A regular Hawaii golfing buddy and Punahou School friend of President Barack Obama was among four people arrested during a prostitution sting operation in Kakaako by Honolulu police Monday night.

Waialua resident Robert Richard "Bobby" Titcomb, 49, was arrested at South and Pohukaina streets at 9:40 p.m. Monday.

Titcomb was charged with solicitation of prostitution and released after posting $500 bail at 11 p.m. The offense is a petty misdemeanor that carries a $500 fine. People convicted may also face probation, community sevice or up to 30 days in jail.

Titcomb is described as a "commercial fisherman and airline employee" in an article profiling Obama that appeared in the spring 2007 edition of the Punahou Bulletin, the private school’s quarterly alumni magazine.

Titcomb was one of four men who were arrested in a “reverse sting," targeting prostitution customers. HPD declined to give specifics about the location or other details about the operation.

The president last played golf with Titcomb during the first family’s most recent holiday vacation over Christmas and New Year’s. On Dec. 30, the president and his family spent the day at Titcomb’s beachfront home in Waialua, where they ate barbecue, played volleyball and hung out on the beach.

Titcomb attended Punahou a year behind Obama but did not graduate from the school. Obama graduated in 1979.