Footage of an 80-year-old amateur golfer shanking a shot would not normally attract much attention.

That is unless the golfer is Donald Trump, who just days earlier had bragged of his golfing ability in a disparaging social media post after winning the senior championship at his Bedminster course in New Jersey.

A video posted to X this week, with the caption “43-time Club Champion”, has been viewed more than 4.5 million times.

In the video, posted by Ron Filipkowski, Trump sends his ball almost in a right angle to the target while attempting to chip onto the green.

It came after Trump celebrated his win at Bedminster after supposedly shooting a two-under-par 70, then bragged about his victory on social media.

“Unlike the rest of the field, I’m given very little time to practice, because I’m focused on many other things. It’s called TALENT, and I have it, and they don’t!” he ungraciously gushed on his Truth Social platform.

The post was accompanied by video of a decidedly better chip attempt by the US President.

Allegations of cheating aside, Trump may actually be a pretty good golfer.

“He can really strike the ball. He makes good contact. He’s got a good swing,” according to four-time Major winner Ernie Els, who witnessed a hole-in-one by Trump in 2022.

“President Trump plays pretty well, not bad at all,” golfing legend Jack Nicklaus said in 2020.

Trump’s prowess is not surprising since he has been on the course for around 22 per cent of his second presidency, according to multiple trackers.

Trump has played golf at least 124 days in his second term, according to Trump Golf Track run by The Alt Media, which calls itself a “progressive alternative to mainstream news”.

The website claims there were other days on the President’s schedule when Trump visited his golf properties, but it was not known if he played.

Website Did Trump Golf Today? estimates Trump’s golfing days – based on his public schedule from Roll Call Factbase – to be as high as 125 days.

Cheating allegations

Despite having a good swing, Trump has earned a reputation for bending the rules of golf in his favour, as addressed extensively in sports writer Rick Reilly’s 2019 book Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump.

“Trump doesn’t just cheat at golf,” Reilly wrote. “He throws it, boots it, and moves it. He lies about his lies. He fudges and foozles and fluffs.”

Reilly claimed that at Winged Foot Golf Club, where Trump is a member, caddies were so used to seeing him kick his ball back onto the fairway they gave him the nickname ‘Pele’.

In 2023, members of the Trump International West Palm Beach course arrived for the final round of their senior club championship only to find Trump’s name at the top of the leaderboard, despite the fact that he didn’t play the first round.

Apparently Trump played a round on the course earlier that week and decided to use that score for the first round of the championship.

He then called it a “great honour” to have won the tournament on social media, adding, “he was hitting the ball long and straight”.