Trump invites Coast Guard to play golf at his club

Washington, Dec 30 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has invited service members of the US Coast Guard to play golf at his private club in Florida, where he practices his favourite sport daily during his Christmas vacation.

Media coverage of the Trump family vacation on Friday reported this invitation to the Coast Guard, whose personnel keep an offshore watch on the president's Mar-a-Lago social club in Palm Beach, an island in South Florida joined to the mainland by a number of bridges.

The invitation was made to Coast Guard members in general, and to those at its Lake Worth Inlet base near Mar-a-Lago in particular.

According to a White House report, some 60 Coast Guard members confirmed their participation in a tourney of teams with four players each, organized for the occasion at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, with a lunch also included in the invitation, Efe news reported.

"These brave men and women patrol the waterways near Palm Beach and Mar-a-Lago everyday. The President wanted to thank these service members personally for their service to this nation," Deputy White House Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement.

Trump arrived in Palm Beach last December 22 and is expected to return to Washington on January 1.

He generally spends the mornings playing golf, being a great fan of the sport.

According to a website created solely to keep track of the time Trump spends playing golf, trumpgolfcount.com, he has visited golf courses 85 days and has played 40 times since he became President last January 20.

For those 85 visits -- about a third of his time in office -- estimates say that taxpayers contributed around $42 million.