Hawai'i golfers have been playing with royalty recently.

First, Parker McLachlin played pickup basketball with Barack Obama at Punahou while the President-elect was here on vacation. Obama is a 1979 Punahou graduate, and his basketball coach was Parker's father, Chris.

Parker and brother Spencer, along with an onsite doctor, watched the 10 original players the first two games, then came in for the third game. Parker and Obama guarded each other.

"I felt like my defense was pretty good," said McLachlin, who hadn't played a pickup game in two years. "He averaged maybe four baskets in the first two games and only scored one against me."

Obama did get off some extra shots. McLachlin did not have basketball shoes, encouraging the President-elect to jokingly ask his father, "Coach, what's he doing? Can't you afford to buy your son some hightop basketball shoes?" Obama followed that up with "I can understand — he's just a golfer."

Parker has been sporting an "Obama Kailua" T-shirt, given to him by golfer Scott Simpson, a former Kailua resident. "I'm probably one of the few golfers who voted for him," Parker said. "Golfers are so conservative."

On New Year's Eve, Turtle Bay Director of Golf Matt Hall golfed with the King of Malaysia, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin. The 45-year-old King of the world's only rotating monarchy is a world-class endurance horse racer. He told Hall his best golf score was 70 and he plays to a 12-handicap.

A brigadier general called to set up the game because Abidin wanted to see the (Palmer) course where the LPGA's SBS Open at Turtle Bay is played. His brother and a consulate member also played. They were accompanied by three security guards, one doubling as a caddie.

"It's the first time I've seen a caddie with a firearm," Hall said.