Trump reportedly installed a $50,000 golf simulator in the White House during the shutdown

published 14 February 2019

Sometime in the last few weeks, President Trump "installed a room-sized 'golf simulator' game at the White House, which allows him to play virtual rounds at courses all over the world by hitting a ball into a large video screen," The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing two people told about the system. A White House official said Trump paid to install the $50,000 system in his private quarters with his own money. A few weeks ago would put the simulator installation during the 35-day government shutdown, in the longest golf drought of Trump's presidency — 69 days, broken Feb. 2 when he teed off with Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus at a Trump golf course in Florida.

The White House official said Trump has not used the golf simulator during his generous periods of "Executive Time," or even used it at all. Three of Trump's golf courses have simulators made by the Danish company TrackMan Golf, which prices a full setup at $49,995, the Post reports. TrackMan did not respond to the newspaper's question about providing a system for the White House, but this would be how that system would work:

Trump's golf simulator replaced what an aide to former President Barack Obama described as a "fairly unsophisticated" one Obama put in the White House. Obama, who played about 38 rounds of golf per year during his eight years in office, also converted an indoor tennis court into a full basketball court. Trump has played golf — usually at one of his own golf resorts — about 139 times as president, or 70 times a year, the Post estimates, noting that "there is no way to have an exact count because he usually does not acknowledge having played."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.