Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Fact check: How many golf courses did Barack Obama visit during his presidency?
Executive Summary
Barack Obama’s presidency is documented as having between 306 and 333 rounds of golf played while in office, but the available sources do not provide a definitive count of unique golf courses he visited during his two terms. Contemporary trackers and news reports list many individual venues — including military bases near Washington, Farm Neck on Martha’s Vineyard, and St Andrews in Scotland — but they stop short of producing a single, verifiable tally of distinct courses [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. The bottom line: the public record supports firm figures for rounds played but no authoritative public source in the provided set establishes the total number of unique golf course locations Obama visited while president.
1. Why the headline numbers vary — rounds vs. distinct courses
News outlets and hobbyist trackers report two different kinds of figures: total rounds played and lists of venues visited, and these measure different things. Multiple sources converge on a rounds-played figure — NBC Sports and other outlets report 333 rounds [1] [2], while at least one report cites 306 rounds [4], reflecting differing counting methods or cutoffs. By contrast, tracker projects compile venue lists (including military courses, public clubs, and private resort courses) but generally present rows of visits rather than a deduplicated count of unique courses [3]. That methodological separation explains the apparent inconsistency: rounds are cumulative events, while unique-course tallies require careful de-duplication that the supplied sources do not perform.
2. What the trackers and contemporary stories actually document
Independent trackers and media features document numerous named venues associated with Obama’s golf activity: military courses around Washington D.C., Farm Neck Golf Club on Martha’s Vineyard, the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland, and resort courses in Hawaii among others [3] [6] [5]. Hobbyist trackers list specific rounds and courses and in one case enumerate 104 rounds at various courses within its dataset, which indicates a substantial number of distinct venues but does not equate to a final unique-course tally [3]. Contemporary photo agencies and travel pieces corroborate notable single-course visits — for example, extensive coverage of Obama at St Andrews and Farm Neck — which validates venue-level reporting but still leaves the overall unique-course total uncomputed [7] [6].
3. Sources, dates and why recency matters for the count
The counts for total rounds and the venue lists are drawn across years: news reports published near the end of Obama’s presidency (January 2017) give the rounds totals, while tracker entries and retrospective pieces have appeared through 2024–2025 updating venue lists [1] [2] [3]. The most recent tracker snapshot in the provided materials (May 2025) continues to list venues but still does not present a deduplicated unique-course total, demonstrating that newer compilations have expanded itemized lists without resolving the aggregate unique-course question [3]. Recency matters because fresh audits can correct duplicates and incorporate previously omitted private-course visits, but the supplied recent sources stop short of performing that final aggregation.
4. Reasons a definitive unique-course number is elusive
Three practical issues prevent a simple answer: first, incomplete public records for private and resort rounds make verification hard; second, different outlets apply different inclusion rules (e.g., counting family golf on vacation vs. official presidential play); and third, many venues are revisited, requiring deduplication to get unique-course counts [3] [4]. The provided materials demonstrate each problem: trackers show many named entries but do not uniformly state inclusion criteria, and outlets that tally rounds do not convert those rounds into unique venues [1] [4]. The combination of those gaps explains why even detailed reporting on rounds fails to answer the user’s original question directly.
5. Bottom-line finding and recommended next steps for a definitive answer
Based on the supplied sources, the factual conclusion is that Barack Obama played approximately 306–333 rounds while president, but the precise number of distinct golf courses he visited is not established in these records [1] [2] [4] [3]. To produce a verifiable unique-course tally, a researcher should compile all venue lists, apply strict deduplication rules, and cross-check private-play records, Secret Service logs, and itinerary archives; none of that comprehensive consolidation exists in the provided sources. For anyone seeking a definitive count, the next step is to request or assemble a consolidated, deduplicated dataset from primary itinerary records and the most complete tracker exports, then publish the methodology alongside the total for transparency [3].