Sixteen of the last 19 US presidents have played golf — and now, in Donald John Trump, the nation can finally boast the very best of them all. Well, that’s what he’d like you to believe. “To say ‘Donald Trump cheats’ is like saying ‘Michael Phelps swims,’” writes Rick Reilly in the new book “Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump” (Hachette Book Group), out Tuesday. “He cheats at the highest level. He cheats when people are watching and he cheats when they aren’t. He cheats whether you like it or not. He cheats because that’s how he plays golf … if you’re playing golf with him, he’s going to cheat.” Reilly, a former Sports Illustrated columnist who has played with Trump in the past, spoke to dozens of players — both amateur and professional — to recount some of the president’s worst cons on the course, starting with his declared handicap of 2.8. In layman’s terms, the lower the handicap, the better the player. Jack Nicklaus, winner of a record 18 major golf titles and generally considered the greatest golfer in the history of the game, has a handicap of 3.4. Nicklaus’ handicap is listed on the same Golf Handicap and Information Network website used by Trump, where players post their scores. “If Trump is a 2.8,” writes Reilly, “Queen Elizabeth is a pole vaulter.” Shortly after he became president, Trump played with Tiger Woods, the current world No. 1 Dustin Johnson and the veteran PGA Tour pro Brad Faxon. Given the quality and profile of his companions, you might have thought Trump would have been on his best behavior. Not so. On one hole, Trump dunked a shot into the lake, but as his opponents weren’t looking he simply dropped another ball — and then hit that into the water, too. “So he drives up and drops where he should’ve dropped the first time and hits it on the green,” recalls Faxon. The actor Samuel L. Jackson has also witnessed the underhanded methods Trump employs, according to Reilly. “We clearly saw him hook a ball into a lake at Trump National [Bedminster, New Jersey],” he says, “and his caddy told him he found it!” The boxer Oscar De La Hoya and rocker Alice Cooper have also seen the same shenanigans first hand, while LPGA player Suzann Pettersen, another victim, thinks it’s all down to his caddy “since no matter how far into the woods he hits the ball, it’s in the middle of the fairway when we get there.” And Trump doesn’t just tamper with his own balls. During a game with Mike Tirico before Trump was elected, the former ESPN football announcer hit the shot of his life, a 230-yard 3-wood towards an elevated green he couldn’t see. But he knew it was close. When he got to the putting green, however, Tirico’s ball was nowhere to be seen. Instead, it was 50 feet left of the hole in a bunker. It made no sense — until Trump’s caddy caught up with him after the round. “Trump’s caddy came up to me and said, ‘You know that shot you hit on the par 5?’” Tirico says. “‘It was about 10 feet from the hole. Trump threw it in the bunker. I watched him do it.’” Even Trump’s golf courses lie. As the owner of 14 golf clubs and with his name on another five, Trump has, according to Reilly, been known to wildly exaggerate their standing in course rankings, overvalue them and even play fast and loose with their locations. At Trump Washington at Lowes Island, there’s a Civil War monument (bearing Trump’s name, obviously) between the 14th and 15th holes, reminding golfers of how many soldiers, from North and South, died at that very spot. It’s a nice touch, even though several Civil War historians have confirmed that no battle took place anywhere near the memorial. And what about his course at Bedminster? There’s a plaque there with a quote from the renowned course architect Tom Fazio. It reads: This is the best design I’ve ever done. TOM FAZIO Except that’s not true, either. “I don’t believe I said it exactly like that,” Fazio told Reilly. In a game where etiquette is everything, Reilly reports that Trump never takes his cap off for the end-of-round handshake, nor does he remove it in the clubhouse afterward, presumably for fear of what damage a sweaty round might have done to that hairstyle. He’s even been known to drive his golf cart onto the putting green, an offense Reilly likens to “hanging your laundry in the Sistine Chapel.” Quite why Trump cheats is another matter. He is, by all accounts, a very good golfer for his age (even Tiger Woods was impressed) but seems incapable of playing by the rules. Does he even care? To that, Reilly offers a simple reply. “Golf,” he writes, “is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a man.” This report originally appeared on NYPost.com. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/t...-at-golf-new-book-says-2019-03-31?mod=hp_econ
Trump cheats at golf! OMG we have to write a book about it! Bill Clinton rapes and sexually assaults dozens of women! OMG we have to cover it up! Welcome to the American Media
When will have a Book talking about the operation fast and furious (Obama/Clinton selling military weapons to Mexican cartels), The IRS espionage, The Inmigration Crisis in Europe, The million ISIS Toyotas, The Child detention center called the Cage in 2014 (93,000 child separated from their parents) or how Planned Parenthood is killing black babies (did you guys know that abortion reduce black population by 23% since 1973 and that most PP clinics are located at minorities neighborhoods?) What about a Book explaining how Hillary Clinton sold nuclear tech to Chinese illegally in 1996 for $200 millions? Or the 20% Uranium Scandal, Or How Dems tried to steal Florida election last November? (remember the Broward County scandal?) The Iran Deal, The PTF Fiasco, the Paris Accord criminal Fiasco, a Book Explaining how Obama manipulate companies (using regulatory tactics) in order to profit from shadow hedge funds shorting those stocks, and a Huge ETC. Yet, Trump Golf is worth a freaking book.
This is beyond silly. Trump owns the freakin golf course. He can drive his cart anywhere he wants. It's more like you park your car on your front lawn occasionally. Having a too low handicap is a two edged sword. Good for the ego, bad for the pocketbook if you are playing for money. From watching the Pebble Beach pro-am for years, I can confirm Trump is not the only celeb with an impossibly low handicap. And what relevance is Jack Nicklaus? He is nearly 80 and can barely walk. Lots of people play casual rules. You hit your ball o/b or in the woods, the rules say you have to go back and re-tee. No one does that and if you try it on a lot of courses, you will have problems with the group behind you. Throwing someone's ball into a bunker is outrageous but who knows how accurate the story is or if there was more involved. Anyway, we get it, Trump is the single worst human being ever to breath air. That's why many of us no longer even bother with newspaper or TV "news."
Part of the fun. My golf buddy is famous for trying to improve his lie. He will try to tee it up on some grass, even when not playing "lift, clean and replace". Sometimes i'll toss a tee at him to rub it in. He is also famous for kicking his ball if it lands behind a tree. I always ask him if he brought his "foot wedge".
The old adage is that golf doesn't teach character, it reveals it. How many Trump voters are seriously surprised if the Big Orange Ape is the kind of guy who would cheat, lie and cut corners? We just want him to put those talents to work and get the damn wall built.
Clinton? Dozens of rapes and sexual assaults? Really? I would think Trump wins in that challenge, too. So much winning! Meanwhile, so much angst about justifiable criticism regarding Trump's conduct and character. Must be tough being a yes-man in a no-Trump environment. Hair on fire much?
He has wasted two years of his presidency, but the shitshow at DOJ that resulted in Mueller is responsible for a lot of that. Still, he appointed Sessions and Rosenstein and the latter is still there somehow. He has two years to turn it around and it is not looking encouraging. Massive illegal crossings, more caravans coming, a hopeless incompetent at Homeland Security and no wall.