President Donald Trump on Thursday bragged about his golf game and boasted of winning 38 club championships, insisting that he did so “legitimately.”
But people who’ve played with Trump have said otherwise.
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“Look, I know a lot about golf. I’ve won 38 club championships and I don’t get to practice much,” said Trump, who plays golf through most weekends, costing taxpayers some $70 million even as he makes severe cuts elsewhere in government.
During a holiday call with U.S. service members, Trump bragged about winning a championship at “a big club” by beating a 27-year-old player just last year, but did not provide specifics.
“You know, club championships are our majors, you know that, most people can’t play in them, they won’t,” he said. “We’re talking about no strokes or anything else. So I’m a very low handicap, and I’ve won 38 of them legitimately, every one legitimately.”
He claimed his victories must be legitimate because of the number of people who follow along during championships.
“So I’m a good golfer, yeah, I would have to say that,” he insisted. “I want to be honest. I have to be honest.”
President Donald Trump plays golf at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, Sunday, July 27, 2025.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant) via Associated Press
Trump was responding to a service member who asked about his golf handicap and if he was ever going to play against former President Joe Biden.
Naturally, Trump used the question as a chance to take a few shots at his predecessor.
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“You have a lot of people talk, but they can’t play, like Biden,” he said. “Biden can’t hit a ball 30 yards, I’m telling you. I looked at his swing. He cannot hit a ball 30 yards.”
Trump has so far spent 82 days of his presidency on golf courses he owns, including 29 at his course in West Palm Beach, which is close to his Mar-a-Lago home.
He’s golfed as his tariffs caused economic chaos, headed to the course frequently during the government shutdown, and even golfed rather than attend the return of remains of four U.S. soldiers killed overseas during a training mission.
But while the president spends plenty of time golfing, those he’s golfed with and other observers say he’s not nearly as good as he’s boasted.
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Sportswriter Rick Reilly has not only played with the president but authored an entire book about the experience called “Commander In Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump.”
Reilly said last year that Trump cheats at golf “like a mafia accountant” and called his championships “fake as Velveeta cheese.”
“He’s never won a championship at a course he doesn’t own and operate,” Reilly told MSNBC last year. “He’s played in Pebble Beach, he’s played in the Tahoe one, where there are rules and judges and cameras. And in those, he’s never finished in the top half. So he wins when anybody who disagrees that he won is out of the club. That’s how he gets it.”
Earlier this year, videos surfaced online that critics say show the president cheating.
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Given that history, Trump’s critics on X weren’t buying his latest boast about winning 38 championships “legitimately.”
They fired back:
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