New York Golf Club's Refusal To Hang Trump Portrait Angers Republican Members

The Republican members of the elite Winged Foot Golf Club in Westchester County, New York, are angry after the club management refused to honor and put up a portrait of President Donald Trump in the club.

Trump is a member of the elite club that charges as much as $200,000 as its initiation fees, and the Republicans among the 800 members of the club have been asking to have a POTUS portrait hung inside the clubhouse.

According to Page Six, an insider at the club said, "Trump has been a member of this club since 1969, and there is a big push to honor him at the club. We should be proud that the president of the United States is a member of Winged Foot. It is prestigious to have him here. But the senior club management has refused to put up a Trump portrait."

The insider added, "It seems the leaders of Winged Foot do not want to rock the boat and politicize the club, given that the U.S. Open will be at Winged Foot in 2020." He also informed that many charities had canceled their plans to host fundraisers at the Palm Beach, Florida, club Mar-a-Lago "due to the political turbulence associated with this choice of venue."

According to the source cited in Page Six, the superiors of the club seem to be trying to erase signs of Trump’s membership.

He said, "Each member of the club has a locker with their name on it, but president Trump’s name has been mysteriously taken down. Some members are outraged because there seems to be no justification, apart from, perhaps, too many people were trying to take selfies at Trump’s locker, or they simply don’t want to advertise his membership."

It is assumed that the decision of not honoring Trump is to avoid creating an unfriendly atmosphere among the 800 members of the club who include many well-known New York law firm partners, and investment bankers. It is also so that charities or organizations that may wish to hold events at the club are not offended.

According to the website Trump Golf Count, Trump has unofficially played 73 rounds of golf in his first nine months as president.

According to NBC News, Trump has spent 96 out of his 293 days overall in office at a Trump property as of Aug. 10, 76 days of which were spent at one of his golf properties.

The Winged Foot Golf Club is a private club with two 18-hole golf courses located in Mamaroneck, Westchester County, New York. The club has been designed by architect A.W. Tillinghast. Tillinghast has also designed Baltusrol Golf Club (lower course), Bethpage Black Course, Suburban Golf Club, Shackamaxon Country Club, San Francisco Golf Club, Cedar Crest Park, and Quaker Ridge Golf Club to name a few.

The Winged Foot Golf Club was founded in 1921 by a consortium that mainly consisted of members of the New York Athletic Club (NYAC). Started in June 1923, membership application to this club is by invitation only.