President Trump is putting a new flat stick in his golf bag, courtesy of a Ukrainian soldier who shares his love for the game and delivered by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky presented Trump with a new blade-style putter during his visit to The White House on Monday.
The Ukrainian leader told the president that the club was given to him by Kostiantyn Kartavtsev, a junior sergeant in Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
The solider lost a leg in the first months of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to the Ukrainian government, noting golf became part of Kartavtsev’s rehabilitation and helped him regain balance “both physically and mentally.”
Trump recorded a video for the Ukrainian fighter thanking him for the gift.
“I just watched you swing, I know a lot about golf, and your swing is great. You’re going to be a very good golfer soon,” he told the soldier in the clip making the rounds online with Ukrainian subtitles. “I want to thank you for this putter … is made with real love from you.”
The president encouraged the Ukrainian soldier to keep playing golf and said he and Zelensky are working “very, very hard to bring your country back to health.”
“The putter is beautiful, thank you. Every time I sink a putt I’ll be thinking about you,” he said.
Zelensky traveled to Washington to meet with Trump and European leaders as the U.S. helps to facilitate a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia amid the ongoing war in Eastern Europe.
An avid golfer who owns courses and resorts around the world, Trump was in Scotland earlier this month for the grand opening of his newest property at Turnberry.
The PGA Tour also announced Tuesday that it would return to the president’s Doral resort in Florida next May, marking the first time the sport’s premier league has held an event at a Trump property since 2016.