Take comfort, citizens of America, your 2024 presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump have your best interests in mind, based on the issues that came up during their first debate performance — like Biden’s golf handicap, for some reason. Biden says he’s a 6, which Trump denied. But what does that even mean?
For all the non-golfers, every golf course has a par score, or the number of strokes required to complete the course, and golf scores are based on how close a player gets to par. To help keep things competitive, the number of strokes golfers subtract from par when calculating their final score is called a handicap: a higher number for a less experienced player, and a lower number for more experienced golfers. The United States Golf Association (USGA) keeps track of these things based on self-reported data.
Biden’s and Trump’s respective golf handicaps came up at the debate in relation to each man’s age, a hot topic since Biden is 81 and Trump is 78. “I just won two club championships, not even senior. Two regular club championships. To do that, you have to be quite smart and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way. And I do it,” Trump said. “By the way, I told you before I’m happy to play golf with you if you carry your own bag,” Biden responded.
Trump and Biden’s golf handicaps examined
The average male golfer has a handicap of around 13, according to Golf, so a six handicap is not bad. Biden used to golf frequently, but he reportedly golfs less these days — presumably because he’s president and has more important stuff to do. Trump, meanwhile, who golfed a lot during his first term, says he’s a 2.8, which makes him quite good but … well, Trump infamously exaggerates the crowd size at his rallies, so why would he tell the truth about his golf swing?
Can we check? No one has calculated Biden’s handicap since 2016. At that time, it was a 10 — still not too bad — but before that, his handicap was reportedly 6.7, and that’s pretty good. And Biden was close to accurate at the debate when he said his handicap was 6. Trump, who owns golf courses, was also right: His official handicap is 2.8, but some say he cheats by only reporting his best scores. Men’s Journal spoke with golf experts in 2017, and they estimated his handicap was more like a 7 or 8, pretty close to Biden’s in his heyday.
The day after the debate, pro-golfer Bryson DeChambeau offered to host both men in a golf tournament, so maybe then we’ll know the truth.