Donald Trump is not the first U.S. president to cheat at golf.
Bill Clinton was so well known for using a mulligan that it became a joke.
But before, and during his two presidencies, Donald Trump has taken his cheating to another level entirely.
The litany of his outrageous golfing crimes takes the breath away because if any other golfer attempted them, they would be kicked off the course (or out of the club).
In Trump’s case, of course, he normally owns the course and/or club, which helps.
Seven examples of Donald Trump cheating at golf
1. He won a club championship before the course was opened
At Trump International in West Palm Beach, Florida, his name is on the board as club champion in 1999.
The course wasn’t open then, however, as explained by Rick Reilly in his book ‘Commander in Cheat’.
White House spokesperson Hope Hicks was asked about it by the Washington Post and said that a group of early members played the course and declared it the first club championship.
2. He won a club championship when he was nearly 100 miles away
Trump also won the club championship at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey.
Reilly reveals that he actually played at Trump Philadelphia, announced he shot 73, called it in to the pro shop and was declared the winner.
Reilly quotes a source who traced Trump’s caddie at Philadelphia, who said the 73 was “maybe 82,” and the source adds: “He pulls that kind of shit all the time around here.”
3. He kicks the ball out of the rough
Trump was once a member at Winged Foot, which hosts the US Open.
The caddies there had a nickname for him inspired by one of the great sportsmen of all time.
But it was not Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus, or even a golfer.
It was “Pele” and was motivated by his habit of kicking his ball out of bad spots and into good ones.
4. He also moves his opponent’s ball
Reilly also details how Trump played golf with broadcaster Mike Tirico, who thought he had hit a great shot into a par-5 green only to find it in a bunker.
A caddie said to him later in the round: “You know that shot you hit into the par-5? It was about 10 feet from the hole. Trump threw it in the bunker. I watched him do it.”
5. He’s the first off the tee
Most people these days like to play fast and ready golf.
That’s one thing to be said for Trump – he always plays first off the tee.
But it’s also a ploy.
He makes sure his buggy is set to leave the tee first, he hits first, he gets back in his buggy, and he’s off down the fairway as soon as his partner has hit.
It is a process that earns him time.
The great boxer Oscar de la Hoya told the Associated Press in 2016 that Trump finds balls that seemed to have gone very astray using this strategy.
“What do we see but Donald Trump in the middle of the fairway. He said, ‘Hey look, I found my first ball.’”
De la Hoya added that Trump later hit a tee shot on a par-3 into a bush, but when everyone else got to the green, his ball was three feet from the flag.
He quoted Trump saying: “By the way, I’m picking it up. It’s a gimme.”
6. Sometimes he just plays someone else’s ball
So he’s not been able to toss down a dodgy ball of his own. Or kick his ball free. Or toss his opponent’s ball into trouble.
So guess what? He plays someone else’s ball.
Reilly reported on the experience of Ted Virtue, CEO of an asset management firm in New York, and the club champion at Trump National.
Trump was sore that Virtue had won, so Trump intruded on a round he was enjoying with his son.
At a hole with a water hazard in front of the green, Virtue and his son found the putting surface; Trump found water.
When they got to the green, Trump was ready to hit the son’s ball.
The son piped up, the caddie said his ball went in the water, and Trump’s didn’t. Trump holed the putt.
7. He’s a good putter but …
At the 2015 Solheim Cup, Suzann Pettersen famously kicked up a stink about the American Alison Lee giving herself short putts.
Pettersen was also known to play golf with Trump.
Was she as furious with him for doing the same thing as Lee?!?
It’s a known habit of his, and one pro said: “He’s a good putter because he attacks every first putt knowing that he’ll give himself whatever is left coming back.”
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