I Want To See The Fate Of The Country Decided On The Green

One of the most notable moments from the first 2024 presidential debate last month was when President Joe Biden challenged former President Donald Trump to a “driving contest” as long as “you can carry your own bag.”

“He challenged me to a golf match? He can’t hit a ball 50 yards,” Trump retorted.

The candidates quickly devolved into bickering over Biden’s claim that he had a handicap of six, close to what PGA professionals boast, during his time as vice president. He later corrected that number to an eight, which is still far below the average male golfer’s handicap.

“That’s the biggest lie. I’ve seen your swing,” Trump said.

The debate came and went, with much of the hubbub and focus on Biden’s disastrous performance and flailing health. Trump, however, did not forget about Biden’s bragging.

He later teed up a proposal for an 18-hole golf match against the Democrat, complete with the promise of 10 strokes a side and a $1 million check to the charity of Biden’s choice if the 81-year-old manages to secure victory on the course.

“I’ll bet you he doesn’t take the offer,” Trump remarked to rallygoers in Florida on Tuesday night.

Sure enough, by Wednesday morning, Biden spokesman James Singer claimed Biden was too “busy leading America and defending the free world” to entertain “Trump’s weird antics” to face his challenger on the course. The Biden-Harris campaign similarly issued a lie-laden statement claiming Trump is “a liar, a convict, and a fraud only out for himself — par for the course.”

It’s easy to speculate on why our self-proclaimed pro-golfer president (who loves a good excuse to get away from Washington, D.C.) refused to participate in a charity game in the Sunshine State.

Perhaps it would be too much for Biden, a champion of effectively ending women’s protections, to participate in a sport that designates differently distanced tees for golfers based on their biological sex. Or maybe he’s worried that he’ll miss his 8 p.m. bedtime.

Regardless of the White House’s reasoning for RSVPing “no,” I was disappointed. Biden’s resounding rejection deprived politically exhausted Americans of using a golf showdown on a Florida fairway as the fairest and freest way to decide the fate of our country.

Golf plays a big role in history, especially when it comes to White House residents. Trump and Biden’s presidential predecessors often took golf up as a hobby to blow off some political steam. In some cases, presidents like George W. Bush used their golf games as backgrounds for strong national declarations.

In 2002, mere weeks before the one-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, after confirming that “we must stop the terror,” Bush encouraged the entourage of journos crowding the course to look on as he smashed a clean drive.

What better way to further incorporate this iconic sport into our nation’s history than to hinge our next election on it?

For one, a club course is largely free of the lawfare, Bidenbucks, corporate media propaganda, and meddling that plagued the last three elections and threaten the next one. A fairway face-off would also be a transparent test of both senior citizens’ physical rigor and mental aptitude, something voters on both sides of the political aisle are increasingly worried about.

It’s no secret that a majority of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. Let’s change that by making sure the only direction worth paying attention to is the one that gets our preferred political candidate closest to the putting green and pin flag.

Gone are the days of leaving the White House in the hands of swing states plagued by Democrat scheming. Here are the days of judging our future based on backswing.

Eighteen holes might seem like forever to a wife stuck at home while her husband plays the day away but not even the longest round compares to the weeks-long wait Americans endure to hear election results thanks to mail-in balloting. At least with a presidential golf game, we would get same-day results. No last-minute scramble necessary.

Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.