Q: We know President Barack Obama has developed quite an interest in golf. Can you tell us his handicap?
—Craig Murchland, Decatur
A: Obama has a handicap of 18, Don Van Natta Jr., author of "First Off the Tee: Presidential Hackers, Duffers, and Cheaters from Taft to Bush," told the New York Times last year. "He strives to be a bogey-a-hole golfer. … That's still pretty respectable," Natta said.
Marvin Nicholson, the White House travel director who frequently plays with Obama, told Natta in 2009 that Obama “usually shoots in the mid 90s, sometimes in the low 90s.” “He’d be better if he could play more,” Nicholson said in the Golf Digest article.
Last August, Obama told the Times: “Had an 80 last week,” before adding that he had a “15-foot putt for 79. I was feeling pretty good. I missed it by about that much.” Obama had “spent roughly 1,000 hours playing 214 rounds since he was elected in 2008,” through the first of this year, the Times reported.
Q: What happened to Rocsi Diaz? She was a reporter on “Entertainment Tonight.” I haven’t seen her in quite a while.
—Jerome Bernhardt, Marietta
A: Diaz recently was hired as a reporter/correspondent for HLN's "The Daily Share," which airs noon-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. She is based in Los Angeles and contributed to CNN's Oscars coverage. Diaz was "Entertainment Tonight's weekend co-host and daily correspondent for two years until leaving the show in January. Her HLN bio is here: hlntv.com/talent/bio/rocsi-diaz.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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