It’s another week in America. The sun rises and sets. Monday turns to Tuesday, Tuesday to Wednesday. Half the country is disgusted with President Donald Trump while the other half worships him. Stop us if you’ve heard this before.
Ordinarily, the Trump administration’s comings and goings wouldn’t be the purview of a golf website such as this one. Those topics are better handled by more qualified news organizations.
This week, however, Trump ruffled feathers when he accepted a $400 million “Palace in the Sky” jumbo jet from the Qatari government just days after his private business, the Trump Organization, finalized plans to construct a luxury golf resort in the Middle Eastern nation. When questioned about the ethics of accepting the gift on Monday, Donald Trump defended his decision by citing an old motto from Sam Snead. Yes, that Sam Snead.
“He had a motto, when they give you a putt, you say ‘thank you very much, you pick up your ball and you walk to the next hole.’
“There was an old golfer named Sam Snead, did ever hear of him?” Trump asked reporters at a Monday press conference. “He was a great golfer, he won 82 tournaments, and he had a motto: When they give you a putt, you pick up your ball, say ‘thank you very much’ and walk to the next hole.
A lot of people are stupid. They say ‘no, no, I insist on putting it.’ Then they putt it, they miss it. And their partner gets angry at them. You know what, remember that. Sam Snead. When they give you a putt, you pick it up, you walk to the next hole and say ‘thank you very much.’”
Wild stuff. We never thought we’d live to see the day the PGA Tour’s joint all-time winningest player was used to justify American foreign policy decisions, but 2025 is nothing if not bold.
Due to the polarizing nature of President Trump, how you feel about the jet—which will be converted by the U.S. Air Force to specifications suitable for transporting the president—will depend on how you feel about the man himself. Some will view the gift as a conflict of interest at best, and brazen corruption at worst. Others will say Trump’s decision to accept such a valuable token is not only common sense, but a smart foreign policy move to strengthen relations with the Middle East. As for us, let’s just say we’d give more than penny for Sam Snead’s thoughts …
Leave a Reply