President finally shows his face after $1m golfing weekend with Tiger Woods that White House didn’t want world to see

• Obama played at exclusive Florida course on Sunday with Tiger Woods
• President refused to say if he had been beaten by the champion golfer
  
• Cost of Air Force One trips to and from Florida, along with hotel rooms, greens fees and exclusive golf lessons comes to $989,207
• Tried to mend fraught relationship with traveling press corps by ‘hanging out’ with them for 10 minutes on the flight back
  

By MEGHAN KENEALLY and LOUISE BOYLE

PUBLISHED: 21:17 EST, 18 February 2013 | UPDATED: 08:56 EST, 19 February 2013

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Pictures finally appeared of President Obama on Monday evening as he headed home to Washington after a relaxing golf weekend which was kept heavily under wraps.

The President was on the course on Monday for the third and final day of a Florida vacation with departing US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, the president’s Chicago pal Eric Whitaker and White House aide Marvin Nicholson.

The President had enjoyed a round of golf with Tiger Woods on Sunday – a fact that only emerged by chance after media were banned from attending the event. The traveling pool of journalists who follow the President’s every move were reportedly furious after being shut out of his round of golf and not being allowed on to the club grounds.

Back in the swing of things: President Obama waves in the doorway of Air Force One as he departs from Palm Beach International Airport on Monday

Back to business: Obama jogs up the stairs of Air Force One upon his departure from Florida heading for D.C. (left) as an aide carries on the golf back of Obama’s friend Eric Whitaker

Bags of fun: An aide heaves several golf bags up the stairs of Air Force One after weekend on the course with friends

It has long been a White House tradition that pool reporters cover the President’s rounds of golf and even have the opportunity for a few questions on the course.

The President waved as he jogged up the steps of Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on Monday evening while a White House aide heaved golf clubs and large bags on board.

When he landed back in Washington and walked across the White House lawn, several frustrated reporters collectively shouted to the President to ask if he had beaten Tiger Woods.

Despite appearing to have heard the question, the Daily Caller reported, Obama did not answer and just smiled.

Home again: President Barack Obama waves to members of the media as walks across the South Lawn of the White House following his arrival on Marine One helicopter on Monday night

The President was relaxing on a trip to the Floridian, an exclusive club along Florida’s Treasure Coast. Obama arrived in Florida late on Friday and returned to Washington on Monday night

The club’s owner is Jim Crane, a Houston businessman who also owns baseball’s Houston Astros. Crane also has given money to Obama’s political campaigns.

The White House had barred media coverage of the president’s golf holiday but released the names of his partners.

The Huffington Post reports that the President tried to make amends with the traveling press by spending a quick 10 to 15 minutes with them in the back of Air Force One as they headed back to D.C.

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Proving that he was not dropping the secrecy act anytime soon, all of the reporters involved had to agree that the conversation was off the record, meaning that they could not officially report anything that he said and had to keep their reflections of the conversation in extremely vague terms.

‘He didn’t come back because he had to tell us something. He came back to hang out,’ reporter Scott Wilson from The Washington Post, who was serving as the pool reporter on Monday.

The weekend is the latest in a string of incidents that have prompted press backlash against the self-titled ‘transparent’ President, with Politico reporting today that withholding access is just one of the ways in which his administration works to avoid the tough questions and promote their brand.

The outrage over the lack of transparency comes as much of the bill for the pricey trip will be paid for by tax payers, yet President Obama did not feel it appropriate to even release one photo of his time out on the course.

The President played with the notorious philanderer on Sunday after getting a private lesson from Woods’ former coach the day before.

On the course: CNN was the only network to air footage of President Obama during one of his golf outings, but it does not appear to be the time that he played with Tiger Woods

Using his lessons: President Obama spent three days in Florida over the long weekend and was only seen on Monday

One last round: President Obama (seen in the white cap) played an estimated five or six rounds in three days

However the only inside reports about the rounds came from a golf journalist who happened to be in the clubhouse at the time.

‘Speaking on behalf of the White House Correspondents Association, I can say a broad cross section of our members from print, radio, online and TV have today expressed extreme frustration to me about having absolutely no access to the President of the United States this entire weekend,’ Fox News reporter Ed Henry said.

‘There is a very simple but important principle we will continue to fight for today and in the days ahead: transparency.’

The President’s deputy press secretary Josh Earnest responded to the pool’s concerns by simply saying that they were previously told about the level of access- or lack thereof- that they should expect from the weekend.

No photos: Though he has been pictured on other trips- like this one in Hawaii in 2009- the President denied any press access during his round of golf with Tiger Woods over the weekend

Meeting again: President Obama invited Tiger Woods to the White House in 2009 (pictured) and now the President is traveling to Woods’ neighborhood by going to Florida for the weekend

‘The press access granted by the White House today is entirely consistent with the press access offered for previous presidential golf outings,’ Mr Earnest said to Politico.

In spite of his claims, the President has been pictured during a number of his other rounds of golf, including during his trips to Hawaii over Christmas and Martha’s Vineyard in previous summers.

The trip was far from a little getaway, as he made his way to the golf course by way of Chicago on Friday and that is when the costs started piling up.

ABC News reported that in 2012, it cost $179,750 per flight hour to run Air Force One.

Going off that rate- even though it is likely higher now since gas prices have risen- the cost of the flights to Florida and back to Washington on Monday totaled $943,687.50.

Picturesque: President Obama never left the grounds of the Floridian golf course during his three-night stay

Luxurious: Obama’s entourage rented out all three of the four-bedroom cottages on the grounds of the club

HOW MUCH IT COSTS FOR A PRESIDENTIAL BOYS WEEKEND

$943,687.50: estimated cost of a trip for Air Force One from Chicago to West Palm Beach and then back to Washington, D.C.

$13,500: Cost to rent out three four-bedroom guest cottages at The Floridian for three nights

$24,000: Cost of an eight-hour private golf lesson with famed instructor Butch Harmon

$1,800: Greens fees for three guests for two rounds of golf

$1,600: Cost of four caddies for two rounds of golf

$4,620: Cost of 20 rooms at the Port St. Lucie Holiday Inn for traveling press and security detail based on the government per-diem rate

TOTAL: $989,207

He rented out all three of the four-bedroom guest cottages on the grounds of The Floridian for the whole of the long weekend, as well about 20 hotel rooms from the nearby Holiday Inn- which is about 20 minutes drive from the course- for his traveling entourage of press and security.

Expectantly, their price differentials are significant, as one night in a guest cottage costs $1,500 while the Holiday Inn told MailOnline that they charged the government per-diem rate of $77 per room.

On top of the logistical expenses, the whole point of the trip was to relax on the golf course, which involves a whole host of expenses in itself.

Guest greens fees at The Floridian are $300 per person, and each player hires a caddy who costs $200 per round.

For three guests to play two rounds of golf over the weekend, greens fees come to $1,800 and the caddies fees for the foursome total $1,600.

Relaxation: The President’s press team said that they did not need to allow journalists on to the grounds because it was a personal vacation and that Mr Obama was not conducting any formal political events during the trip

Options: Since he did not leave the grounds, Mr Obama undoubtedly ate in the course’s gourmet dining room

Expensive: All told, the trip is thought to have cost close to $1million

The Floridian also features a gourmet dining room, full service spa and a marina with 68 boat slips so members can arrange to go on fishing outings during their stay. Because the press were banned from getting past the maintenance shed outside of the gates of the club, it is not known whether the President indulged in any of those amenities.

The golf club’s rules stipulate that all expenses incurred by guests are paid for by their member counter part. In this case, that means that the club’s owner Jim Crane- who is also a Democratic donor- likely paid for all of the charges and is being reimbursed either in full or part.

Another personal expense that Mr Obama racked up came from the eight hour one-on-one lesson with golf pro Mr Harmon. Since those lessons typically cost $3,000, that means that Mr Obama’s bill came to a tidy $24,000 after his intensive session on Saturday.

During his stay, the President never left the grounds of the golf club, meaning that his transportation and security costs were kept to a minimum. A spokesman for the nearby police department said that they had not been asked by the Secret Service to provide any additional security.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2280855/Obama-pictured-leaving-1m-golfing-weekend-Tiger-Woods-imposed-controversial-photo-black-out.html#ixzz2LMjGfcUJ