Obama and Golfing - Is It A Subconcious Return to the Kenyan Veldt?

Non-Burrowing Animals on the 13th Hole

 Many people have commented on the amount of golfing done by Obama. I think it is a attempt by Obama to return to the open grasslands of the Kenya he grew up in. Soooo, just what is a "Veldt"??? Wiki says:

The term Veld (sometimes Veldt) refers primarily (but not exclusively) to the wide open rural spaces of South Africa or southern Africa and in particular to certain flatter areas or districts covered in grass or low scrub. The word veld comes from the Afrikaans (ultimately from Dutch), literally meaning 'field'.

However, this simple translation does not convey the subtleties of the many idiomatic nuances of the term. Veld can be compared to the Australian terms "outback" or "bush," to "the prairie" of North America, or to the "pampas" of South America but the comparisons are not exact. A Yorkshireman might equate "wandering across the moors" to "walking through the veld."


By extension, the veld can be compared to 'the boondocks' or those places 'beyond the black stump' in Australia. There is a sense in which it refers in essence to unimproved land (and is therefore not the equivalent of the English "paddock") but in other senses the veld can include areas used both for pastoral activities and the planting of crops. The word is less appropriate for land that is heavily forested, mountainous, or urban. (On the other hand, a carefully-husbanded sports field on which the game of Rugby is played in the middle of cities such as Cape Town or Johannesburg is referred to as a "rugbyveld").

Whereas mountainous peaks and forests are not really welcome on the veld, bushes are acceptable. The area then becomes "bosveld." There are minor examples of bosveld here and there but the term is used mainly to describe Die Bosveld ("The Bushveld"), which is both a loose botanical classification and a specific geographical part of what used to be known as the Transvaal (see, for example, Jock of the Bushveld).

Now, does this describe a golf course or does it not??? And as Keith Koffler says:

Obama Has Shot 41 Rounds of Golf as President

by Keith Koffler on July 16, 2010, 3:30 pm

President Barack Obama has played a remarkable 41 rounds of golf since becoming president, easily outpacing his predecessor and possibly damaging his ability to portray himself in 2012 as a populist advocate of average folks.

With the excursions lasting on average at least five hours, the president has devoted a total of more than 200 hours to golf, not counting time spent on the White House putting green. That’s the equivalent of twenty five eight-hour work days, or five work weeks spent smacking golf balls.

Obama and Golf

Plus, since "Google is my friend" I wanted to make sure Kenya has Veldts. THEY DO!!! Here is a review of Mogambo, a movie in 1953, which says:

The hunted returns with the hunter—or Miss Gardner brings back Mr. Gable's head. That is an observation that is meant to be taken two ways: Miss Gardner gets the best of the long-drawn bargain and she easily steals the show. As an international play girl who lands on a big-game hunter's ranch in the Kenya veld and systematically goes about the business of bagging this lordly human specimen as her man.

The review can be found here:

1953 Review of Mogambo

I have never seen this movie, or even heard of it, but it looks good. I am curious what this means in the review:

"Miss Gardner, as we say, is as enticing as any calculated vampire can be. One scene in which she plays cozy with a pigmy elephant might have been left out, in the interest of good taste."

This looks pretty interesting if it has Veldts, vampires, and pygmy elephants!!!

Soooo, once again, you can take the President out of the Veldt, but you can't take the Veldt out of a President.

Squeeky
Girl Reporter