As former head of security for the PGA Tour, Danny Coulsen has helped protect Tiger Woods – and Donald Trump – when they play golf.
Once, when Bill Clinton attended a golf tournament in Bogota, Colombia – a country that is a hub for narcotics – he had to secure an entire apartment building near the golf course to ensure that the only shots fired were the ones that appeared on the scorecards.
So when the acting head of the Secret Service said Monday that agents had not searched Trump’s entire Florida golf course in advance because it was an unplanned and “unofficial” golf outing, Coulsen was surprised.
“I think that’s ridiculous,” the former senior FBI official told DailyMail.com in an interview.
‘Let’s start with the threat. What is the threat? Donald Trump is a very vulnerable individual and very threatened. He killed (Qasem) Soleimani. People want to kill him, so you have to look at what the threat is and then secure it, regardless of whether it’s ‘off the record’ or ‘on the record’ or whatever it says.’
“It’s ridiculous. They’re playing with words and it’s a bit embarrassing,” he said.
Danny Coulsen, who created the FBI’s hostage task force and headed security at the PGA, accused the Secret Service of using “word games” and described how it was possible to secure a golf course when the former president was playing.
He spoke as the agency came under mounting pressure over the second assassination attempt on Trump in a matter of weeks, and how a suspect with multiple encounters with police on his record was able to set up a “sniper nest” just outside the camp and be in the area for nearly 12 hours, according to an FBI charging document.
At this early stage, it appears to have been the quick action of one agent and a stroke of luck that averted disaster.
Coulsen said that after running security for 350 professional golf events (after creating the FBI’s first Hostage Rescue Team during a long career with the agency), contacts in the Secret Service often come to him to discuss strategies for protecting golf courses.
“Think about it: try to take care of Tiger Woods’ security. You can imagine the challenge,” he said, then described his methods.
‘So we put all the security measures in place. We have the police in the right places. We make sure we mark the areas that need to be marked, safe wooded areas, high ground. I would have ropes.’
“Basically, you have a mobile security perimeter and that little package goes with you wherever you go,” he said.
Former FBI Deputy Director Danny Coulson (right) helped organize security for PGA tournaments and protect several U.S. presidents.
Coulsen helped protect Tiger Woods and other professionals while handling security for 350 golf tournaments.
Coulsen described efforts to protect former President Bill Clinton at a 2012 tournament in Bogota, Colombia
Critics have pointed to staffing and hiring issues, but also questioned why the agency failed to search the course before Trump played. The feds have provided protection at Mar-a-Lago and Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach for years when he is there.
Trump tends to favor his own golf courses in Florida, Virginia and New Jersey, which complicates matters and leaves little doubt about where he might play when he’s in town. And his propensity for golfing on weekends is well known to casual news readers. Former President Barack Obama frequently golfed at the secure military installations at Joint Base Andrews, an option that eliminates some of the threats.
“Are there better courses than this one? Yes, but there are worse ones,” he said.
“I had Clinton in Palm Springs for the Bob Hope (Classic), and we had a weather problem,” he recalled, “and I had to pull him off the field.”
‘Here, the same thing happens. You have to have a perimeter around it. You have to keep a distance. You have to have people protecting the forest. You have to have local police on the radio frequencies.’
“It’s a constant exercise and, frankly, that Secret Service agent saves his life. But you also have to keep in mind that both shooters were totally incompetent idiots,” he added, referring to the last two attempts on Trump’s life.
Ryan Routh, the golf course suspect, “made a complete mistake. He compromised his own position and that helped the Secret Service agents take advantage of that and saved his life.”
Coulsen did not give a figure for how many officers were needed to secure the 27-hole course. “Does it matter? You should get it.”
“First of all, they should have had dogs there. Those dogs should have been patrolling the areas where they couldn’t be stationed.”
“You don’t allocate assets based on position, you allocate assets based on risk. And he’s the one who’s at the highest risk, so he should have had everything he needed.”
Having spent decades overseeing difficult investigations, including Iran-Contra, while also planning hostage rescues and protecting long fairways, Coulsen is aware of the special challenges involved in securing golf courses.
“Golf courses are difficult to protect because they’re surrounded by forests and high ground. There are a lot of properties, a couple hundred acres or more. And it’s not the easiest thing to do. It’s not like protecting a basketball game. And the goalposts are constantly moving. It’s not easy, but it can be done,” he said.
