Obama to join Maryland country club

Former President Obama has accepted an invitation to join one of the oldest country clubs in the United States, according to a new report.

The Washingtonian reported Friday that Obama is joining the Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md. It’s the second club Obama has joined since leaving office.

The club was founded in 1898 and opened its first golf course in 1911. Obama is the first president to join, but other past members include two five-star generals, Omar Bradley and Hap Arnold, according to the club’s Facebook page.

“Following careful deliberation, the Board of Governors voted to extend an invitation for Honorary Membership to former President of the United States Barack Obama,” the club’s announcement to members reads. “We have received official word from Mr. Obama of his acceptance of our invitation.”

{mosads}

According to the Washingtonian, Obama has golfed at this club before with ESPN personalities Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon.

“I think most members will welcome him,” one member told the Washingtonian. “Columbia, in a sense, is in competition with the Chevy Chase Club, which is just down Connecticut Avenue, and so I suppose there [are] some bragging rights.”

Obama previously was invited to join Woodmont, a predominantly Jewish country club in the state, but controversy erupted when members expressed outrage due to the former president’s stance on Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory. It was unclear if Obama ever accepted the invitation. 

In May, Obama joined the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va.

The letter from the board concludes by asking the club’s members to extend Obama a “Warm Columbia Welcome.”

“The Board looks forward to the addition of Mr. Obama and his family to our wonderful and very special membership,” their letter to members concludes, “and encourage everyone to provide them with our traditional and time-honored ‘Warm Columbia Welcome.’”