After 87 Days in Office, President Biden Goes Golfing for First Time in His Presidency
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President Joe Biden has gone golfing for the first time in his presidency, according to White House reporters.
On Saturday morning, pool reports indicated a trip to an undisclosed location, which turned out to be the Wilmington Country Club. From AFP’s Sebastian Smith:
POTUS motorcade arrived at the Wilmington Country Club just north of Greenville at 12:58 pm. Pool could not immediately see the president as we are now pausing in the car park.
The Country Club has a well known golf course. It’s a game Biden has long played – though not since becoming president.
Pool is asking the White House for details on whom he’s with and what they’re up to.
The course visible by pool was busy with people playing and practicing putting. As this was not announced in advance the motorcade’s appearance was evidently a surprise and we could see club members filming the event on cellphones.
According to other White House reporters, Biden is indeed playing golf today:
For the first time since taking office, President Biden is golfing. He’s hitting the links at Wilmington Country Club, not far from his home. (Course looks pretty crowded today.) pic.twitter.com/TGubphIb9y
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) April 17, 2021
For the first time as president, Joe Biden is playing golf. The president just arrived at Wilmington Country Club, a golf course near his home in Delaware. pic.twitter.com/pt6WhlPKj9
— Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) April 17, 2021
It appears that President Biden will be golfing for the first time since taking office.
His motorcade has just arrived at the Wilmington Country Club pic.twitter.com/CQAFoverbh
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) April 17, 2021
Biden’s handicap index is 6.7, according to the USGA database. Pretty good number BUT he hasn’t posted a round since 2018. Shaking off some rust. https://t.co/C4XcdmqR38
— Jordan Fabian (@Jordanfabian) April 17, 2021
Per the WH
The President is golfing with:
Ron Olivere
Steve Ricchetti— Jordan Fabian (@Jordanfabian) April 17, 2021
A later pool report from Smith identified President Biden’s golf partners:
The White House informs that Biden’s golf partners are: Ron Olivere, father in law of the late Beau Biden, and advisor Steve Ricchetti.
Pool is holding near the golf course in a well equipped café.
Although not the avid golfer that his predecessor was, President Biden does apparently have some talent for the game. While Biden has indeed played regularly enough at clubs in Delaware, records indicate that as vice president to Barack Obama, he wasn’t much of a practitioner. Biden was ranked 29th-best golfer in Washington, DC in 2011, but by the time he and Obama left office in 2016, the then-VP had slipped to number 68.
