Trump Roasted After Shocking Footage Shows the President ‘Cheating’ on Golf Course

In golf, character is everything. It’s a sport built on quiet honesty, where players are trusted to police themselves and every swing is a reflection of one’s reputation. So when a world way onto the green, the stakes extend far beyond the scorecard.

That’s why a short clip from Donald Trump’s recent visit to Scotland has everyone talking. In just a few seconds of footage, a routine moment on the course turned into a viral storm raising questions not just about the game, but about the man playing it. How did a simple round of golf enkindle a global discussion about integrity, image, and leadership?

The Viral Scotland Incident

A brief footage mugged at Turnberry Resort in Scotland in late July 2025 placed Donald Trump’s golf game under an intense limelight. The video, captured while Trump played a round at his own course, shows a caddy in the resort’s uniform walking ahead of the president’s golf cart and appearing to drop a ball into the rough just before Trump approached it. The placement of the ball incontinently raised questions about whether this was an informal Mulligan or a breach of golf etiquette.

The moment passed during a visit that combined rest and diplomacy. Trump was in Scotland to promote the expansion of his golf conglomerate and meet with European leaders. Before that, he had announced a US–EU trade agreement alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The golf outing served as a ground between political engagements, including a scheduled meeting with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Scottish First Minister John Swinney.

The timing of the viral clip was particularly sensitive given the scrutiny girding Trump’s golf habits. Reports indicate that he has spent 45 of the first 191 days of his presidency on golf courses, visiting Mar‑a‑Lago six times within three months earlier this year to play.

Although short and ambiguous, the footage captured enough to spark curiosity about Trump’s adherence to the sport’s verbal rule of self-policing and provided fertile ground for the debate that would follow.

Public Reaction and Online Backlash

The Turnberry clip snappily made its way across social media, where it became a lightning rod for commentary. On X (formerly Twitter), the phrase “Commander in Cheat” surged to the top of trending topics, reiterating the title of sportswriter Rick Reilly’s 2019 book that chronicled allegations of Trump bending golf’s rules for personal advantage.

Many users reacted with outrage, questioning both the conduct and the cost of the trip. One user wrote, “Why did we pay for this old man to travel to Scotland to cheat at golf?”

Another user took a more personal jab, posting, “No big deal, Andrew. Everyone knows he cheats, just ask one of his wives.”

Media personalities also joined in. For example, Stephen Colbert said, “A serious player would always drop a ball themselves rather than leave it to a caddy. In his defense, Trump has not seen his own balls in years.” in Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert.

Not all responses were critical. Some observers treated the clip as a lighthearted curiosity rather than a scandal. @JerryCosper1 also commented, “I doubt that Trump is the only rich senior citizen to have a caddy fudge for his game… make the boss look good! Those saying it was a drop with a penalty stroke, maybe, but don’t you drop your own ball? I love our POTUS and I find this more humorous than sinister…”

For many observers, the reaction reflected more than just the ethics of golf. It became a cultural flashpoint, reinforcing pre-existing divides between those who see Trump as an embodiment of rule-bending and those who view his critics as overly eager to amplify minor incidents.

Trump’s Long History of Golf Controversies

The Turnberry clip is only the latest chapter in a long-running story about Donald Trump and golf. For decades, sportswriters, celebrities, and professional golfers have shared accounts of his unconventional approach to the game.

Sportswriter Rick Reilly, who has known Trump for 30 years, has been one of his most outspoken critics on the subject. In an interview with The Guardian and in his book Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, Reilly described the president’s conduct bluntly:

“Donald Trump  is the worst cheat ever and he doesn’t care who knows,” Reilly said. “I always say golf is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a man. And golf reveals a lot of ugliness in this president.”

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Reilly recalled multiple instances that reflected Trump’s disregard for the game’s unwritten codes of honesty. “…Cheating? Hate that. Driving carts on greens? Hate that. Wearing old dockers two sizes too small for him? Give me a break. Kicking your ball so often the caddies call you Pelé? I so hate that.”

Reilly emphasized why this behavior struck a nerve: golf relies on personal accountability rather than referees. “It’s terrible he should cheat at golf which is the one sport where we self-regulate. There are referees in every other sport but in golf, if you’re 200 yards away, you can kick the ball and get away with it.” He added that the Golf Foundation told him “…90% of golfers don’t cheat. Golf is an honest game but this guy leaves a big ugly orange stain on it. It really pisses me off.”

Reilly’s anecdotes range from humorous to revealing. He recounted the day he witnessed “…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.”

In a sport that prides itself on integrity and self-enforcement, the combination of viral footage and years of testimony has created a narrative that is hard for critics to ignore. The Turnberry clip simply added a vivid, shareable moment to a history of stories that have long circulated around Trump’s time on the course.

Other High‑Profile Golf Controversies

Golf has long been considered a sport of honor, where a player’s character rests on personal integrity and self-enforcement of the rules. Yet even at the highest situations, breaches of form and outright rule violations have surfaced, reminding fans that no one is immune to scrutiny. Beyond Donald Trump, several prominent figures in the game have faced public backlash or sanctioned with official penalties for questionable conduct on the course.

  1. Patrick Reed (Professional Golfer): During the 2019 Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Patrick Reed was assessed a two-stroke penalty for allegedly perfecting his lie in a waste area. A video clearly showed sand shifting during his practice swings which is an infraction under Rule 8.1a (4) of the Rules of Golf. Reed accepted the ruling amid debate about camera angles and intent. As reported by Golf Digest, Reed stated, “…after seeing the video, I accept that, and it wasn’t because of any intent, I thought I was far enough away,” reiterating that no deliberate rule-breaking had occurred.
  2. Simon Dyson (European Tour Professional): At the BMW Masters in Shanghai in October 2013, Simon Dyson was disqualified from the tournament after a viewer alerted officials to a rules violation. He had tapped down a spike mark in his line on the eighth green and then signed for a score that failed to include the resulting two-stroke penalty. This breach of Rule 6-6d triggered a formal disciplinary panel, resulting in Dyson receiving a $34,331.25 fine, ordered to pay $8582.81 in costs, and a two-month suspended ban from the European Tour.
  3. Tom Watson and Gary Player (Legends of the Game): During the inaugural Skins Game in 1983, a televised exhibition featuring Watson, Player, Nicklaus, and Palmer. Tom Watson publicly accused Gary Player of cheating by allegedly moving a leaf directly behind his ball to improve his lie ahead of a chip shot on the 16th hole. The confrontation was overheard by New York Times columnist Dave Anderson. Watson’s allegation was unequivocal: “What I saw was a violation” under the Rules of Golf, casting a spotlight on the tension between competitive gain and fair play in an otherwise friendly event.

What Trump’s Golf Game Reveals About Integrity and Image

A golf ball quietly dropped in the rough should have been a forgettable moment. Rather, it became a symbol, replayed and deconstructed across screens worldwide. For Donald Trump, a man whose brand is erected as much on showmanship as power, the Turnberry clip has reinforced an enduring narrative: in golf, as in life, the small choices reveal the larger truth.

Golf is a game that trusts its players to be honest when no one is watching. When that trust is shaken, the conversation ultimately escapes the course and enters the public forecourt. One short videoclip has done what few political speeches or sanctioned statements can – remind the world that reputation is built in moments unseen, and lost in an instant when the cameras finally catch up.

In the end, a round of golf is never just a game when the player is a president. On the quiet greens of Scotland, a single ball became a mirror, reflecting questions not about the score, but about the man holding the club.

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Michelle

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