President Donald Trump started 2026 by reiterating unsolicited health advice: Golf. No elaborate workout plans, no meal prep Sunday routines. Just 18 holes whenever possible, because treadmills are “boring” and traditional exercise isn’t his style.
“To walk on a treadmill or run on a treadmill for hours and hours, as some people do—that’s not for me. I just don’t like it; it’s boring,” Donald Trump shared with the Wall Street Journal on January 1, 2026. The admission comes after he told the reporters in 2020, “My ‘exercise’ is playing, rarely during the week, a quick round of golf.”
The president also shed light on his other health choices. He shared that he takes a daily 325-milligram aspirin dose to thin his blood because he wants “nice, thin blood pouring through [his] heart.” Well, whatever Trump is doing, it is working for him because physician Dr. Sean Barbabella has said that the president “remains in exceptional health.”
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Donald Trump doesn’t view golf as mere recreation. He is really passionate about it. In 2025, Trump went to golf clubs 88 times. He played 67 times in 2018, 84 times in 2019, and 47 times in 2020. He had the most visits in August, at ten. March and November each had nine visits. Trump claims that he has won 38 club championships.
Not only POTUS, but even his granddaughter, Kai, is fond of golf. She started playing golf when she was 2 years old, mostly because her grandfather let her play at his courses across the country and encouraged her. The president has made this sport into an empire, with holdings in Florida and Scotland. So, can we say that golf isn’t just a hobby for him but rather a part of who he is?
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His passion can also be attributed to his pursuing a bigger plan to change the way people golf in Washington, D.C.
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Donald Trump takes over three public golf courses
The Trump administration ended the lease for three public golf courses in Washington, which meant that the National Links Trust no longer managed them. The Interior Department said the 50-year lease had to end because the company failed to make the required capital renovations.
The three courses are all in places that look out over the Potomac River, Rock Creek Park, and a place that is crucial to Black golf history. Officials from the National Links Trust defended their time in charge, saying that they made $8.5 million in capital renovations and more than doubled the number of rounds played and revenue. They said the end was “devastating” and hoped that affordable public golf might still be played in the capital.
Trump has a history of putting his name on Washington institutions, such as the Kennedy Center, and tearing down the East Wing of the White House to make way for a new ballroom. The golf course choice might give Donald Trump’s organization, which has built many courses in the US and around the world, some power over links in the capital.
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The nonprofit has decided to keep running the classes for a little longer, but it won’t make any long-term changes. It’s hard to say what will happen next. Still, Donald Trump’s experience in golf course development and his administration’s aggressive attitude toward rebranding public spaces suggest that big changes are likely. Trump has also tried to take over the Smithsonian Institution and help bring the Washington Commanders back to the city, possibly with a stadium named after him.
Donald Trump Makes Crucial Health Admission After Relying on Golf for Workout
