Former President Donald Trump, through his Trump Organization, owns or operates different golf courses or properties around the world, including 11 in the United States, one in Ireland, two in Scotland, one in the United Arab Emirates and another in Indonesia.
Two of those U.S. golf courses are close to his Mar-a-Lago private club in West Palm Beach, Fla., and that’s where Trump played the bulk of his golf as President in the wintertime in his first term. He spent plenty of time at his golf club in Sterling, Va., about 20 miles from the White House. He also loved to stay at his Summer White House at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.
How many times did Trump played golf as President of the United States? From when he took office on Jan. 20, 2017, Mr. Trump reportedly had been on the grounds of his golf courses or played golf elsewhere 369 times during his time as President.
Now, in his second term, he has played 57 times so far. He has been a visitor to his golf courses at Trump National Doral to attend a LIV Golf tournament, but he didn’t play golf. He’s also flown into his club in New Jersey in the evening but didn’t play golf that day.
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The cost of Trump’s golf rounds to the American taxpayer vary by round and course, but it totaled over $120 million in allocated costs. The Secret Service spent at least $765,000 in third-party golf cart rentals and over $500,000 to stay overnight at Trump-owned properties, including his New Jersey country club.
At one point in his first term, Trump was on pace to visit his golf clubs more than 650 times in an eight-year presidency.
Trump ended 2017 with 91 golf course visits and was just shy of 100 visits in Year 1 as President. In his second year as President, Trump played golf 76 times. Ultimately, the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 election campaign reduced the number of times he played at the end of his first term.
At one point, Trump had spent nearly 22 percent of his days in office at one of his golf properties for some portion of the day. There were days where Trump has visited one of his golf clubs and not played golf. He made a 40-minute visit to his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., and he made a three-day visit to Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., to watch the 2017 US Women’s Open, unfolding at that club. Trump spent a 17-day “working vacation” at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., in August 2017, which meant all of those days count as days on his golf courses, even though he didn’t necessarily play golf on all of those days.
Trump claims to have a USGA handicap index under 5, but a lack of entered rounds makes it unclear where he is as a player now.
Trump has played golf with friends and famous people (including golfers Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Daniel Berger, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau and Ernie Els) and for political and diplomatic purposes. He played with Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who had been an opponent of Trump’s health-care reform plans, and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who became an ally on taxes. He played with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in February and November in 2017, as well in April 2018. He’s played with legendary quarterback Peyton Manning and then-Tennessee Senator Bob Corker.
He does seem to struggle with basic etiquette at times, as Donald Trump has driven a golf cart on a green. Trump has been accused of cheating at golf by various playing partners over the years. He’s also said to hit the golf ball quite far for someone of his age, well past the point when most golfers lose distance precipitously.
We don’t know if Trump played golf every time he showed up to one of his clubs in his first term. The first Trump Administration would prevent press from shadowing President Trump when he went to his golf clubs.
A prime example came when Trump played golf with Rory McIlroy ahead of his comeback to the PGA Tour. Trump officials asked McIlroy at the last minute if he would play on a Sunday tee time. McIlroy chose to take up the President on the offer, but the White House not only did not disclose Trump was playing golf with McIlroy, they didn’t acknowledge that Trump played more than a previously stated intention of a few holes. The group played a full 18. It wasn’t until McIlroy spoke about the round to No Laying Up that the Trump Administration had to correct the record.
The frequency with which Trump plays golf isn’t really an issue — just as it wasn’t for former President Barack Obama. The presidency is an overwhelmingly difficult job, and the office-holder is certainly entitled to a time every week to take a load off. However, Trump was particularly critical of how many rounds President Barack Obama played in office.
