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<\/p>\nGolf has always been a big sport in business circles. It is no surprise that politics is getting in on the action as well, say Northeastern academics.<\/p>\n
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President Donald Trump is a keen golf player like many of his predecessors at the White House. AP Photo\/Alastair Grant<\/p>\n
LONDON \u2014 Mark Twain is said to have popularized the saying that \u201cgolf is a good walk spoiled.\u201d It seems few U.S. presidents would have agreed with him.<\/p>\n
President Dwight Eisenhower is estimated to have played more than 800 rounds of golf during his presidency between 1953-61 (that\u2019s a game every three to four days, according to golf news website Bunkered<\/a>).<\/p>\n Some apocryphal stories suggest that much of President Lyndon B. Johnson\u2019s political negotiations ahead of the Civil Rights Act passing in 1964 took place as he hacked away on the fairways. President Barack Obama, who clocked<\/a> 333 rounds between 2009-17, loved to practice his left-handed swing so much that he had a golf simulator installed at the White House.<\/p>\n And now, the United States arguably has its biggest golf fan in the Oval Office in the form of President Donald Trump, who reportedly has a single digit handicap and owns 18 golf resorts across the world. There is even a dedicated website<\/a> called Did Trump Golf Today?<\/p>\n So what is it about leaders of the free world enjoying a long-form and time-demanding game like golf?<\/p>\n Ahmad Alnajadah<\/a>, assistant professor in business at Northeastern University in London, says golf is a rare sport in that it allows for socializing and networking at the same time.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile it seems counterintuitive that busy leaders would choose such a time-intensive activity,\u201d says Alnajadah, \u201cgolf\u2019s four- to five-hour duration actually creates uninterrupted relationship-building opportunities that are increasingly rare in our hyper-connected world. It\u2019s one of the few socially acceptable ways to have someone\u2019s undivided attention for hours.\u201d<\/p>\n George H.W. Bush (handicap, 11) is recorded as saying that it was \u201camazing how many people beat you at golf now that you\u2019re no longer president.\u201d It may have been a comment said in jest, but it hints at the fact that some presidential golf associates may be looking to curry favor over the course of 18 holes.<\/p>\n The formality of the sport, Alnajadah argues \u2014 with its dress codes, manicured lawns and exclusive clubhouses \u2014 lends itself to doing business and holding talks.<\/p>\n \u201cThe golf course takes away the formal meeting setting where you have that boardroom where it is cold and you\u2019re sitting on opposite sides of each other,\u201d he says. \u201cIt breaks that formality when you\u2019re playing a game of golf. You can take jabs at each other if someone misses, you can have more informal conversations.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is more natural and organic to have it in that type of setting \u2014 the game of golf allows for it. You can\u2019t build a relationship with someone if you\u2019re playing one-on-one or five-on-five basketball, because you\u2019re just running back and forth. You can\u2019t even do it in tennis. You could do it afterwards or during breaks in between.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut golf is the only sport that I feel like you can play individually, but really be able to take your time and assess people in that process.\u201d<\/p>\n The relaxed and scenic setting of a golf course lends itself to deal-making, according to Evodio Kaltenecker<\/a>, an associate teaching professor in international business and strategy at Northeastern.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe game itself encourages conversation during long periods,\u201d the Oakland-based academic says, \u201cwhich allows for the development of personal relationships, something important for building trust and rapport. Golf facilitates coming to an agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n That was put into practice on the world stage recently by Trump when he used what the White House described as a \u201cprivate visit\u201d to his Turnberry golf resort in Ayrshire, Scotland, to announce a trade deal<\/a> between the U.S. and the European Union.\u00a0<\/p>\n During his time at his two Scottish resorts in July, he hosted the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, held talks about the Middle East with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and discussed whisky tariffs<\/a> with Scotland\u2019s first minister, John Swinney.<\/p>\n Kaltenecker remarks that U.S. presidents long before Trump, including John F. Kennedy (handicap, 7) and George W. Bush \u2014 his \u201cNow watch this drive\u201d<\/a> remark to reporters made it into Michael Moore\u2019s \u201cFahrenheit 9\/11\u201d documentary \u2014 have enjoyed golf in the same way as countless chief executives have. The difference now, he says, is that Trump also has investments in the sport.<\/p>\n \u201cThe intertwining between golf and business, business and politics, and politics and golf are not new,\u201d he explains. \u201cHowever, the novelty here is the triple intertwining of golf, business and politics altogether. The new angle now is that Trump not only plays golf but also has business interests in the sport, with his golf courses, resorts and hotels.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump is known to take an avid interest in his golf assets. As well as using his summer visit to Scotland to open a new course in Aberdeenshire, he was seen, according to reports in The Times of London<\/a>, checking on guests at Turnberry to ensure they were having a good time. He was even spotted clearing up empty glasses to ensure the place was tidy.<\/p>\n Kaltenecker says transparency issues could arise out of Trump\u2019s golf-related business arrangements, highlighting that lobbyists could look to use golf outings and sponsorships in a bid to gain access to decision-makers in Trump\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n \u201cThe intersection of golf, business and politics can raise ethical concerns when individuals in positions of power use their access to create personal or financial gain,\u201d Kaltenecker explains.<\/p>\n It has also been true the other way around, that Trump\u2019s politics have impacted his business. In March, activists from the pro-Gaza group Palestine Action, which has since been banned<\/a> in the U.K., vandalized<\/a> his Turnberry resort in response to the president\u2019s comments on the Middle East conflict.<\/p>\n