Minnesota Governor Tim Walz posted a two-minute golf clip on X that sparked widespread ridicule over his form, his math, and his wardrobe, but the lighthearted footage lands against a backdrop of a fraud scandal that has already ended his reelection bid and put him on the witness list for a congressional hearing.
Walz filmed himself playing the sixth hole at Northwest Angle Country Club in Minnesota, a 261-yard Par-4. He finished with a two-putt bogey. None of that would matter much, governors play golf, except for the details that piled up around the clip and turned it into a minor spectacle on social media.
OutKick columnist Zach Dean broke down the swing frame by frame and came away unimpressed. Dean noted that Walz claimed he had 100 yards left on his second shot, which on a 261-yard hole would put his drive at roughly 161 yards, not the 220 yards the video apparently suggested.
"No shot that first shot went 220. None. It was a half swing at best with no finish!"
Dean wrote that the governor's attire sealed the impression: a quarter-zip pullover with no undershirt underneath, which he called "absolutely psycho behavior." The column treated the whole episode as comic relief, and the internet largely agreed.
The golf video might have been a forgettable summer diversion for any other governor. For Walz, it arrived at a moment when his political standing in Minnesota has collapsed under the weight of a massive welfare fraud scandal that federal prosecutors say may involve billions of taxpayer dollars.
The Washington Free Beacon reported that federal prosecutors estimate as much as half of $18 billion Minnesota distributed across 14 taxpayer-funded programs since 2018 could be fraudulent. That figure, potentially $9 billion in stolen public money, dwarfs nearly every other state-level fraud case in recent memory.
Walz announced on January 5, 2026, that he was dropping his gubernatorial reelection bid. He acknowledged the weight of the scandal in brief remarks before walking away from the podium.
"The buck does stop with me," said Walz before leaving the podium without taking questions from reporters.
A December poll found that a large majority of Minnesota registered voters believed welfare fraud was a major problem in the state and wanted Walz to do more to stop it. His approval ratings have dropped to all-time lows, and he now trails Donald Trump in his own state as the fallout deepens.
The scandal has not stayed inside state borders. The Washington Examiner reported that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee scheduled Walz to testify on March 4 regarding what Chairman James Comer called "the rampant misuse of taxpayer dollars in Minnesota's social services programs."
"Americans deserve answers about the rampant misuse of taxpayer dollars in Minnesota's social services programs that occurred on Governor Walz's and Attorney General Ellison's watch," Chairman James Comer said.
Republican state lawmakers testified under oath that Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison failed to stop widespread fraud and retaliated against whistleblowers who tried to raise alarms. Minnesotans across the political spectrum have expressed frustration with the governor's handling of the crisis.
Dean's column covered more than Walz's golf game. He flagged a striking ratings comparison between the NFL and the NBA that underscores the gap between the two leagues' hold on American sports fans.
The NFL's Hall of Fame game, a preseason exhibition that most hardcore fans treat as background noise, drew 7 million viewers last Thursday. The NBA, by contrast, averaged 6.35 million viewers across all of its playoff games this past season, spread across ABC, ESPN, Prime Video, NBC, and Peacock. That NBA figure was the league's best since 1998.
Put another way: the NBA's best playoff audience in more than 25 years still fell short of a single NFL preseason game that featured roster players most casual fans have never heard of. The NFL did not need star power, a Game 7, or a primetime window to beat the NBA's best effort in a generation.
The WNBA also drew attention in the column, though for different reasons. Dean referenced an incident over the weekend involving player Sophie Cunningham and described the league as meeting "this week" to address the fallout. The column did not provide detailed factual description of the incident itself.
Separately, controversial decisions by Minnesota's clemency board during Walz's tenure have added to the governor's political difficulties, compounding voter frustration that extends well beyond the fraud scandal alone.
Dean also highlighted the Savannah Bananas, the barnstorming baseball entertainment team whose trick plays have become a staple of social media timelines. The team's mix of choreographed routines and actual baseball has carved out a niche that traditional minor league ball has struggled to match.
And outfielder Mark Coley II made a weekend catch that Dean singled out, knocking a ball back into the field of play and grabbing it on the way down. The column did not specify the game or teams involved, but treated the play as one of the weekend's best highlights.
The column closed with a reference to Kristin Cavallari "wrapping up her summer with a bang," though no further details were provided. Dean's Monday roundup, like most editions of the Nightcaps column, covered the full range of sports, culture, and political humor that OutKick readers have come to expect.
Meanwhile, federal law enforcement in Minnesota has been active on other fronts. Federal prosecutors recently indicted members of a Minneapolis-based direct action group tied to Antifa for an alleged campaign against immigration enforcement, a reminder that the state's governance challenges extend beyond any single scandal.
Walz can post all the golf videos he wants. A two-minute clip on X is easy. Sitting in front of a congressional committee and explaining how billions in taxpayer money may have been stolen on his watch, while whistleblowers say his administration looked the other way, is a different game entirely.
When a governor's swing is the least embarrassing thing about his record, the problem isn't the golf.