New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is not one to shirk on his football duties. But there are exceptions to every rule. And when President George H.W. Bush called to invite Brady to play golf with him and President Bill Clinton, Brady was happy to miss an offseason OTA practice to make it happen.
All he needed to do was get permission from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick first.
In an appearance on WEEI’s “Mut & Callahan” radio show on Monday, Brady told the story of the presidential golf outing that took place back in 2006, which has taken on greater meaning since Bush’s death last Friday at the age of 94.
In the summer, Brady received an invitation to visit Bush at his family’s compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. The offer included a round of golf with not only Bush, but his White House successor President Bill Clinton, as well as sportscaster Jim Nantz.
Fortunately for Brady, Belichick allowed his prized QB to skip the scheduled practice, and instead create a memory that will last a lifetime.
“It was during the OTAs and I asked coach Belichick if I could go and he allowed me to miss a day of practice. I flew up there and landed on their property and played golf with President Clinton and President Bush and Jim Nantz, who’s a good friend of President Bush’s,” Brady said on the Mut & Callahan show. “He had a putting green right outside of his house and we went out on his boat. He was kind of captaining the boat and then had a chance to get dinner with President Clinton and President Bush. We played golf the next day. It was just a great experience.”
As for how well their games looked, Brady implied that retirement had not been kind on the two presidents’ swings.
“There was a lot of balls flying all over the place. It was so funny. It was just comical.”
