Donald Trump’s golfing habit is no secret but the amount it is reportedly costing taxpayers may leave Americans stunned.
The president may have only returned to office 14 months ago but he has already managed to tee it up at one of his courses a total of at least 110 times, according to a report.
Trump’s fairway frolicking has cost the US taxpayers at least $101.2 million in travel and security expenses since his second inauguration in January 2025, according to HuffPost.
That figure is said to put him on track to rack up an eye-watering $300 million in golfing expenses by the time the end of his second term rolls around in 2029, the report claims.
What is more, it is already blowing his first-term budget way out of bounds. The amount spent since his return to the White House is said to be two-thirds of his first-term golf total.
It took Trump a whole two years during his first presidency to hit the $100 million mark. During his first term, the president reportedly played golf a total of 293 days at his own courses at a cost to taxpayers of $151.5 million.
Donald Trump’s golfing habit is reportedly costing US taxpayers millions of dollars
His golfing has cost at least $101.2 million in travel and security expenses in his second term
HuffPost recorded the number of times Trump has played at one of his courses during his second term and based its figures for transportation and security for Trump’s golf trips on a report to Congress during his first term in office.
Trump has reportedly played at his Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach a staggering 56 times already since his 2025 inauguration.
Furthermore, he has made eight trips to his course in Bedminster, New Jersey, and five to his resort in Doral, Florida, in addition to 17 to his Mar-a-Lago country club home, which is located near two of his courses.
However, the most expensive trip to date was his visit to Scotland last summer, when he opened a new course in Aberdeenshire.
While on a ‘working holiday’ in Britain, Trump formally opened the second 18-hole course on his estate at an extravagant ribbon-cutting ceremony with a host of VIPs.
The trip across the Atlantic Ocean to hit the links in Scotland reportedly cost $9.7 million in taxpayer money.
The revelation about Trump’s golfing spree comes at a time when most Americans are facing the prospect of tightening their purse strings.
Trump’s approval rating has taken a battering in recent weeks, tumbling to 42 percent – its lowest ever – per a new Daily Mail/JL Partners poll earlier this month, amid the economic strain triggered by the US’s military operation in the Middle East.
The president has frequently boasted about his success and victories on the fairways
Trump opened the new course at Trump International Scotland in Aberdeenshire last summer
In retaliation for the joint US-Israel strikes, Iran’s counterattack has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil trading channel, sending global gas prices rocketing.
Yet, Americans are not only feeling the strain at the gas pump. As the conflict with Iran rattles Wall Street, the brutal squeeze could hit almost every part of their finances – from the grocery store to their mortgage payment and 401(k).
Ironically, Trump used golf as a way to target former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden on multiple occasions.
In his first presidential campaign, Trump frequently mocked Obama for golfing during troubles at the White House, telling voters: ‘I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf.’
Meanwhile, his first presidential debate against Biden, who later dropped out as the Democratic candidate, descended into bitter bickering about their handicaps.
Trump has previously made boastful claims about his golfing success, bragging that he has won multiple club championships.
Yet, Trump has been frequently accused of cheating and liberally interpreting the rules on the golf course.
Rick Reilly’s book, ‘Commander in Cheat’, published in 2019, examines the president’s apparent penchant for cheating in golf.
Trump used golf as a way to target former presidents Barack Obama (pictured) and Joe Biden
‘Trump doesn’t just cheat at golf,’ Reilly wrote in an excerpt published by Golf.com . ‘He cheats like a three-card Monte dealer. He throws it, boots it, and moves it.
‘He lies about his lies. He fudges and foozles and fluffs. At Winged Foot, where Trump is a member, the caddies got so used to seeing him kick his ball back onto the fairway they came up with a nickname for him: ‘Pele.’
Last year, film star Samuel L. Jackson also accused him of cheating when the pair played a round together.
However, MLB legend Roger Clemens appeared to defend the president when they played a round together in the summer.
Clemens and Trump played at the latter’s Trump National Golf Club in Virginia with the baseball star’s son, Kacy, and the club’s director of golf, John O’Leary, per the Daily Beast .
The former New York Yankee shared a photo of the group’s scorecard and while Trump shot a respectable 77, he still finished behind the other three players in his group.
Kacy, 31, shot a 69, O’Leary wasn’t far behind with a 71 and Clemens finished one stroke ahead of Trump with a 76.
‘For everyone asking about the scorecard! Mr. President didn’t miss a fairway!!,’ he said.
