Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump

Rick Reilly

2019 • 256 pages

Ratings5

Average rating4

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Reilly pokes more holes in Trump's claims than there are sand traps on all of his courses combined. It is by turns amusing and alarming." -- The New Yorker "Golf is the spine of this shocking, wildly humorous book, but humanity is its flesh and spirit." -- Chicago Sun-Times "Every one of Trump's most disgusting qualities surfaces in golf." -- The Ringer An outrageous indictment of Donald Trump's appalling behavior when it comes to golf -- on and off the green -- and what it reveals about his character. Donald Trump loves golf. He loves to play it, buy it, build it, and operate it. He owns 14 courses around the world and runs another five, all of which he insists are the best on the planet. He also claims he's a 3 handicap, almost never loses, and has won an astonishing 18 club championships. How much of all that is true? Almost none of it, acclaimed sportswriter Rick Reilly reveals in this unsparing look at Trump in the world of golf. Based on Reilly's own experiences with Trump as well as interviews with over 100 golf pros, amateurs, developers, and caddies, Commander in Cheat is a startling and at times hilarious indictment of Trump and his golf game. You'll learn how Trump cheats (sometimes with the help of his caddies and Secret Service agents), lies about his scores (the "Trump Bump"), tells whoppers about the rank of his courses and their worth (declaring that every one of them is worth $50 million), and tramples the etiquette of the game (driving on greens doesn't help). Trump doesn't brag so much, though, about the golf contractors he stiffs, the course neighbors he intimidates, or the way his golf decisions wind up infecting his political ones. For Trump, it's always about winning. To do it, he uses the tricks he picked up from the hustlers at the public course where he learned the game as a college kid, and then polished as one of the most bombastic businessmen of our time. As Reilly writes, "Golf is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a man." Commander in Cheat "paints a side-splitting portrait of a congenital cheater" (Esquire), revealing all kinds of unsightly truths Trump has been hiding.

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Adi

It's a well known joke that men love golf more than women. In fact, golf is THE first love for many. There are countless email/Whatsapp/Facebook memes, jokes, & innuendos about golf. For example, we would rather use the shaft than our right hands; we would play 18 different holes than the one at home; a threesome is more fun than a twosome; and so on. Golfers would rather walk 5 hours under the blazing sun, to get knackered, just to waffle a small white ball into a hole over the scorched earth. It's true. Golf is an addictive sport. In fact, some might even say it's a form of pleasure in the same vein as heroin or sex. It hooks you and never lets you escape. If at all, golf is a form of escapism from the real world. It's true.

And that explains why US President Donald Trump loves golf. His businesses have gone bankrupt. His presidency seemingly going from one crisis to another. So what does he do? He golfs to escape from them all. In terrible fitting Dockers about to explode. Is he a good golfer? Apparently, yes, he's good. But he also “cheats” (i.e. he plays golf his way and not by the normal rules). A LOT. And that's what this book is about. His exploits on & off the golf course gives you insights to his so called colourful personality & somewhat unpredictable mindset.

This is the most unconventional book I've read about a US President. It's not even a biography, but it might well be. At the same time, it's one of the best golf books I've read. Seriously. Rick Reilly has nailed it. The best part? You don't have to know golf to read this book. You can even hate golf and still love this book. Even better – you can hate (or love) Trump and still love this book.

Why did I not give this book 5 stars? Because this book won't make you a better golfer!

Disclaimer: I'm a decent weekend golfer and used to be a golf addict.

January 1, 2019