Which presidential golf destinations (domestic and international) were most costly and why?
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Executive summary
President Donald Trump’s golf trips in 2025 have been estimated to cost taxpayers roughly $3.4 million per country‑club visit, producing about $71 million in reported security and travel expenses so far this year and putting the four‑year total on track to exceed $300 million if the pace continues [1] [2]. The largest single reported outlays are tied to long‑distance Air Force One flights and specially configured security operations for coastal and overseas courses — most notably a near‑$10 million Scotland visit and heavy Mar‑a‑Lago security arrangements [1] [3].
1. “Why $3.4 million? The arithmetic behind the headline”
Media analyses rely on a Government Accountability Office estimate from 2019 that calculated the per‑trip cost of early Mar‑a‑Lago visits at roughly $3.38 million in 2017 dollars; outlets and trackers round this to about $3.4 million and apply it as an average for similar country‑club trips, producing the headline figure now circulating [4] [3]. Those estimates bundle Air Force One flying time, Secret Service protection, military support vessels near seaside courses and other logistics; Air Force One’s long‑range flights are repeatedly called out as the single biggest driver of the tab [3].
2. “Domestic hotspots: Mar‑a‑Lago, Bedminster and Doral”
Mar‑a‑Lago in Palm Beach is presented as especially expensive because it sits on a barrier island requiring maritime patrols (small vessels with mounted guns, Coast Guard boats) in addition to the routine motorcade, aviation and security layers, which compounds costs beyond a simple ground trip [3]. Bedminster trips are reported as cheaper on average — some estimates put individual Bedminster journeys near $1.1 million — largely because nearby airfields cannot accommodate the jumbo Air Force One configuration, forcing alternatives that reduce airborne expense [1] [3]. Doral and other Florida courses have drawn official delegations and events that mix political hospitality with presidential travel, raising both security needs and questions about indirect benefits to private properties [5].
3. “The outlier: Scotland and international travel”
Overseas visits magnify costs. Reporting cites an Aberdeen/Scotland course trip that cost nearly $10 million to taxpayers, reflecting longer Air Force One flight time, expanded diplomatic and security coordination and higher logistical complexity for moving a presidential entourage abroad [1]. International legwork multiplies aerial hours — the most expensive component — and adds bilateral security arrangements and host‑country coordination that domestic trips largely avoid [3].
4. “How analysts and trackers built the totals”
HuffPost’s aggregate that has been widely cited starts from GAO per‑trip baseline numbers and multiplies by the number of outings tracked in 2025; trackers such as DidTrumpGolfToday compile public schedules and apply the GAO average to estimate cumulative costs [6] [4]. That methodology produces a running tally (roughly $70–$75 million in 2025 so far) and projects a four‑year total exceeding $300 million if frequency remains unchanged [2] [1].
5. “What the numbers don’t fully reveal”
Available sources note methodological limits: the GAO figures derive from 2017 dollars and a small sample of trips, so applying them uniformly likely undercounts inflation and trip‑to‑trip variation — and some outlets warn that actual current hourly Air Force One costs cited vary across reports [4] [3]. Sources also emphasize that many detailed line‑item expenditures are not publicly disclosed, meaning the published totals are estimates rather than audited, itemized bills [7].
6. “Competing perspectives and implicit agendas”
Critics frame these expenditures as taxpayer waste and presidential profiteering when trips benefit properties tied to the president; watchdogs like CREW link visits to concerns about conflicts and official enrichments [5]. Supporters argue some travel is routine presidential business or earned downtime; several outlets note partisan reactions and that reporting groups and trackers have incentives to highlight high figures [5] [8]. Both perspectives rely on the same GAO‑derived cost model but interpret policy and ethics implications differently [1] [5].
7. “Bottom line for readers”
Current reporting shows Mar‑a‑Lago and long‑haul international courses produce the highest estimated taxpayer costs because of extended Air Force One flights and intensified security logistics; Bedminster and nearer domestic sites tend to be cheaper largely for aviation reasons [3] [1]. Estimates are transparent about their basis — GAO 2019 per‑trip figures and public schedule tracking — but available sources do not provide a fully audited, up‑to‑the‑penny accounting of each trip’s total cost [4] [6].