US Presidents Who Played Golf Throughout History
16 out of 19 Have Round Experience
Carter, Truman, Hoover 'Non-Golfers'
Trump the Best Player, Obama a Left-Handed Golfer
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won the 47th presidential election. He is the second "bridge president" in American history to lose after the first term and then succeed in re-election.
Trump is a "golf enthusiast." He is the best golfer among U.S. presidents in history, with a handicap of 2. He has won 19 club tournaments. After taking office in January 2017, he played an impressive 62 rounds within 10 months. He has driven the ball up to 280 yards with his driver. In August 2013, he recorded his personal best of 2-under-par 70.
He is also famous as a "golf tycoon." He started his golf business in 1999. He owns a total of 16 golf courses: 12 in the U.S., 2 in Scotland, 1 in Ireland, and 1 in the United Arab Emirates. Two more are soon to open in Indonesia, and one in Dubai. Next summer, he will open a new links golf course in Scotland. Golfweek reported on former President Trump's election victory and highlighted the love of golf among past U.S. presidents.
Out of 19 U.S. presidents, 16 played golf. The presidents who never picked up a club were Jimmy Carter, Harry Truman, and Herbert Hoover. The first president to seriously play golf was William Howard Taft (in office 1909?1913). He was a "golf addict," saying, "Nothing is more democratic than golf." During the 1908 presidential campaign, he went out to the course too often. His predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt, advised him to "quit golf entirely."
Woodrow Wilson (1913?1921) was also a golf enthusiast. During his 8 years in office, he played over 1,000 rounds. He played using black golf balls to play in the snow. He said, "Golf helped relieve a lot of stress during World War I." Warren G. Harding (1921?1923) loved golf very much. He even trained his dog, "Reddy Boy," to fetch golf balls from the White House lawn. San Francisco's TPC Harding Park is named after him.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933?1945) was an avid golfer. He became club champion at the Canada Island Golf Club during his college years. He played golf until he was 38 and often competed with other politicians in Washington. He is regarded as one of the best golfers among U.S. presidents. Roosevelt contracted polio at age 39 and could no longer play golf.
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953?1961) was famous as a member of Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. Eisenhower installed a putting green at the White House and played over 800 rounds during his 8 years in office. He often partnered with Arnold Palmer, and together they won a charity tournament in 1964.
John F. Kennedy (1961?1963) mostly played at the Burning Tree Club in the Washington D.C. area. He was known to have a single-digit handicap. As a child, he was part of the Harvard golf team. Before becoming president, he nearly made a hole-in-one on the 16th hole at Cypress Point. His 5-iron shot hit the flagstick and landed right next to the hole.
Lyndon B. Johnson (1963?1969) was lenient with the rules. A historian revealed that "Johnson swung up to 400 times during an 18-hole round." If he didn’t like a shot, he would keep hitting until satisfied. Johnson used rounds to persuade senators to vote for the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Richard M. Nixon (1969?1974) started playing golf while serving as vice president. He had a handicap of 12 and interacted with Palmer several times.
Gerald Ford (1974?1977) was an excellent golfer, often scoring in the 80s. He joined the United States Golf Association and served as honorary chairman of the first Presidents Cup in 1994. There is also a golf anecdote about him: after pardoning Richard Nixon, he attended the World Golf Hall of Fame opening and played a round with Jack Nicklaus, Palmer, and Gary Player (South Africa).
Ronald Reagan (1981?1989) was not an avid golfer. He had a good swing but recorded triple-digit scores. In October 1983, during a round at Augusta National Golf Club, an incident occurred. An armed gunman drove a truck through the entrance gate, took five hostages in the club’s pro shop, and demanded to speak with Reagan. The man was arrested two hours later. No one was injured, and he was sentenced to three years in prison.
George H. W. Bush (1989?1993) had a handicap of 11. He finished 18 holes in 1 hour and 51 minutes. His maternal grandfather, George Herbert Walker, was president of the United States Golf Association and founded the Walker Cup. Bush was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011. Bill Clinton (1993?2001) was left-handed but played golf right-handed. He played alone in the rain at the Army Navy Country Club. He hit long tee shots but did not care much about golf rules. He often played "Alkkagi" (a traditional Korean game similar to knucklebones).
George W. Bush (2001?2009) was an excellent golfer. He shot 77 at Augusta National Golf Club. He hosted the Warrior Open, a golf event for injured soldiers. He stopped playing golf after the 9/11 attacks. The 44th president, Barack Obama (2009?2017), played left-handed. He was criticized for "playing too much golf." At his busiest, he went to the course every 9.5 days. He played with Titleist golf balls marked with "POTUS (President of the United States)" on one side and the number "44" on the other.
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