Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
A question has loomed for years over the world of American politics: How good, actually, is Donald Trump at golf? The former president says he is an ace, a claim backed by many of his cronies and employees. But others say he is a chronic cheater, allegedly kicking opponents’ balls into the bunker and moving his own into better position. Because he golfs almost exclusively at his own resorts, the public rarely gets to see him play the game, which he did almost one out of four days during his presidency. But a rare look at his putting game might finally provide an answer to the mystery.
Trump took time out of his 2024 campaign schedule to hang out with pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau, putting a mic on for the U.S. Open winner’s podcast while playing a charity round for the organization Wounded Warrior Project. On that day at least, Trump’s short game really sucked:
Everyone has bad days in a sport as finicky as golf. But Trump’s putting form suggests that this may not be a one-off problem. The former president flicks his wrist in a twitchy manner just as his putter strikes the ball. On the worst of these attempts, it clearly makes him miss an extremely gettable shot. If that day was any indication, his weird form is making him miss left all the time. “It’s not that they’re bad,” he says after one of his many, many misses. Perhaps no one has had the heart to tell the former president that he is wrong.
At least he’s still having fun on his golf cart: