Topline
President Donald Trump took what appeared to be an armored golf cart on his golfing trip in Scotland over the weekend, dubbed by some as “Golf Force One,” which the White House confirmed to Forbes is part of Trump’s fleet of specialty vehicles.
Trump golfs in Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
While playing golf at the Trump Turnberry course in Scotland over the weekend, Trump was photographed riding in a standard white golf cart while what appeared to be a fortified black golf cart, completely covered by doors and dark windows, followed closely behind him.
A White House spokesperson confirmed to Forbes the black golf cart is “part of the Presidential fleet of specialty vehicles,” but declined to comment on whether Trump will regularly take the cart with him on future golfing trips.
The cart appears to be a Polaris Ranger X model, and Polaris confirmed to defense industry outlet The War Zone it manufactured the vehicle but someone else modified it to add fortification (Forbes has reached out to Polaris for comment).
The War Zone reported Chicago company Scaletta Armoring makes an armor kit that appears similar to that used on “Golf Force One,” which costs nearly $190,000, according to the Government Services Administration.
Forbes has reached out to the Secret Service and Polaris for comment.
The armored golf cart, "Golf Course One," alongside other golf carts during Trump's trip to ... More
Multiple experts told The Telegraph the armored golf cart contains several tell-tale signs of being fortified, including a black band around the windshield. “The thing that gives it away is the front windscreen,” Gary Relf, who runs Armoured Car Services, a company that provides fortified vehicles to public figures and wealthy people, told the Telegraph, stating the vehicle appears to be armored. An unnamed British policing expert told The Telegraph the “side panels, doors, and the large panel at the rear above the load tray” also appear to be armored, stating the vehicle appears to be defensively fortified and is not offensive.
Trump’s debut of his fortified golf cart comes nearly a year after a man was charged with attempted assassination of the then-presidential candidate at his Florida golf course in West Palm Beach. In September 2024, prosecutors say 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was spotted by Secret Service agents aiming a rifle at a member of Trump’s security detail while he golfed at the Trump International Golf Club. A Secret Service agent fired at Routh, who fled in his vehicle and was later caught and arrested. Routh was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and three other weapons charges. The incident happened two months after Trump survived an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024.
After the assassination attempts, Trump bolstered his security measures when making public appearances. Following the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt, Trump began speaking behind bulletproof glass. Trump also reportedly appeared to be surrounded by more security agents following the attempts. In a Truth Social post in September, Trump blamed Iran for “threats on my life,” stating he is “surrounded by more men, guns, and weapons than I have ever seen before.” In September, Congress passed a bill boosting security for presidential candidates, which entitled Trump and then-Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris to the same level of Secret Service protection as then-President Joe Biden.
Trump’s visit to Scotland was expected to cost Scottish taxpayers millions to cover increased security, the Associated Press reported. His four-day stop in the United Kingdom in 2018 reportedly cost about $19 million for policing. Trump’s visit to Scotland sparked protests among locals, some of whom were angered at the cost his visit would impose on taxpayers.
‘Why isn’t he paying?’ Trump’s golf visit to cost Scottish taxpayers (Associated Press)
Golf Force One: Armour-plated cart follows Trump around course (The Telegraph)