President Donald Trump personally paid to have a "golf simulator" installed in the White House residence that allows him to play virtual rounds of golf, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The Post, citing an unnamed White House official, said the President has not yet used the new system, which cost about $50,000 and was installed in the last several weeks, the official said.
According to the paper, the simulator replaced an "older, less sophisticated golf simulator" that existed in the White House during former President Barack Obama's tenure.
Trump, who owns more than a dozen golf courses in the US and abroad, has made a general practice of seasonally traveling most weekends to his Bedminster club in New Jersey or his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida, often golfing while there.
Last month, the President, not wanting to viewed as partaking in leisure activities during the longest government shutdown in US history, hit his longest stretch away from a golf course since taking office.
In his first two years in office, Trump easily surpassed Obama's golf outings over the same time period. He notably chastised his predecessor on Twitter in 2014, writing, "Can you believe that,with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf."
During the 2016 election, he said that he would have little time to golf, saying that "Because I'm going to be working for you, I'm not going to have time to go golfing, believe me. Believe me. Believe me, folks."
The Post noted that previous presidents have made special changes to the White House to meet their leisure needs, including a bowling alley that was added under former President Richard Nixon and a basketball court that was installed for Obama.
