President Joe Biden hit the golf course for the second time since taking office on Sunday, continuing something of an American presidential tradition. Unlike his predecessors, however, Biden appears to be a duffer.
It’s possible that at one point in time Biden was a decent golfer. He’s been a member of Wilmington Country Club in Delaware since 2014 and reportedly had as low as a 6 handicap. That’s a bit hard to believe as former president Barack Obama said he had an ‘honest 13’ handicap after playing 300 rounds of golf. A video of Biden on the links this past weekend further confirms that his golf game has gone the same direction as his mental acuity.
The clip shows Biden well to the left of the green behind a short stone wall. Even though the wall looks to only be about half a foot tall, the President manages to skull his chip shot straight into the stones. The ball bounces back behind him as a spectator behind the video asks quietly, ‘did he hit it?’ Biden even looks confused as to what happened to his shot.
the leader of the free world making a mockery of us on the golf course. hate to see it. pic.twitter.com/oYRGrQtBWJ
— Logan Hall (@loganclarkhall) May 18, 2021
Cockburn is no expert golfer. His favorite hole has always been the 19th. But even he knows that a golfer who has been playing for years should have no problem getting some loft with the wedge. Perhaps Biden knows his game leaves something to be desired; after his first round as president in April, he jokingly told the media that ‘the course record was still intact’.
Some self-deprecation on the course is usually quite charming (and a good coping mechanism when your round has gone to hell), but is questionable coming from the president of the United States. Should the leader of the free world really be publicly embarrassing himself like this? Donald Trump used to make deals on the golf course; Biden is only making double bogeys. God forbid another world leader come to join him for a round!
Mixing golf with politics has always led to a bit of controversy. Obama and Trump were both accused of golfing too often and spending too much taxpayer money to do so. Reporters are often champing at the bit to find out who played with the President on any given day. Sportswriter Rick Reilly wrote an entire book that accused Trump of being a serial golf cheat, even as others have declared him the ‘real deal’. George W. Bush gave up playing golf while in office after anger over his declaration to ‘watch this drive’ right after denouncing terror in the Middle East. To his credit, he seems to have absolutely smoked the ball.
PGA pro John Daly once said that Bill Clinton was the worst presidential golfer he ever played (and the biggest cheater). Could Biden give Slick Willy a run for his money? Maybe being a bit creepy isn’t the only thing the two men have in common.
