Going back to President Bill Clinton, the last four American Presidents played golf while they called the White House home. Will President-elect Joe Biden join them as a Commander-in-Chief who plays golf?
Does Joe Biden even play golf?
President-elect Joe Biden does, in fact, play golf. When he was Vice President under President Barack Obama, Biden practiced on the putting green Clinton had moved and re-installed at the White House grounds so the golf-obsessed Obama could work on his game in quiet moments.
While living at home in Delaware, Biden has played golf at two area clubs where he is a member: Wilmington Country Club, which he joined in 2014, and Fieldstone Golf Club, which is also in Biden's home city.
In fact, in the days leading into the election, Biden took to Wilmington Country Club to play golf and relax a little bit before the biggest day of his political life. A video circulating on social media showed Biden swinging on the 10th hole at Wilmington Country Club, followed by a worker at the course's halfway house panning to a club bill for a hot dog and showing Biden's signature on the check.
How good is Joe Biden at golf?
Biden can play. During the Obama administration, Golf Digest listed Biden as carrying a 6 handicap index and among the best golfers in the political community in Washington, D.C. In 2018, when Biden last entered a round in the USGA GHIN handicapping system, Biden was a 6.7 index.
However, Biden probably isn't quite that good these days. Speaking in 2014, before he was considering a run for President in 2016, he told the Irish Prime Minister that running for office would doom his game.
"I don't know about you, but if you want to keep your handicap in golf, don't run for president," Biden said. "So I expect strokes when we play."
Will Joe Biden play golf while President?
When Joe Biden becomes the 46th President of the United States, it's reasonable to assume he will occasionally play golf with his free time. In eight years as President, Barack Obama played golf approximately 333 times, most often at Joint Base Andrews, which has multiple golf courses.
In four years as President, Donald Trump played golf nearly 300 times, almost exclusively at courses he owned.
Don't expect Biden to play golf as frequently as either of his predecessors, but Americans should expect to see him on the links.
