Tim Walz banned outdoor golf in Minnesota during the pandemic and watched his constituents beg for permission to maintain their own courses.
Now he's posting swing videos on X while JD Vance's criminal referral sits at the Justice Department.
Tim Walz called his bogey "top-notch" – and the internet reminded him exactly who he is.
The Governor Who Banned Golf Is Back on the Course
Walz posted a two-minute clip from Northwest Angle Country Club last weekend, teeing off in a quarter-zip with no undershirt, battling flies, and finishing a par-4 with a two-putt bogey.
He captioned it "Top-notch golf in the Northwest Angle."
The replies were instant.
“I've seen women with a better swing than that,” one user commented. “Remember when you couldn't load that shotgun.”
Another user reminded Walz that he “should be focused on fixing the rampant Medicare fraud in your state.”
“Must be nice to enjoy golfing after you squandered 18 billion dollars budget and knowingly allowed 9 billion dollars in fraud during your tenure,” one user asked. “Did you pay for this round of golf or is it yet another taxpayer burden?”
"Remember that time you banned outdoor golf," another user shot back. "Pepperidge Farm remembers."
https://twitter.com/GovTimWalz/status/2086164000195117116?s=20
That wasn't a joke.
In March 2020, Walz issued Executive Order 20-20, locking down Minnesota golf courses under his stay-at-home mandate.
Minnesota golf leaders had to petition his administration for permission to even maintain their courses during the spring growing season.
He held out for three weeks before caving, finally reopening courses on April 18, 2020 – the same day at least 400 protesters showed up outside his residence waving Trump 2020 flags and holding signs that read "Stop the Shutdown."
He's posting swing videos now like none of it happened.
The Billion-Dollar Problem He's Playing Through
The golf clip would be harmless if Walz weren't already under a criminal referral.
This is the same Tim Walz who abandoned his 2026 reelection bid in January – not because he wanted to, but because a billion-dollar fraud scandal had made his political future impossible.
The Feeding Our Future case alone – a Minnesota nonprofit that funneled federal child nutrition money – saw nearly 80 people charged with stealing more than $240 million.
Estimates of total fraud across Minnesota's federal programs stretch from $250 million to over $1 billion, with the House Oversight Committee putting potentially $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds at serious risk.
The Treasury Department launched a separate investigation into whether stolen Minnesota welfare dollars reached al-Shabaab – the al-Qaeda affiliate operating out of Somalia.
In June, JD Vance formally referred Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to the Justice Department for criminal investigation, citing House Oversight findings that both men knew about the fraud for years and failed to act.
Walz's response was to declare "I will never run for elected office again" – and then post a golf video.
Democrats Keep Telling You Who They Are
The pattern isn't complicated.
He blew through an $18 billion state surplus on radical leftist spending while organized crime networks drained federal child nutrition money and wired it overseas.
https://twitter.com/BarkJack_/status/2086998438772633638?s=20
When the fraud exploded into a national scandal, he held press conferences and hired consultants.
When that wasn't enough, he quit – and headed to the golf course.
The DOJ referral Vance filed in June could still produce charges. Walz told America he's done with politics, but he's still the governor of Minnesota with nearly five months left in his term.
Sixty-plus convictions, 90-plus charges, and a lame-duck governor posting bogey videos on X while federal investigators pick through the wreckage his administration left behind.
"Top-notch" is one word for it.
Sources:
- Zach Dean, "Tim Walz's Golf Game Leaves the Internet in Shock," OutKick, August 10, 2026.
- "Statement on the Coronavirus Crisis and Golf in Minnesota," Minnesota Golf Association, March 26, 2020.
- Michael Ruiz, "Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Eases Some Coronavirus Restrictions on Outdoor Recreation," Fox News, April 17, 2020.
- "Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Says He Will 'Never Run for Elected Office Again,'" Fox News, January 29, 2026.
- "JD Vance Refers Tim Walz, Minnesota AG to DOJ for Fraud Investigation," Fox News, June 9, 2026.
- "Evening Edition: Gov. Walz Drops His 2026 Bid Amid Fraud Scandal," Fox News Radio, January 2026.