Donald Trump and golf

[5] Following his election, Trump broke precedent with recent presidents and chose not to divest from his business holdings, including his golf courses.

Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe played golf with him five times, helping the two leaders to become personally close.

Land for the US$45 million course was acquired through a lawsuit against Palm Beach County, Florida, after Trump's purchase of the Mar-a-Lago resort.

[11] In June 2015, Trump announced his candidacy in the 2016 presidential election with a controversial speech which led to companies such as Macy's and NBC cutting ties with the businessman.

"[30][31][32] The city of New York also stated that the Trump Organization had defaulted in its contractual obligations because it had failed to attract a major tournament.

"[34] In September 2023, the Trump Organization sold the operating rights to gaming and entertainment company Bally's Corporation for $60 million.

Joseph E. Davies, third husband of Marjorie Merriweather Post and a former U.S. ambassador of Welsh origins, was granted a coat of arms, bearing the motto Integritas, by British heraldic authorities in 1939.

[38] In 2008, Trump attempted to establish the American logo at his new Trump International Golf Links in Balmedie, Scotland, but was warned by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the highest authority for Scottish heraldry, that an act of the Scottish Parliament from 1672 disallows people using unregistered arms.

[43] In an unusual rebuke from the Office of Government Ethics, director Walter Shaub called Trump's actions "wholly inadequate" and "meaningless from a conflict of interest perspective.

"[45] Just days after his inauguration, a lawsuit was filed in federal court seeking to block the president from receiving payments from foreign government entities at his businesses.

Legal and ethical concerns were raised by organizations such as the Sunlight Foundation over foreign payments Trump may receive from the visit.

[47] In June 2017, the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia filed a separate lawsuit, claiming Trump was "flagrantly violating" the Emoluments Clause.

[48] A 2016 investigation by USA Today found that lobbyists and corporate executives had been purchasing memberships at Trump golf courses to gain favor or contact with the president.

Membership fees at Trump courses can exceed US$100,000, leading to ethical concerns over a sitting president accepting money from people lobbying the government.

[54] The White House on some occasions denied that Trump played golf during his visits even after photos published on social media showed him doing so.

[55] Journalists and ethics experts have alleged that these frequent visits are a means of boosting publicity at the courses to sell more memberships.

[54] Vice President Mike Pence stayed at the Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Ireland in 2019 while meeting with Irish officials in Dublin.

[60] On September 15, 2024, during a tour of his course in West Palm Beach, Trump's security detail spotted an armed man, Ryan Wesley Routh, behind a fence.