Commander in cheat: Trump’s golf lies expose his true self

OPINION:

“Golf takes the measure of a man’s integrity.”

That famous saying of yore, which I made up just now, can apply to presidents and paupers. All men are equal on a golf course. And all men are bound by the same stringent code. History’s greatest sport has no referees. Participants must call fouls on themselves when they violate the rules.

If you play golf, you know a guy who always finds his ball deep in the woods, has a perfect lie in the rough or claims a miraculous par (while losing three balls). Only a few adhere to the single rigid rule laid out by golf’s governing body, the Royal & Ancient: Play the ball as it lies and the course as you find it.

Enter President Trump. At 78, he claims to have won yet another club championship title at his course in sunny West Palm Beach. It’s not the first time he has made the claim. Over the years, his self-proclaimed golf wins have included a slew of club championships, a Senior Club Championship and even the eye roll-worthy “Most Improved Player” award handed to him in 2023 by legend Jack Nicklaus.

But in true Trump fashion, those wins are often accompanied by a side serving of skepticism and a sprinkle of eyebrow-raising — and not just by his hated mainstream media.

Case in point: Back in 2022, Mr. Trump declared victory in a club championship, even though he hadn’t been there for the first round. Apparently, his practice round two days earlier was so exceptional that he just retroactively counted that as his opening score. Try doing that in your next club championship.

Fast-forward to this year, when a photo of 11 contestants’ scores mysteriously appeared on Instagram, with Mr. Trump’s name perched four shots ahead of the pack. The only problem? Nobody at the tournament seemed to know he had even played. When questioned, Mr. Trump chose to take the Fifth (something he’s used to these days).

Even his golf scorecards are wrapped in intrigue. Last year, Mr. Trump boasted about shooting a 67 at his Bedminster course, a number so low it bested all but six pros at a LIV Golf event held there weeks earlier. He’s just that good — at 78 and 250+ pounds. Right.

Swing analyst and sportswriter Rick Reilly, no fan of Mr. Trump, alleged in his 2019 book, “Commander in Cheat,” that golfing with Mr. Trump comes with its own rules where fairness is as rare as a hole-in-one. From kicking balls back onto the fairway to entering phantom tournaments, Mr. Trump’s game redefines the rules of golf.

As president, you have some built-in perks. When you leave a putt 4 feet short, your playing partner will likely say quickly, “That’s good.” Plus, with your own forecaddies all over the course — in the form of Secret Service agents — you might arrive at the ball you drove into the deep rough to find it in a perfect lie.

Mr. Trump doesn’t care much about doubters. He recently bragged, “For some reason, I am just a good golfer/athlete,” linking his skills to athletic prowess and stamina. Because why not? He alone polices himself on the golf course, so the reality is … whatever he says it is.

Mr. Reilly summed up Mr. Trump’s golfing prowess — or lack thereof. “I’ve always said golf is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a guy,” the sportswriter joked last year. “And what it reveals about this guy is that he cannot lose. He has to win, and he will do anything to cheat. And I know because I played golf with him and he took seven mulligans. He took a ‘give me chip-in.’ I’ve never even heard of a ‘give me chip-in,’” he added.

But what about those club championships? “What he does [is] he just calls in and goes, ‘I usually beat that guy, give me the trophy,’” Mr. Reilly said. “And I know this because when I play with him, he goes, ‘You know what I do to win these championships, don’t ya?’ and I go, ‘Please tell me.’ And he goes, ‘Anytime I buy a new course, I play the first round all by myself, and then I declare myself the club champion.’ So that’s what kind of guy this is.”

Sounds about right.

• Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com and on Twitter @josephcurl.