Why all the golf? The security and “bubble” issues of the modern presidency, Obama explains:

The president said he loves his life in the White House but doesn’t enjoy some of the ways of Washington, such as the “kabuki dance” among political partisans before serious policy discussions begin. He also regrets his loss of personal privacy.
“I just miss – I miss being anonymous,” he said at the meeting in the White House. “I miss Saturday morning, rolling out of bed, not shaving, getting into my car with my girls, driving to the supermarket, squeezing the fruit, getting my car washed, taking walks. I can’t take a walk.”
He says he enjoys golf but is not the fanatic that some have portrayed.
“It’s the only excuse I have to get outside for four hours at a stretch,” he said.
His impossible dream: “I just want to go through Central Park (in New York) and watch folks passing by … spend the day watching people. I miss that.”

Well, Mr. President, I tried to prevent you from having to deal with this. And I’ll do my part to give you less prominence and more free time starting in January 2013.

The experience of the modern presidency is one unlike almost any other life on earth. Think about it – while he’s sleeping, I presume some Secret Service agent is just outside his room, listening; presumably the Obamas are monitored in some form, in case, heaven forbid, Obama has some health issue while he’s sleeping. He awakens, and there are people around him – staffers – every single minute. Even when he’s alone in the Oval Office, which is probably rare, there’s someone just outside. There is no “ordinary” interaction with anyone. Going out for a meal requires meticulous planning and massive security preparations. Going to visit his daughters’ school requires a motorcade.

On the other hand, he spent two years and spent half a billion dollars asking for this job. He is free from financial worries. He never has to worry about traffic. His travel budget is almost unlimited, and he never has his junk touched by the TSA. He never waits on line. He rarely if ever is on hold, and he rarely if ever fills out forms. While he lives with a greater threat to his safety and security that almost all of us, he is, probably, the most secure human being on earth. Probably ninety percent of his interactions with people end with, “Yes, sir, Mr. President.”

So all in all… perhaps not being able to people-watch in Central Park is an acceptable trade-off.