Thursday night time’s presidential debate hosted by CNN featured a subject that nobody may’ve predicted—golf handicaps.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump raised the difficulty when discussing their bodily health and, in flip, their skill to function the top of state on the ages of 81 and 78, respectively. Within the midst of that debate, Bide alleged that he had gotten his golf handicap right down to a six as vice chairman, and later corrected it to an eight.
President Joe Biden performs golf on the Buccaneer Golf Course in St. Croix within the U.S. Virgin Islands, on December 30, 2022. (SAUL LOEB/AFP by way of Getty Photos)
For any avid golfer, that quantity was significantly stunning. Trump himself didn’t consider it.
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And so, an argument usually reserved for the course made its option to the talk stage.
However to finest perceive the argument, you must first perceive the fundamentals.
What’s a golf handicap?
A golf handicap, or a handicap index, is a numerical determine used to explain a participant’s skill or potential. It represents what number of strokes a participant is predicted to play above a selected course’s par.
Skilled golfers don’t preserve a handicap.
Anyplace underneath 10 is taken into account low, underneath 18 is taken into account mid-range, and over 19 is excessive. A zero can be thought of a scratch golfer.
Biden’s estimated six or eight would imply he averages within the excessive 70s or low 80s a spherical.
President Joe Biden stands at his podium throughout the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections between himself and former president Donald Trump at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kevin D. Liles for The Washington Submit by way of Getty Photos)
US OPEN CHAMP BRYSON DECHAMBEAU OFFERS TO SETTLE TRUMP, BIDEN GOLF HANDICAP DEBATE
What’s the common?
In keeping with January 2024 knowledge collected by the United States Golf Affiliation (USGA), the typical handicap index for males was round 14, and 28 for girls. Solely 20% of male golfers had a handicap index vary of 0.5 to 9.9.
How does Biden stack up towards the professionals?
It could be unfair to check any common golfer to a PGA Tour professional – the issue of the programs they play on alone wouldn’t stack up.
And whereas professionals don’t preserve observe, there have been those that have calculated what their indexes can be in the event that they did.
Tiger Woods of the USA reacts on the 18th inexperienced throughout the second spherical of the 2024 Masters Match at Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership on April 12, 2024, in Augusta, Georgia. (Warren Little/Getty Photos)
In 2020, golf statistical guru Lou Stagner did simply that. In keeping with his numbers from knowledge collected from 2016 to 2020, Rickie Fowler was first with a finest index of +8.4—the variety of strokes higher than scratch (0).
Kevin Na and Tiger Woods had a finest index of +8.3. The typical index for a PGA Tour professional was round +5.4.
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The controversy on golf handicaps would possibly by no means be settled, however Bryson DeChambeau, who had a median index of +5.8, supplied to assist settle it.
“Let’s settle this entire handicap debate, I’ll host the golf match on my YouTube.”
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