Did you think we were going to let the late Billy Graham go to his heavenly reward without a Palm Beach anecdote?

We’re not.

And, of course, it’s a golf story, related by a Graham biographer.

After John F. Kennedy defeated Graham’s pal Richard Nixon in the 1960 election, he invited the preacher-to-presidents down to Palm Beach for a round or two.

Round meaning golf, not alcohol.

During the game at the Palm Beach Country Club, Graham missed a putt.

“Kennedy said, jokingly, ‘Well, I thought you were a good golfer,’” wrote biographer Professor Grant Wacker of Duke Divinity School. “Graham rolled with it, replying, ‘I am when I’m not playing with the president of the United States.’”

About the Author

Featured

Ceudy Gutierrez reads a book to her 2-year-old son, Matias, at their home in Buford, GA, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Ceudy Gutierrez is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three young kids following her husband’s ICE arrest earlier this fall. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez