Looking relaxed, and not a day over sixty, Barrack Obama joked with DailyMail.com, ‘Just make sure you get a good picture of me!’ as he enjoyed a round of golf, Thursday afternoon.
Seen for the first time since he turned sixty Wednesday, these exclusive pictures and video show the former president enjoying a round of golf near his home in Martha’s Vineyard.
The former president emerged from the family’s $12million estate shortly after noon. Making the most of a break in the weather after a rainy start to the day he took to the greens of Farm Neck Club on the edges of the town of Oak Bluffs.
Obama joined the club which boasts that it is ‘fully organic,’ with ground keepers using no chemicals or pesticides, in 2016.
The course also encourages caddies not carts and the president and his three companions towed the line and walked the course.
Obama was seen for the first time since he turned sixty Wednesday in these exclusive pictures and video showing the former president enjoying a round of golf near his home in Martha’s Vineyard
The former president emerged from the family’s $12million estate shortly after noon. Making the most of a break in the weather after a rainy start to the day he took to the greens of Farm Neck Club on the edges of the town of Oak Bluffs
The smiling former president was dressed in mottled navy polo shirt and navy slacks, Obama wore a silver trimmed navy baseball cap
The cap appeared to be a light-hearted birthday gift and bore the numbers 44 and 60 - a nod to his presidency and age
Obama joined the club which boasts that it is ‘fully organic,’ with ground keepers using no chemicals or pesticides, in 2016
Membership costs $12,000 a year on top of a $350,000 initiation fee and is currently at full capacity with 305 members.
Dressed in mottled navy polo shirt and navy slacks, Obama wore a silver trimmed navy baseball cap that appeared to be a light-hearted birthday gift and bore the numbers 44 and 60 - a nod to his presidency and age.
The former president cut a svelte and casual figure as he spent the afternoon with friends.
Secret Service looked on from the course perimeter and former White House photographer Pete Souza was there on the course to memorialize the day as the man who clocked up more than 300 rounds as president indulged his passion for the game across five hours of play.
Meanwhile preparations continue for a scaled back birthday bash this weekend at the family’s waterfront property where the former president was to have hosted 500 friends, donors, former administration members, family and celebrities.
The Obamas were forced to drastically cut the guest list trimming it down to just ‘family and close friends,’ following a surge in the Covid 19 Delta variant that saw the planned party draw criticism from many quarters.
Yesterday DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that preparations were under way with equipment for tents and catering arriving at the top of the private road that runs down to the family’s estate overlooking the Vineyard’s Great Pond.
Today DailyMail.com has learned that the event is being planned and organized by KG Events & Design – a local company run by Massachusetts born sisters Kristen and Meghan Gosselin.
It is a dream role for Kristen who, when asked who she admired in an interview with local glossy ‘My Living Magazine’ a couple of years ago Kristen replied, ‘I mean, I loved Michelle Obama, everything about who she is is remarkable she’s an amazing woman.’
News that the party was being scaled down has been met with a mixed response in the island’s string of small towns including Oak Bluffs, Edgartown and Tisbury (also known as Vineyard Havens) and Chilmark.
President Obama is seen golfing, with three other golfers and secret service close by, just a day after his 60th birthday at the Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs, MA, on Martha's Vineyard.
The former president was with three other golfers and secret service close by, just a day after his 60th birthday at the Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard.
Obama's personal photographer from the White House - Pete Souza - followed him around the course.
One Chilmark resident told DailyMail.com, ‘I know a lot of people were counting on the income from all the people flooding in and they’re disappointed. But to be honest the place is still busy and there’s also a lot of people who won’t miss the traffic.’
They added, ‘We have a local fair coming up and I’m more worried about whether that’s going to happen than Obama’s party. People here are used to them and we’re excited but it’s not top of my list of concerns.’
Hotels across all of the towns reported cancellations the morning after the former president, who had initially appeared resolute in his determination to forge ahead with the party that a spokesperson insisted abided by all CDC recommendations, announced his change of heart.
But rooms on the island on Saturday night remained as rare as hen’s teeth in a season that has been historically busy and DailyMail.com was told that part of the reason is that many of the most wealthy would-be attendees had opted to rent houses rather than stay in hotels.
According to one, ‘The island is always full of celebrities and it still is but you won’t see them out and about. They come here to fly under the radar.
‘Sometimes you’ll see the Obamas popping in somewhere for dinner and there will be a little, “Oh!” of excitement but then they just get on with their meal and people here leave them alone.
‘There’s really been the same attitude to this big party. Or is it a small party now? I’ve lost track.
Barack Obama scaled back his 500-person 60th birthday party this upcoming weekend to a low key celebration with close friends and family. The former president poses with (from left) wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia on Thanksgiving Day on November 27, 2019
DailyMail.com was there to witness a cavalcade of catering trucks rolling into the former president's vast Martha's Vineyard estate on Tuesday as preparations for his birthday party began.
The exclusive images and video give the first glimpse of preparations for what will now be a scaled back version of the party that had once been set for 500 guests but will now be a smaller but no less glitzy affair for family and friends.
The island towns of Edgartown, Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs - all places where the Obamas have been spotted during their stays on Martha's Vineyard - are already abuzz with anticipation of the arrival of guests.
The original party invites included Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and George Clooney but it is not clear who, if any, of those have made the final cut.
Exclusive DailyMail.com photos offered a first glimpse of party preparations for Obama's 60th birthday celebration at his Martha's Vineyard estate
A cavalcade of catering trucks were seen rolling into the former president's vast Martha's Vineyard estate Tuesday ahead of this weekend's party
The party will be held outside the Obamas' 7,000-square-foot home in Edgarton he and former first lady Michelle bought in 2019 for nearly $12 million (pictured)
The streamlined guest list will be hosted to an event under the canopy of local firm Big Sky Tents and Party Rentals.
Three large Big Sky trucks emerged from the long private sandy road leading to the Obamas' $12million property late yesterday afternoon.
The local company run by a husband and wife team boasts of offering 'style and elegance' to any outdoor event and has been featured in the pages of Martha Stewart Weddings.
They provide Sperry Tents - open sided tents made out of sailcloth with nautical touches in keeping with the New England locale including wooden support poles to waving pennant flags.
The company which was born out of owners Jim and Ann-Marie Eddy's own wedding planning more than two decades ago offers personalized consultations and a 'unique inventory' of tables, chairs, china, crystal, linen and silver in their Edgartown showroom.
Shortly after their trucks emerged a catering truck bearing Nancy's Restaurant logo turned in.
Nancy's in Oak Bluffs is a firm favorite for the Obamas who have been spotted getting take-out from the family eatery that provides seafood classics and frozen cocktails and whose menu is heavily influence by Middle Eastern cuisine.
It seems the former president and his guests will be treated to delicious cuisine from his favorite seafood restaurant after a catering truck bearing Nancy's Restaurant logo was seen pulling up to the home Tuesday
Guests will be hosted under a canopy provided by Big Sky Tents and Party Rentals. Three large Big Sky trucks were seen emerging from the long private road leading to the Obamas' $12million property
A Secret Service motorcade was also on site Tuesday as party preparations were underway
Guests at Obama's 60th can expect to enjoy all the fresh shellfish and seafood the Vineyard can offer in a menu that may well include Nancy's famous gyro plates, grape leaves and falafels.
Neighbors at Obama's property overlooking Great Pond are protective of the celebrity family in their midst and some are clearly put on edge by the prospect of a further
