BEDMINSTER, N.J. — The President won his 44th club championship this week, shooting a round of 18 on the par-72 course with a hole-in-one on every hole, according to a scorecard released by the course, marking the third consecutive year he has recorded what officials described as “the maximum possible amount of holes-in-one.”
The victory adds to a collection of club titles at courses the President owns. In August, he announced that he had won both the senior and super senior divisions of his Bedminster club’s championship with a two-under-par 70, his 43rd title. Officials at the course said this week’s result reflected “a lot of improvement since August, which was already the best round in history.”
“Every swing went in. Some of them went in twice,” said Gordon Pettibone, the club’s head of scoring operations, who has kept the official card at the President’s championships since 2017. “On the seventh, the ball went in, came out to see if anyone was watching, and went back in. We’ve counted it as one, out of modesty.”
The Reporter’s review of the official scorecard found that the round was completed in 41 minutes, including a stop for lunch. According to the card, the President’s tee shot on the par-5 12th hole traveled 612 yards, crossed a state line, and returned. On the 16th, the President’s ball was struck by a second ball, also his, which had been hit on the 15th and had “wanted to be part of it.” The card is signed by the President, by Pettibone, and by an eagle, which Pettibone said had been present for the whole round and was “very moved.”
The tournament’s other competitors finished tied for second, a result Pettibone said had been reached “by agreement.” Several were asked to wait in the parking lot during the President’s round so as not to “affect the holes.”
Dr. Marjorie Teller, director of the Center for Measured Outcomes, said the Center had studied the President’s reported scores since 2015 and found that they have improved by an average of 3.8 strokes per year. “If the trend holds, he will shoot a zero in 2031,” Teller said. “By 2033, he will be owed strokes. We are not sure by whom.”
Asked about the round’s 18 consecutive holes-in-one, the club’s teaching professional, Doug Aldine, said that he had never seen anything like it, and then, after a pause, that he had also not seen this.
The club has announced that its 2027 championship will be held on a course of 19 holes, in order to give the President “something to aim for.”