’m hitting fewer spectators.”
Ronald Reagan: 12 handicap (in his youth)
Was known to practice his putting aboard Air Force One, but played a full round just a dozen times in his eight years in office.
Richard Nixon: 12 handicap
Golfing buddies with Arnold Palmer and Bob Hope, but this presidential bogeyman was cursed with the ugliest swing of all the presidents.
General Pervez Musharraf: 14 handicap
Former Pakistani leader is more of a racquet-sport man, but can still wield a driver with venom.
George W. Bush: 15 handicap
Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” showed a clip of the then-president being interviewed on the course. “I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you,” he said, before adding, “Now, watch this drive!”