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Is Joe Biden good at golf? Here's who may win if Donald Trump and the president-elect competed in a match

After Biden was declared the President-elect, he went to a church, while outgoing US President Trump headed to a golf course in a Virginia suburb
UPDATED NOV 19, 2020
Joe Biden and Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Joe Biden and Donald Trump (Getty Images)

Joe Biden has been elected the 46th president of the United States, taking the baton from incumbent Donald Trump. During his presidency, Trump has been known as an avid golfer. Like Trump, 16 of the last 19 American Presidents — including Franklin D Roosevelt, John F Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — also played golf while they were at the White House home.

Now, if Biden comes into power, will he also join them as a Commander-in-Chief who plays golf? While not many people may know, Biden practiced golf while he was vice-president under Obama. Not just that, Biden played at two area clubs while living at his home in Delaware where he is a member: Wilmington Country Club, a 36-hole facility with courses designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr and Dick Wilson where he joined in 2014; and Fieldstone Golf Club, an Arthur Hills design in Greenville.

Did you know the 77-year-old reportedly even went to Wilmington Country Club to play golf and relax just before the elections? As per Morning Read, he "loves the game" and has played to a single-digit handicap, even if he lacks the publicity of America's current "first golfer". “Oh, he loves the game, plays and respects it,” golf architect Robert Trent Jones Jr said, a Biden family friend and occasional Biden golf partner for decades. “He’s just not the self-promoter that our current White House occupant is.”

How good is Joe Biden at golf?

President-elect Joe Biden (Getty Images)

In the Delaware State Golf Association’s USGA GHIN handicap system, Biden is listed with a 6.7 handicap, but his last recorded round was in 2018, as per the same report. Jeff Whitmarsh, a club-fitter at Fieldstone, told the outlet, “I haven’t seen Joe around here in a while,” adding, “I think he’s been pretty busy.” Back when he was a Senator and Vice-President in Washington, he was listed by Golf Digest as a 6.3 handicap. As per reports, Biden played with then president Barack Obama and two Republican leaders, House Speaker John Boehner and Ohio Gov John Kasich. But not everyone believes he is good at golf. At the Republican National Convention, Kasich had said, “Joe Biden told me that he was a good golfer,” adding that, “And I’ve played golf with Joe Biden; I can tell you that’s not true, as well as all of the other things that he says.”

President Barack Obama and vice-president Joe Biden putt on the White House putting green April 24, 2009, in Washington, DC (Getty Images)

When Biden attacked Trump for being busy with golf during the global Covid-19 pandemic, Delaware golf writer Fritz Schranck for the Cape Gazette newspaper in Lewes said Biden also loves the game. “It’s a pretty open secret in Delaware how much Joe Biden loves and plays golf,” Schranck wrote. Mulling over memories of an office golf tournament organized by Biden's late son Beau, he said, “I was at the course, and Beau came up and asks if I was playing. I told him I was, and he said, ‘You’re not going to write about this, are you?’” Schranck added, “I think he was sensitive to the fact the attorney general was organizing a tournament with his dad, for the game he loves.”

Golf architect Robert Trent Jones Jr also shared his memories, while playing with Joe and Beau Biden at Wilmington. “We had a great time playing together, walking and talking about fathers and son. Joe likes to walk and likes to get exercise on the golf course. I’d said his best strength was his iron play. He was in the fairway on almost every shot and rarely in trouble.”

If Trump and Biden played, who would win?

Donald Trump plays a round of golf after the opening of The Trump International Golf Links Course (Getty Images)

Early this November, after Biden was declared the president-elect, he went to a church for Sunday prayers, while outgoing President Trump headed to a golf course in a Virginia suburb. Reports say that in the last four years, the 74-year-old has played golf nearly 300 times, almost exclusively at courses he owned.

Although Biden may not have hit the golf field in recent times, he could develop a passion for the game once he goes to the White House. The Morning Read report pointed to how his story could be similar to a tale of late John F Kennedy during the 1960 presidential campaign. "Kennedy, the Democratic nominee, repeatedly blasted Republican Richard Nixon and former President Dwight Eisenhower for playing too much golf, only to sneak out to Cypress Point Golf Club in Pebble Beach, California, for a quick round during the campaign," the report read.

Donald Trump tees off at Trump National Golf Club, on November 7, 2020, in Sterling, Virginia (Getty Images)

Not just that, it further added, “Kennedy, an accomplished golfer, nearly aced the famed 16th hole at Cypress Point. Fearing that his cover would be blown as a golfer himself, he reportedly shouted to his golf ball in the air, 'Get out of the hole.'”

When Jones was asked who would win if Trump and Biden had a match of golf, he placed his bet on the latter. “Maybe we could just drop a debate and have them play a golf match instead. Biden would beat him. I would put money on it.” While Biden may not be as frequent on the golf course as Trump, golf enthusiasts hope he doesn't end up to be one among the non-golf-playing presidents like Jimmy Carter, Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover.

Some Twitter users sincerely hope he doesn't play golf as often as Trump. “Dear ⁦@JoeBiden⁩, I respect you. I know you’re going to do more work than some to help all of us recover from these four years. I believe you should be able to vacation and turn it off from time to time. Please don’t play golf every other damn day. Sincerely, Me,” one wrote.



 

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