See more
May 25, 2019 · President-elect Donald Trump has a USGA handicap index of 2.8. Is he a good golfer? Is he as good as he says he is? Does he cheat? If his handicap is true and he's not a sandbagger, then he's one...
What is Donald Trump's handicap?
The official USGA handicap listed for Donald Trump is 2.8. Still, experts like golf writer Michael Bamberger (Golf.com and Sports Illustrated) peg him as a 9 or 10. Trump doesn’t log many scores, which is part of his strategy to improve his overall record. Sportswriter Rick Reilly has noted that the math doesn’t add up.
What is Trump's bump?
The “Trump Bump” is a tactic Trump uses to decide an outcome that paints him in a favorable light. The facts of the score don’t matter. Instead, the score he reports does. If the actual score was 72, it might be 70 when he mentions it five minutes later, or 68 an hour later.
Topline
President Donald Trump claimed that he has scored in the “low 70s” at the notoriously difficult Winged Foot Golf Club in New York, where the U.S. Open is being contested this week, adding to a list of dubious claims he’s made about his golfing prowess even though others have called him out for cheating.
Key Facts
Appearing on Fox Sports Radio ahead of the U.S. Open, Trump said that he had shot “low 70s, quite a bit” on the course, adding “I’ve been a member there a long time. I could do pretty well.”
Crucial Quote
Reilly, who wrote about multiple instances of Trump’s cheating in his 2019 book Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, told CNN in an interview last year, "He cheats like a mafia accountant. He cheats crazy. He cheats whether you're watching or not.
Surprising Fact
In 2019, Golf Magazine reported that Trump claims to be the ‘2018 Men’s Club Champion’ at the West Palm Beach club, which he owns, despite the fact that he didn’t participate in the championship. According to the New Yorker, Trump, who claims to have won 18 club championships, has admitted to Reilly that they weren’t championships at all.
Big Number
31. That’s the number of times Trump has gone to golf courses since March, when the coronavirus pandemic took off in the U.S., according to TrumpGolfCount.com. As of September 6, Trump has played at least a total of 138 rounds of golf since the start of his presidency, by the website’s count.
Further Reading
President Trump won a 2018 club championship — without actually playing in it! (Golf Magazine)
