HONOLULU, Hawaii - Taking a break from the fiscal cliff negotiations, President Obama is spending the first day of his holiday vacation golfing with friends and aides, including longtime pal Bobby Titcomb, who was arrested last year on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute.

After arriving in Hawaii late last night, the president spent this morning at his family's vacation residence along the shores of Kailua, a quiet town on a stretch of beach on the east end of Oahu.

Shortly before noon, the president made the trip to the Kailua Marine Corps Base, where he is hitting the links at the Kaneohe Clipper course.

Obama is golfing with close aide Marvin Nicholson, White House chef Sam Kass, and childhood friends Mike Ramos and Titcomb, whom the president has known since they attended Honolulu's Punahou School together in the 1970s.

Titcomb was arrested in April 2011 in an undercover prostitution sting operation. He pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge and the conviction was reportedly later expunged from his record.

With negotiations over the deficit at a standstill and Congress closed for the Christmas holiday, the first family left Washington late Friday for their annual vacation in Obama's native state, his first vacation of the year.

The president told reporters in a hastily scheduled appearance in the briefing room that he would "see you next week." His return date is still to be determined.