



Former President George W. Bush said President Obama should not be criticized over his frequent golf outings.

Bush, who himself was criticized for his golfing as president, called the rounds "important for the president."

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"I see our president criticized for playing golf. I don't. I think he ought to play golf," Bush told "In Play with Jimmy Roberts."

Bush said he knew what it was like "to be in the bubble" and saw getting off the White House grounds as an important way for the president to clear his head.

"I know the pressures of the job," Bush said. "And to be able to get outside and play golf with some of your pals is important for the president. It does give you an outlet."

"I think it's good for the president to be out playing golf," he added.

Bush was an avid golfer through the beginning of his first term but suspended the outings in 2003 after a truck bomb in Baghdad killed U.N. special representative Sérgio Vieira de Mello and more than a dozen others. Bush received news of the attack while on the golf course.

Obama has played more than 140 rounds of golf during his presidency, according to USA Today.