President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday, August 2, 2026, proclaiming victory at the Bedminster Club Championship in New Jersey. The 80-year-old president announced he had swept both the Senior and Super Senior divisions with a score of 70, then proceeded to belittle his fellow competitors in characteristic fashion.
In his social media post, Trump said he was honored by the win despite having little time to practice, attributing the result to natural talent that he claims to possess while his opponents do not. The Bedminster course has a par of 72, which means his reported 70 would represent a 2-under-par performance. Video Trump posted appeared to capture what he presented as the decisive moment — a chip shot that landed on the green and came to rest close to the hole.
Doubters Dissect Every Frame
While someone at the tournament could be heard congratulating the president on his dual-division triumph with a 70, and the person filming called the moment amazing, online reaction painted a starkly different picture. Internet sleuths picked apart the footage, with theories ranging from remote-controlled equipment to strategic foot positioning. Some pointed out that the ball never actually fell into the cup, consistent with Trump’s widely documented practice of treating nearby putts as automatic successes.
Others questioned whether his swing mechanics could realistically yield such a score without assistance from forward tees. This latest win brings what was described as his 43rd club championship. Trump has previously boasted of accumulating more than 20 such titles, and in a 2013 exchange with businessman Mark Cuban, he claimed 18 victories. The MeidasTouch account posted on X that he only wins at his own courses. Former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois weighed in more succinctly, calling Trump “what a baby.”
The One Tournament He Couldn’t Win
Perhaps the strongest evidence against Trump’s claimed abilities comes from the 2006 American Century celebrity tournament in Tahoe, one of the few times he competed on someone else’s turf. There he finished 62nd out of 80 celebrities, shooting 52 over par across three rounds. Critics have repeatedly cited that performance as revealing his actual skill level.
Another controversial episode occurred in January 2025 at Trump International West Palm Beach. Members showed up for the final round of their Senior Club Championship only to discover Trump leading the field, despite having skipped the opening round entirely. He had substituted a score from an earlier practice round for the one he missed, then declared the achievement a great honor on social media.
Decades of Colorful Allegations
Accusations of improper conduct on the course have followed Trump for years. Sportswriter Rick Reilly chronicled extensive allegations in his New York Times bestseller “Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump,” documenting what he characterized as numerous questionable incidents. Reilly wrote that caddies at Winged Foot, where Trump is a member, nicknamed him “Pele” because they regularly saw him using his foot to improve his ball’s position.
According to the book, Trump personally confessed to Bryan Marsal that dishonesty is part of his game and that he assumes everyone else plays the same way. According to Reilly’s book, Trump once hit a ball into a pond in Los Angeles only to have it reappear in the fairway, an outcome Trump explained as the result of tidal forces. In another incident previously reported on Golf.com, Reilly recounted how Trump’s caddie claimed a ball on the green as Trump’s when it actually belonged to Ted Virtue’s son, contradicting multiple eyewitness accounts.
Even longtime ally and regular playing partner Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) appeared to allude to the pattern in sworn testimony. Graham testified that while others might outdrive Trump, his golf cart appeared to move with remarkable speed between shots.
Trump’s relationship with professional golf has also seen rocky moments. In 2016, the PGA Tour moved a premier tournament from Trump National Doral to Mexico City after sponsor Cadillac withdrew, and the PGA of America moved the 2022 PGA Championship from Bedminster to a Tulsa venue four days following the Capitol riot. Trump’s portfolio includes 18 golf courses around the globe, with 12 located in the United States, including three in Florida. Victories at those properties continue to pile up — along with the skeptics who refuse to accept them.