BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Strolling alongside Donald Trump as he performs golf is loads like watching his presidency: He tells you the way nicely he’s doing, errors are disregarded and the one fixed is an infinite stream of group photographs with Trump blithely flashing a toothy grin and a thumbs up.

It was as entertaining, revealing and inexplicable because it sounds.

On Thursday, Trump was a contestant within the pro-am event on the eve of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf occasion he’s internet hosting this weekend on the lavish golf course he in-built northwestern New Jersey. The intent of the outing was to staff some celebrities and on a regular basis golfers with the professionals, and Trump was, naturally, within the featured first grouping of the day.

Whereas Trump performed a plethora of golf rounds as president, aside from his company, few had been capable of witness his golf recreation throughout his 4 years within the White Home. The information media was saved at a eliminated distance. However on Thursday, practically 50 media members credentialed for the event — in addition to some occasion officers — would accompany Trump on foot for 18 holes.

Trump’s {golfing} get together, which included safety, drove in a dozen golf carts, usually two to a cart. However there was one cart predominantly occupied by a single particular person, and it was the one ex-president on the property on the wheel.

For the pro-am, Trump was grouped with two of one of the best gamers to defect to the rival LIV Golf circuit from the PGA Tour: Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, who’ve received three main championships between them.

About quarter-hour late for his 10 a.m. tee time, Trump stepped onto the primary tee wearing a white shirt and black pants and sweating profusely underneath his signature MAGA hat. He appeared pale. To be honest, at Trump Nationwide Golf Membership Bedminster, which has little shade, nobody strolling the grounds on a moist day with temperatures within the mid-90s was comfy.

Stepping onto the tee, Trump shortly turned the focus of greater than a handful of photographs. He would set up the lineup of the individuals within the image, usually giving directions on who ought to stand the place, like a concierge of picture ops.

Lastly, it was time to start out the spherical, and Trump’s opening drive bounded into the left tough. Nevertheless it was a decent distance from the tee for a 76-year-old, roughly 220 yards.

The format for the pro-am was that every group would choose one of the best tee shot after which play their second photographs from that spot. For the remainder of the opening, they had been anticipated to play their very own ball, wherever it got here to relaxation. It usually made it inconceivable to assign precise scores for any participant, however on the par-4 first gap, Trump wanted 5 strokes to get his ball within the gap for a bogey.

However on the second gap, a telling rhythm for the day’s journey was set by Trump, and it defied the well mannered golf protocol of ready your flip.

After hitting his second shot to the inexperienced, Trump ignored different gamers in his group who had but to hit and jumped into his cart and roared forward. He parked inside a number of ft of the placing floor (additionally a no-no since it may harm the fragile quick grass in that space). Standing within the fairway half a gap behind Trump, Johnson yelled forward since he had but to play his second shot and will have beaned the previous president close to the inexperienced.

Trump put his cart in reverse and moved out of vary. However his barge-ahead fashion of play continued for a lot of the spherical. Usually, Trump had putted out on a gap whereas his enjoying companions had been nonetheless 125 yards away within the fairway.

A couple of holes later, Trump stopped to speak with a gaggle of reporters. He was requested how a lot he may earn by internet hosting the LIV Golf event at his course.

“I don’t do it for that. I do it as a result of I feel it’s good for golf,” he stated.

Trump smiled.

“The essential factor is that we’re all enjoying nicely,” he stated.

By that time, Trump had registered, at greatest, one par. He had additionally not completed a gap after his blast from a bunker had failed to succeed in the inexperienced and was nestled in some nasty tough. As a substitute, he had his caddie choose up the ball and march to the subsequent tee. On one other gap, when a birdie putt rolled practically six ft previous the opening, he casually scooped the ball as much as finish the opening, apparently conceding himself a par. Strive that this weekend in your match together with your common foursome. Or any foursome.

At different instances, a Trump mis-hit would merely be ignored. As if understanding the drill, his caddie would merely retrieve the golf ball from the sand or deep tough and stroll ahead.

Trump, nevertheless, did exhibit a sunny countenance all through. That included a scene that he couldn’t have anticipated. As he stepped onto the tee of a par-3, 176-yard gap over a big pond, he was approached by three comedians who, in live performance with LIV Golf, had been conducting what they referred to as the “Again Off Problem” through the pro-am. The concept was that the comedians, whose venture is known as Nation Membership Adjoining, would attempt to insult, mock or harass every golfer on the tee to see if they might again off from the shot earlier than hitting it. The scenes had been being videotaped for the group’s varied social media networks.

Trump agreed to play alongside.

As he stood over the ball, one of many comedians, Blake Webber, stated: “What would your following say when you hit this one left?”

Mentioned Jake Adams: “You constructed a golf course simply to overlook the inexperienced?”

And at last, from Griff Pippin: “Your swing seems damaged. Was it made in China?”

Trump didn’t flinch. However he did slice his shot into the water.

Then, Trump posed with the comedians for a bunch image. He paused a beat and smiled whereas concurrently elevating his proper thumb.