News & Politics

Obama and Tillerson Join Army Navy Country Club

In this photo from 2009, Obama gets ready to play the 18th hole at the Army Navy Country Club. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

It looks like President Obama has become a member of not two but three country clubs in the area.

The 44th president accepted an invitation in May to join Army Navy Country Club, according to a current member. He was an honorary member throughout his two terms–“all presidents are granted membership during their presidency,” the member tells us–and paid the initiation fee of roughly $75,000 to join as a citizen. That Obama forked over the fee is a departure from his memberships at Columbia Country Club, first reported by Washingtonian, and Robert Trent Jones—he’s considered an honorary member at both, responsible only for annual dues.

Obama’s membership card, obtained by Washingtonian, lists a primary address, phone number, and email address for his personal accountant, Michael Solheim, of Wineberg, Solheim, Howell, & Shain PC in Chicago.

Obama isn’t the only luminary golfing at Army Navy these days: our source tells us that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson joined this summer as well. The source says Tillerson is “approachable” and “personable” and adds that both men have been on tee sheets in the last month, with Obama last playing on October 3. “He is polite and talkative,” the member says of the former president. “He is happy to interact with anyone that would like to talk and walks through the locker room as any member would.”

Spokespersons for Army Navy, Obama, and Tillerson did not return requests for comment.

Staff Writer

Elaina Plott joined Washingtonian in June 2016 as a staff writer. She has written about her past life as an Ann Coulter fangirl, how the Obamas changed Washington, and the rise and fall of Roll Call. She previously covered Congress for National Review. Her writing has appeared in the New York Observer, GQ, and Harper’s Bazaar.