# of golf games trump has played in 1st term & 1st year 2nd term through Dec
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Executive summary
The most concrete, contemporaneous public tally for Donald Trump’s first presidential term (2017–2021) comes from tracker sites cited by major outlets: at least 142 documented occasions when he played golf and 285 daytime visits to golf clubs, according to TrumpGolfCount/TrumpGolfTracker data reported by Statista and Forbes [1] [2]. For the first year of his second term (calendar year 2025, through December), the reporting provided here does not include a verified, single-source count; several trackers and outlets say he has played more in his second term, but no definitive number through December is available in the supplied sources [3] [4] [5].
1. The first term: what the trackers show and how to read the numbers
Independent trackers assembled during Trump’s first term separated “daytime visits to golf clubs” from confirmed rounds played, and their conservative published totals became the de facto public record: by November 8, 2020 the tracker cited by Statista and Forbes reported 285 daytime golf-club visits with evidence of golf being played on at least 142 occasions [1] [2]. Those two figures are different metrics — one counts all visits (including non-playing visits or multi-day stays at Trump properties) and the other counts occasions with evidence a round occurred — and the reporting makes clear both have been used in public discussions of presidential leisure time [1] [2].
2. The first term year-by-year detail and reporting variances
Contemporaneous writeups and later summaries noted year-to-year swings: one compilation referenced in the dataset recorded that Trump ended 2017 with 91 golf-course visits and recorded dozens of outings in subsequent years, with a slump around the 2020 pandemic and campaign period [6]. That source and others underscore why totals differ: some days counted as “visits” reflect multi-day stays at a club or property where golf may not have been played, while other tallies require photographic or eyewitness evidence of a round [6] [2]. The provided material thus supports a cautious statement: first-term play is documented at a minimum of 142 rounds, with many more club visits recorded [1] [2].
3. The first year of the second term (through December): insufficient verified totals in supplied reporting
For 2025, the supplied reporting signals an uptick — an ethics watchdog and Newsweek reported he has visited his golf courses more in his second term than in his first — but those pieces do not publish a consolidated, verified count for “first year through December” in the sources provided here [3]. Several live trackers and new trackers are cited (DidTrumpGolfToday, TrumpGolfTrack, TrumpGolfTracker, TrumpGolfTracker.net) and media outlets have written about increased golfing and related political implications, yet the dataset supplied does not include a single verified numeric total for 2025 through December [4] [5] [7] [3]. Therefore a precise number for the first year of the second term cannot be asserted from these sources alone.
4. Why different outlets and trackers report different figures — agendas and methodology
Differences arise from definitions (visit vs. played), evidence thresholds (photo/manifest vs. official schedule), and provenance: independent trackers aim for exhaustive public documentation and may undercount private, undocumented rounds, while news outlets rely on those trackers or on selective official travel logs and security-cost reporting that emphasize taxpayer impact [4] [1] [2]. Additionally, outlets covering golf business relationships and tournament assignments note Trump’s deep ties to the sport and his properties’ roles in professional golf, which can shape narrative emphasis — not necessarily the underlying tally of rounds played [8] [9] [10].
Bottom line
From the sources provided, the best-supported, contemporaneous figures for Trump’s first presidential term are at least 142 documented rounds played and 285 daytime golf-club visits [1] [2]. For the first year of his second term through December, the supplied reporting does not contain a verified, single-number total; trackers and news reports indicate increased golfing but do not offer a consolidated, sourced count in these materials [3] [4] [5].