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Gary Cameron/Reuters President Obama, playing in Hawaii last week, received national attention for his game in October when Michael Jordan, asked about his ideal foursome, said it would not include Mr. Obama because hes a hack, man.

HONOLULU President Obamas drives were consistently short. It often took him one shot too many to get his ball on the green. And when he finally took out his putter, he struggled with his touch.

He got around the golf course the way my uncle used to, said one golfer, describing the round that he played with the president a few years ago. He didnt have a picture-perfect swing.

Six years into his presidency, there seems to be almost nothing the nation does not know about Mr. Obama, ranging from his views on the use of drones to target terrorists to how his daughters have less interest in hanging out with him as they become teenagers.

But little is known about the state of his game and what he is like on the golf course, where he has spent roughly 1,000 hours playing 214 rounds since he was elected in 2008, according to Mark Knoller, a CBS correspondent who has kept track of the presidents schedule.

Unlike President Bill Clinton, who would have his press secretary announce his best scores, the White House reveals only when and with whom Mr. Obama plays, and officials there declined to comment for this article. The news media is only occasionally allowed to see him with a club in his hands. During one of the presidents rounds on his vacation in Hawaii over the past two weeks, photographers were invited to watch as Mr. Obama and the prime minister of Malaysia three-putted the 18th green.

Few golfers who have played with Mr. Obama have spoken publicly about his game, but interviews with three people who have played with him, hints he has dropped, and videos of his left-handed swing analyzed by golf professionals begin to provide a portrait of his demeanor and skill.

He needles you in the best sense of the word, said one of the three golfers who have played with him, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to be identified as criticizing the president, and because he hoped to be asked to play with him again. He makes a bad shot, and he makes fun of himself. You make a bad shot, and he makes a joke with you. He just seems happy to be out there, so the poor play doesnt bother him.

Although Mr. Clinton routinely gave himself presidential pardons for mulligans and gimmes, Mr. Obama is known as a stickler for the rules, the golfers who have played with him said.

Mr. Obama counts all of his strokes and does not like to talk about politics. He has played for money. And, no, he does not make the Secret Service look for his errant shots. (They are pretty far back, one player said. They give him his space.)

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