I have met many people who have had the pleasure of playing a round of golf with Donald Trump, and when you ask every single one of them about the experience, no one will fail to bring up his loose comprehension of the rules — or at the very least the generous “help” he receives from his caddies.
Many celebrities have come out publicly and called the GOP presidential frontrunner a cheater. The latest to share a story of witnessing Trump cheat on the course is boxer Oscar De La Hoya, who recalled a tale from two years ago when Trump joined up with his group at Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles. To De La Hoya’s horror, he watched Trump cheat not once, but twice in the span of only two holes, according to the Associated Press.
The former boxing champion watched Trump hit four balls off the tee — the first went in the water, the second out of bounds, the third in the drink again, and the fourth in the bushes.
“Donald, what he does is he tees off first so we go off to our balls and what do we see but Donald Trump right in the middle of the fairway,” De La Hoya said. “He said, ‘Hey look, I found my first ball.'”
On the next hole, a par-3, De La Hoya said Trump hit into some bushes and again went ahead of the other players in his cart. When the rest of the group got to the green, he said Trump’s ball was 3 feet from the hole.
“And by the way I’m picking it up,” De La Hoya quoted Trump as saying. “It’s a gimme.”
De La Hoya believes that Trump’s on the links is a reflection of the man himself.
“It shows something about his character,” he said. “Golf is a gentleman’s sport. You don’t lie about your score, you don’t lie about moving your ball. It goes to show what we’re dealing with.”
”Not only didn’t I cheat, I didn’t play with him,” Trump said. ”I have never played a round of golf with this guy.”
…
”He’s absolutely lying,” Trump said. ”Golf is an important thing and I felt I had to say something.”
De La Hoya isn’t the first person that Trump has accused of lying when it comes to his integrity on the golf course. Actor Samuel L. Jackson called Trump a cheater in a story published earlier this year.
I don’t know @SamuelLJackson, to best of my knowledge haven’t played golf w/him & think he does too many TV commercials—boring. Not a fan.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2016
I think Trump needs to start keeping a “golf journal” and writing down the names of people he’s played golf with because he seems to forget about many of them (kind of like the number of strokes he’s had on a hole!). The Washington Post wrote a well-researched story last fall, documenting anecdotes from various accusers ranging from Alice Cooper to Rick Reilly. Add Anthony Anderson to the list, as well.
While I’ve covered Trump’s golf course openings (including the one where he told me he made an ace the week prior and there is a plaque commemorating it now) and interviewed him several times, I have not played golf with him. And I’m a firm believer in never believing anything I hear, but I feel like enough evidence has presented itself in this case and we can fairly conclude that the leading GOP presidential nominee likely isn’t always honest on the links.
(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Personally, I’m no fan of Trump … but since when are we going to take the word of a boxing promoter as gospel? ODH has a vested interest in siding with Hispanic boxing fans.
Let’s give the Donald a break. It’s hard to grip a club with those short fingers…lol
The most surprising thing about this story about The Hair is not that he apparently cheats but that there remains a vestige of (faux?) surprise when yet another allegation get airplay. It’s a trite observation that golf reveals a person’s true character; what’s far less trite is that this bloke has been revealing his true character for years through both word and deed, but so many people are apparently willing to suspend their reasoning faculty and give the sucker an even break. Frightening. Truly.
Well, this is from the land that invented the Mulligan!