John Yarmuth began his career on Capitol Hill in 1971, working on the staff of a U.S. senator from his home state of Kentucky. By now, as a seventh-term congressman from Louisville, it’s safe to say he’ll finish his career on the Hill, too. Along the way, he picked up the distinction of being the best golfer among congressional Democrats.
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LYING FOUR: I don’t know if you’ve ever googled “John Yarmuth golf,” but one of the first things that comes up is a story about you taking three dollars off President Obama.
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: I’m actually looking at it right now, those three dollars. They’re framed on my wall. This was back in 2015, and the funny thing was every time I saw the president from the time he was president until we actually played, he mentioned golf to me. He just had that association. He’d say, “Hey, we need to play, we need to play.” And I’d say, you know, “I’m available.” This went on for six years. And so finally, the game came together. And it was Ed Perlmutter from Colorado, Joe Courtney from Connecticut, and the president and I. We played out at Andrews [Air Force Base], and it was by far the greatest day that I’ve ever spent on a golf course playing. It was just a true joy. He was so phenomenally interesting to be with. I was not his partner, but I was riding in the cart with him. So basically, you get to spend four hours with the president of the United States in a cart — it’s a special day. But I never for one instance thought that he was thinking about anything else but golf. He was totally engaged in the game. He was very attentive — I mean, he knew where everybody’s shot had gone. He trash-talked the whole time, which was funny. And we ended up getting to the last hole. I was partners with Perlmutter, and we had been down most of the day. We came back, and we got to the last hole. It’s a par 5, and we were on the green. And the situation was that I had about an 11- or 12-foot putt, Obama had a putt about a foot and a half inside mine on the exact same line. And then Perlmutter was out of the hole, and Courtney was like five feet to the left of the hole. And in order for us not to lose, I had to make and they both had to miss. So, I drained mine, the president ran his just over the edge, and Courtney — who kinda had the yips back then — didn’t even come close on his. So we ended up winning the three dollars. The best part of the story is that there were a lot of servicemen and women watching us finish, so the president went over to greet them — which was perfectly what he should have done. So we didn’t settle the bet on the green. Two days later, I got a hand-delivered envelope and a White House card with a handwritten note: “John, I really enjoyed our game, and I always pay my golfing bets. Barack.” And with three dollars in it. That’s framed with two pictures from the round and the scorecard, which he also signed.
LYING FOUR: That’s awesome.
Rep. John Yarmuth and his golf partner at Andrews Air Force Base in 2015. (Photo credit: Obama White House)
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: Yeah. It was a very special day. The only time we talked any business, I actually brought it up. But it was the day after he and his family had seen “Hamilton” in New York, and he just went on and on a lot of the day, talking about “Hamilton” and how great it was.
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LYING FOUR: Have you played with the current president?
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: No, and I really don’t have any interest in playing with him. A reporter from the New York Times was doing a story on golf and politics, and I don’t think it ever ran. This has been well over a year ago. And he asked me the same question. I didn’t want to say, “Hell no I don’t want to play with the president,” so I just said, “No, I had the privilege of playing with President Obama, and it was an absolutely perfect day of golf, and I wouldn't want to risk diluting it with any other president.” So anyway, no, I have no interest in playing with Trump.
LYING FOUR: I read somewhere that you’re a member of his club in Ireland. Have you played much over there?
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: Oh yeah. I joined that club basically when it opened, in 2003 or ‘04, before I ever ran for Congress. I never was even dreaming about running for Congress at that point. And I played a lot. I went over there several times a year, because I had friends in Lahinch, which is about half an hour north of there. So I’d stay in Lahinch before they had accommodations down in Doonbeg. And I won the club championship there in ‘05. So now I get there once a year. My wife and I are going to go back July 4th week, because the Irish Open is going to be at Lahinch this year.
LYING FOUR: What are some of your favorite courses over there?
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: Well, since they redid Lahinch, I would say my top two favorites — well, let me do three. So…Lahinch, Portrush — where they’re playing the British Open this year — and Royal County Down.
LYING FOUR: What do you think about Portrush as a venue for the Open?
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: I think it’s going to be marvelous. It’s just a great golf course. There’s plenty of room for spectators to see. I think it’s going to be a great test.
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LYING FOUR: Where do you like to play when you’re around D.C.?
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: I would say that my favorite course is probably Columbia. We play the Congressional Ryder Cup there, where Republicans and Democrats compete once a year in the Ryder Cup format. I really love that course. It was opened in 1898, hosted the 1921 U.S. Open. It’s not overly long, but it’s got small, lightning-fast greens. Very much an old-style golf course but great to play.
LYING FOUR: Who do you play with when you play in D.C.?
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: Normally the only time I play in D.C. is an event like that, a charity event, where I play with whoever I’m paired with. There is a group of about a half-dozen of us who sometimes go over to Langston and play in the morning. Do you know the story of Langston?
LYING FOUR: I do.
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: In the summer, we sometimes go out there at 6:30. We get out first and play nine holes so we can be in the office by 9. It’s Jim Clyburn, Courtney, Perlmutter, Matt Cartwright — Albio Sires sometimes goes. I may be missing another one. So that’s fun.
LYING FOUR: I read that it looks like the Parks Service is getting serious about renovating that and the other municipal courses up there.
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: We’ve said forever that if we ever got the majority, we would make sure that happened. Because yeah, it’s been neglected. So is Rock Creek Park, which is such a beautiful piece of property, and the golf course is just in horrid condition. So I’m glad to hear they’re doing that, if that’s the truth.
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LYING FOUR: How did you get into golf? I read that you were still a plus handicap a few years ago. Nobody gets into golf in their 30s and turns into a plus handicap.
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: I started playing when I was eight. I grew up across the street from the ninth hole at a course called Seneca, which is a municipal course here. I used to sneak across the street and play the eighth and ninth holes and look for golf balls in the back yards of the people across the street, because that’s where people sliced it out of bounds. I used to find plenty of balls. Then my parents joined a club, and I played up there. Neither of my parents played golf. I just had fun across the street, and then we got to the country club, and we’d go out there on the weekends. And I hated to swim, so I figured I’d better concentrate on golf because that’s what I’d be doing instead of swimming. I’ve played it ever since. I’m 71. A long time.
LYING FOUR: And how’s your game now? What do you do well, and what do you try to work on?
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: Right now, I’m trying to adjust 60 years of muscle memory with a 71-year-old body. That’s really a challenge, because I’m used to swinging at one speed. I swung at one speed for a long time, and now my body just won’t accommodate that. So it’s basically trying to find a good mixture of swing speed and balance. That’s been a real hard adjustment for me. I still drive the ball pretty well, but not as long as I used to. My short game and putting are still pretty good. My iron game and fairway woods, I have a tendency — and again, I think this is because of my body — to raise up on the downswing, and I just have a hard time hitting balls off the ground solidly. I hit a lot of thin shots and a lot of shots that are kind of clanky. That’s what I’m working on now — just trying to figure out how to stay down and hit down through the ball.
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LYING FOUR: Do you watch much PGA Tour golf?
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: Yeah, I do. I’m a huge Golf Channel fan. When I feel that I have to get away from cable news, which I watch far too much of, that’s my release. Some people watch the Hallmark Channel these days. I go to the Golf Channel. I watch a fair amount, particularly on weekends. During the week, I don’t get much of a chance to.
LYING FOUR: Who do you root for?
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: My two favorite players — Rory is the one I like watching the most. He’s got an amazing swing. I got to watch him on the range close up — they were here at Valhalla when he won in 2014. He’s just amazing to watch hit golf balls. And then of course I root for Justin Thomas, because he’s from here, and we’ve watched him since he was five or six years old.
LYING FOUR: That’s got to be amazing, to see somebody at that age who you know has something special and then see it work out, because there are so many kids with talent but whose lives don’t take the path that his life took.
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: It is. It really has surprised me that he didn’t burn out, just because he’s been at it so long. It’s been the single focus of his life. He’s played competitively since that really young age. I give a lot of credit to his parents. Mike, his dad, is just a phenomenal guy. I knew him long before Justin was born. He and Jani have handled Justin really well. We played once. My son is a really good player, he’s a plus handicap. When he was 22, he played in the Kentucky Open, and Justin had qualified as a 12-year-old. The two of them were paired together, so I was caddying for my son, and Mike was caddying for Justin. And we were playing a man’s golf course. It was a 7,000-yard golf course. And Justin couldn’t hit it anywhere. I would say 200 yards was his maximum drive. But to watch the way he managed his game, managed the course and his short game, I think that round he shot maybe 82, which was a phenomenal round for a 12-year-old playing that long a golf course. He’s always been extremely impressive. Of course, now he’s found a lot of distance.
LYING FOUR: Yeah, he’s not hitting it 200 anymore.
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: I remember hearing Mike tell a story about how, when he would play junior golf, Jani would take him, and he’d call home to report on the round, and Mike would ask him, “What’s the number?” And the “number” was the number of par 4s that he was capable of reaching in two. And this was in high school. I think it was not until college that he really found the length. So anyway, we root for him because he’s a great young man with a great family. I root for J.B. Holmes too, because my son grew up playing with J.B.
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LYING FOUR: I was going to ask you who you’ve got in the Masters. You could do a lot worse than Rory and JT., but J.B. Holmes has won this year too. Those would all be three pretty good picks.
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: That’s right, absolutely.
LYING FOUR: Have you been there, to watch the Masters?
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: I was there once. I got to the Masters — it was one of the years that Nick Faldo won, so ‘90 or ‘91, he won somewhere back then. And I was there on Thursday and Friday. And then I got to play there maybe five years ago.
LYING FOUR: How was that?
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: It was a weird experience. My son asked me, “Was it really freaky standing up on the 12th tee and hitting that shot?” And I said no. It was like I’d been there a thousand times. I’ve been watching the Masters for 50 years or more. Every shot into every green looked so familiar. Now the views from the tee, you don’t get the same sense. But it was very familiar to me. That was what was interesting. It was a great experience. Actually, we stayed in the cabins there. and we ate in the clubhouse, and we went up in the Crow’s Nest, and we went to the wine cellar, and we did all that stuff — and that, to me, was a more important part of the experience than actually playing. The history there was phenomenal. There’s a book that I would was four or five inches thick that’s full of letters back and forth from Clifford Roberts to President Eisenhower. One was after the ‘54 midterms, and Roberts wrote, “Mr. President, we didn’t do too good in the midterms. We’ve gotta sit down and think about what went wrong.” It was fascinating. And to go to the wine cellar and see — there’s still wooden shelves down there, and there are two shelves with “D.D.E.” written on them in pencil. So those are Dwight David Eisenhower’s shelves. To me, that was just very cool.
LYING FOUR: That’s awesome.
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: Yeah. It’s not my favorite course in the country.
LYING FOUR: What would you say is your favorite course?
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: I love Olympic Club. And I know a lot of people don’t. They’ve taken a lot of trees out, and it’s not quite the same course it was, but I still love Olympic Club. I love National Golf Links. And I went to Yale, and I love the Yale Golf Course too. But two or three years ago, my son and I got to play Cypress. And we both walked off that course and said, “This is it.” Cypress is definitely my favorite course. My son shot 72 and played it all the way back. It’s not long, but he played it all the way back. And on 15 and 16, he went 2-2. Our caddie said that he’d been there 25 years and that there were only three people that he knew who had done that before, and one was Faldo. That was pretty special. He hit a hybrid to about six or seven feet on 16 and made it.
LYING FOUR: You’ve got to take a pretty aggressive line on that hole to get it that close.
REP. JOHN YARMUTH: Oh yeah, absolutely. I went 3-3 there and was really happy. I got it up and down out of the ice plant left of the green on 16 for par, so I was pretty happy about that.