History of presidents and golf, including George Bush’s famous threat against terrorists

US presidents often play golf.

As Thursday’s CNN televised debate showed, golf is no joke when it comes to the highest form of government in the United States. Donald Trump and Joe Biden exchanged insults, but they only really went too far when their 18-hole handicap was questioned.

The nation now waits with bated breath to see if the two men agree to a golf showdown. Perhaps the winner will move into the White House. That would be fitting, because the presidency and golf go hand in hand. Since 1909, only Jimmy Carter, Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover have served as U.S. presidents who were not golfers.

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While William McKinley made the first putt by a president in 1897, William Howard Taft (in office from 1909 to 1913) was the first U.S. president to become truly obsessed with the game, insisting that there was “nothing more democratic than golf.” Taft played so much during the 1908 campaign that his predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt, urged him to quit.

Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) used golf to relieve the stress of World War I. During his two terms in office, he played over 1,000 rounds. He even played in the snow using golf balls painted black. However, Wilson rarely managed more than 100, which no doubt exposed him to Trump’s ridicule.

After teaching his dog to fetch golf balls on the White House lawn, William G. Harding (1921-1923) made his mark on the game by opening TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929), who took office after Harding died of a heart attack, played golf but was apparently not very skilled at the game; the only thing Coolidge left in the White House after his presidency ended were his golf clubs.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945), however, was an avid golfer. Roosevelt, club champion at Campobello Island Golf Club in New Brunswick, Canada, played until polio robbed him of his ability to play. But his love of the game remained; he approved federal funding for public works projects, including dozens of municipal golf courses such as Bethpage State Park in New York and the FDR Golf Club in Philadelphia.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961), named Golfer of the Century by Golfweek in 2000, was a member of Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters. To the delight of future presidents, Eisenhower had a putting green built and during his eight-year term in office it is estimated that he played more than 800 rounds. In 1964 he even won a charity tournament together with Arnold Palmer. His successor, John F. Kennedy (1961-1963), had a single-digit handicap and was a member of the Harvard golf team.

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Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) reportedly took as many strokes as he wanted to complete 18 holes, and would simply hit again if he didn’t like his previous performance. And although Richard Nixon (1969-1974) was an avid golfer who played with a 12 handicap, he had the putting green removed from the White House.

Seven-time major champion Palmer once said, “I liked Richard Nixon despite his flaws and his apparent lack of warmth. I think his decision to give up golf for political reasons revealed something fundamental about the dark side of his character, or perhaps his deep social insecurities, which Mr. Nixon never allowed himself to examine.”

Gerald Ford (1974-1977) was one of the better presidents to play golf. He reportedly regularly shot under 90 and was the first president to join the U.S. Golf Association. He also served as honorary chairman of the first Presidents Cup in 1994. After pardoning Nixon, Ford reportedly attended the inauguration of the World Golf Hall of Fame to play a round with Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Palmer.

Like Ford, George HW Bush (1989-1993) was a golf genius. He once had a handicap of 11 and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011. His predecessor, Ronald Reagan (1981-1989), on the other hand, was not an avid golfer, even though he could reach triple-digit scores. Bill Clinton (1993-2001), blessed with a powerful drive, had little interest in following the rules and regularly repeated a bad shot.

Perhaps the most famous presidential golf moment, however, is George W. Bush (2001-2009), who once shot a round of 77 at Augusta. After calling for international cooperation in the fight against terrorism, Bush said: “Now look at this drive.”

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Barack Obama (2009-2017) reportedly played every 9 days, teeing off with Titleist golf balls that had “POTUS” and the number “44” printed on both sides. Which brings us to Trump (2017-2021).

Trump claims to have a single-digit handicap, which is said to be as low as 2.5. His golf game has been marred by allegations of cheating, although he owns major golf courses in the US, Scotland, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates. He has also played with Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Lexi Thompson, John Daly and Nicklaus and paid $50,000 for a golf simulator.

Biden (2020-present) also plays golf. It is unclear whether his handicap is 6 or 8, but the 81-year-old is a member of Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, which hosted the 2022 BMW Championship in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Ultimately, golf is a sport inextricably linked to the US presidency, so a showdown between Trump and Biden on sweeping fairways and undulating greens might make more sense than an election.