15. President Taft was obsessed with the game of golf
William Howard Taft was the first American president to admit playing golf while in office, and he played a lot of it during his single term as president. At the time golf was considered a game fit for only the idle rich, due to the time needed to complete a single round. Though Taft was the first to admit playing the game, Roosevelt likely preceded him as a golfing president, doing so covertly. For Taft the game became all-encompassing; he golfed in exhibitions with celebrities and in private groups of friends. “My advice to the middle-aged and older men, who have never played golf, is to take it up”, Taft told The American Golfer Magazine, adding “It will be a rest and recreation from business cares…”
President Taft also relaxed by napping, another practice which he performed publicly. Taft was often reported to be sleeping at public events, including at concerts, in theaters, and regularly while attending church services. Taft was reported as nodding off at the dinner table by more than one guest, including Senator James Watson of Indiana, who wrote that the president’s head, “would fall over on his breast and he would go sound asleep for ten or fifteen minutes”.