How good is Donald Trump at golf? Handicap, history and more to know about president's favorite sport

When Donald Trump isn't in the political spotlight, there's a good chance you can find the 45th and 47th President of the United States on a golf course. 

Not only does Trump love to play the game, but he also owns several golf properties around the world. His playing partners aren't shy about touting his prowess on the golf course or spotlighting the number of club championships he's won over the years. 

For many, golf is seen as a brief escape from the real world — a way to clear one's heads of other stresses. One can only imagine the kind of stress a president deals with on a daily basis. 

Here's what to know about Donald Trump's golf game as he gets set to tee off at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. on Thursday.

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Donald Trump's handicap

According to Golf Handicap Information Network, Donald Trump has a handicap of 2.8, meaning that he has the potential to play a round of golf at 2.8 strokes over par given his best scores. His best round of golf listed on his handicap index is a 70, so he is capable of going low.

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Is Donald Trump good at golf?

As you can gather from Donald Trump's low handicap, he is considered to be a good golfer.

But it's not just the numbers that back up that point. 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus called Trump "the best player" among the presidents he has played with and even compared Trump's game to his own in 2019, per Golf.com.

Trump plays pretty well. He plays a little bit like I do. He doesn’t really ever finish many holes. But he can hit the ball, and he goes out and plays and just enjoys it. But he’s won several club championships. He can play.

Bryson DeChambeau was similarly complimentary of Trump's golf game after playing with him at a LIV Golf pro-am. 

"He's actually a really good golfer," DeChambeau said, per USA Today. "He stripes it down the middle of the fairway and has a good iron game and putts it pretty well."

Golf Digest's Jaime Diaz seems to agree with the duo's assessment. Diaz recalled playing rounds of golf with Trump in 2013 and 2014 and said that he was "the real deal" as a golfer.

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Specifically, Diaz was complimentary of Trump's iron play and ball striking. He said that while Trump hit the ball just 230 yards off the tee, his swing was tailor-made for solid approach shots using his irons.

This is largely thanks to Trump's swing path, which DeChambeau called a "quirky motion." Trump tends to get the club to hit the ball with power on an inside path. The key to achieving that is opening up his front hip, as it makes that club path possible.

"For me, it's all about the hips," Trump said of his swing to Diaz. "Just get them out of the way as fast and as hard as I can and let the arms really swing through.

I read about the hips a long time ago in Ben Hogan's book, and it became my simple key, and I've stayed with it. It might look a little crazy, but the more I clear, the straighter I hit it.

As for putting, Diaz thought Trump was solid in that regard, but Trump seemed to think it was the best part of his game.

"I'm a great putter," Trump said to Diaz.

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Donald Trump golf properties

It shouldn't be a surprise that Trump is a good golfer. He owns 16 golf properties worldwide that are named after him and are one of his primary business ventures.

Below is a list of all 16 of the Trump National Golf Clubs and their locations:

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