President Trump plays by his own rules in more ways than one.
Parking his different approach to politics (Shall we say?), there are column inches upon column inches written about how he enjoys breaking the guidelines of golf.
So much so that, as each accusation emerges, there appears to be no pushback from the 45th and 47th President of the United States of America.
There has been a litany of allegations thrown in the way of Trump, who opened his new golf course in Aberdeenshire in the week starting July 28, 2025.
It was on this trip, where he also played at his own Turnberry resort, that a caddie in his group appeared to throw a ball down in the semi-rough when it appeared his ball might have been in the longer fescue, or even a sand trap.
As there are so many examples of where Trump has ignored the rules of golf and done his own thing, we thought we’d rank them in terms of outrageousness and distance by which they crossed the line.
As always, when referring to Donald Trump cheating allegations, we must mention the genius of Rick Reilly, who published ‘Commander in Cheat’ in 2019, which is an encyclopedia on the subject.
Ranking the biggest claims of Donald Trump cheating at golf
7. A gimme chip-in
Reilly wrote of the first time he played with him in the late 1980s. He was meant to caddie for Trump, but he played with him instead. Here is what Reilly wrote of this instance:
“So I played him. That was the day he took the only gimme chip in I’ve ever seen. A chip is a gimme? Trump’s pretty good off the tee, but he chips like Edward Scissorhands. He’ll cheat you on the course and then buy you lunch.”
6. Moving his ball next to the pin
Another time involved the billionaire businessman-turned-leader of the free world playing with a famous quarterback from the American football scene and a pro golfer at a course in South Florida, in a charity event.
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On a long par 3, everyone in the group missed the green, according to a participant on the day. Trump’s shot was supposedly short of the green, and this was clear. As two of the golfers walked back up the hill to look at the pin before playing their next shots, Trump’s ball was close to the pin, and he told his playing partners that they mustn’t have seen his shot land on the green.
5. Six mulligans on the same hole
Professor David Cay Johnston of the Rochester Institute of Technology, who has written three books about Trump, once said that he took six mulligans during one hole, as per someone who played with the President.
A mulligan is when you replay a shot you aren’t happy with. It is an unwritten rule you can use in social/unserious play, but certainly not something you can do in general.
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4. Earning the nickname ‘Pele’
This one is funny.
It is said that the caddies at Winged Foot Golf Club, the US Open venue in New York, got so used to seeing Trump kick his ball out of bad lies that they called him Pele – after the great Brazilian footballer.
3. Winning club championships that he wasn’t present for
One year, members of Trump International West Palm Beach in Florida arrived for the final round of the Senior Club Championship to find the President’s name at the top of the leaderboard.
This might have been plausible if he had played in the first round.
Allegedly, Trump played a round earlier that week that he claimed counted as his score for the first round of the tournament.
2. Launching Mike Tirico’s ball off the green
Most of these allegations are laughable, but this one is truly outrageous.
Trump was playing with golf broadcaster Mike Tirico and fellow sports callers Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski at one of his courses.
It’s reported that Tirico knocked his ball on the green from 230 yards away, but he found it in a bunker.
Trump’s caddie later told Tirico that Trump threw it in the sand. “I watched him do it,” the caddie said.
1. Using other people’s balls as your own
It is hard to separate these jaw-dropping incidents, but this one deserves the No.1 spot for us.
Ted Virtue, the CEO of MidOcean Partners, won the club championship at West Palm Beach. Trump didn’t play in the event on this occasion.
Reilly told the story that Trump saw Virtue on the back nine of the course on a different day and said the pair could start playing from there and play to see who the real champion was.
“Apparently, they get to a hole with a big pond in front of the green,” Reilly said. “Both Ted and his son hit the ball on the green, but Trump hits his in the water. By the time they get to the hole, though, Trump is lining up the son’s ball. Only now it’s his ball and the caddie has switched it.
“The son is like, ‘That’s my ball!’ But Trump’s caddie goes, ‘No, this is the president’s ball. Your ball went in the water’. Trump makes that putt, and wins 1 up.”
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What do you make of these claims of Donald Trump cheating at golf? Do you believe all of these claims of Donald Trump cheating at golf? Having seen his swing, what would you say is an accurate Donald Trump golf handicap? Tell us on X!
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