World Golf HOF to Induct Eisenhower

While many of the U.S. presidents played golf, few exhibited as much passion for the game as former president Dwight D. Eisenhower, so it’s only fitting that he will become the first U.S. president elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame later this year.  Eisenhower will be joining two-time Masters champ Jose Maria Olazabal, former PGA pro Lanny Wadkins and Ireland’s Christy O’ Connor.  The induction ceremony is to take place November 2nd at the World Golf Village.

Former President Dwight Eisenhower (Image: Zuma Press)

It was Eisenhower’s love of the game that helped boost it’s popularity following World War II.  According to a book on presidents who golfed, “First Off the Tee,” the number of people playing golf in the United States doubled from the time Eisenhower took office, to the time he left office after his second term as president.

Even today, Eisenhower’s presence can be felt each April at the Masters tournament at Augusta National.  The tee shot on the 17th is particularly treacherous due to the “Eisenhower Tree,” a loblolly pine that sticks out on the left-hand side of the fairway, and there is a pond named for him on the Par 3 course, affectionately called “Ike’s Pond.”  The former president was a member at Augusta, and a cabin was built after his election in 1952, complete with space for Special Service Agents.

Upon his induction, Eisenhower will become one of the few members of the Hall of Fame who never played the game professionally.  However, his influence on golf’s rise in popularity would be hard to match by anyone in the history of this great game.