Trump's New Golf Course

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I walked the whole golf course a couple of days ago. I was expecting it to be good, but not that good.

The land is a bit special. Most links courses have a narrow strip of sand dunes just wide enough for the 9 holes closest to the sea with the other 9 holes on higher flatter ground, but the sand dunes on Trumps course are wide enough for almost every hole to have sand dunes on both sides. Absolutely amazing.

Looks like the course will be ready for the summer, but building of the clubhouse / accomodation has not started (I understand there will be a temporary clubhouse for this summer). No man made cart paths (well done) but wide grass paths from greens to tees and from tees to fairways.

The two properties which Trump was unable to purchase are much closer to the intended location for the clubhouse than I had thought. The fishermans property with scrap boats and cars in the garden is about 80 yards away and on the corner of the access road. The unusual house on the hill is overlooking the clubhouse and again within 80 yards or so.

My only critism of the course is that it may be too hard, especially off the back tees or when it is very windy (a normal occurance in the NE of Scotland). The course looks like Norwegian Fjords with the fairways as the flat water and the dunes as the steep hills either side. On many of the holes either the tee shot is on the fairway and in play or probably lost in the dunes. Perhaps it needs a few yards of rough on each side of the fiarways to grade the penalty for missing the fairway.

£120 for a local Monday to Friday will attract many this year, but I think I'll wait till next year and let the course bed down a little. I may get lucky and get a free invite for the local Oil & Gas Industry.

Local Press full of Trump stopping work on his hotel until offshore windfarns planning permission is decided, and threatening to walk away if it's approved.

Perfect. The course is almost complete. Approve the wind farms and let locals take over the course. Open up the membership and slash the charges so we can all enjoy the course.

Now that would be a legacy.

Sounds good. Might even tempt Gael and Mac to play it.

Who do we need to write to, to ensure the wind farm goes ahead.

With a name like Trump, you would associate that with a wind bag, lets see if he is, just a wind bag and call his bluff.

This is going to look like a real man sausage up if an SSSI has been replaced by an unfinished golf resort.

McLaren wrote:This is going to look like a real man sausage up if an SSSI has been replaced by an unfinished golf resort.

I have a feeling the SSSI status will prevent the windfarm going up. There are strict guidelines regarding their location in relation to the breeding grounds of birds due to the collision risk... but given they have already fired a golf course on the site I guess anything can happen if the money is right.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/sensitivitymapreport_tcm9-157990.pdf

p34 shows the Scottish sensitivity map for onshore farms, I imagine offshore farms are equally dangerous.

Redrage wrote:I guess anything can happen if the money is right.

Seems the money is right....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/05/donald-trump-legal-fight-windfarm

Hard to believe he'll walk away now having put so much money in, money which he has probably borrowed. Suspect Trump is just throwing his weight around and trying to influence (bully) the process. Would anyone expect him to behave any differently?

Puts the exec in a bit of spot though, having cosied up to Trump he's now mouthing off about one of their pet projects.

Don't have particularly strong views on the course or offshore windfarms for that matter but if you're going to get involved with a fella like Trump then you've got to be expecting a bit of this carry on?

Put up that kind of money for a world class course and resort? ... he would be insane to not try and influence a decision against a windfarm.

Tend to agree Shotrock, it's just that Trump strikes me as a bit of a chancer who will try to 'influence' the process by fair means or foul.

I see Royal Aberdeen will also lodge an objection to the wind farms, but I doubt if the Director of Golf has Salmond's mobile on speed dial.

I would expect Murcur to follow.

I doubt if the three Clubs at the Links will follow as they are too busy arguing over forming a single club which is their only way to survive Aberdeen footbal Club moving from Pittordie.

Scottie

"I doubt if the three Clubs at the Links will follow as they are too busy arguing over forming a single club which is their only way to survive Aberdeen footbal Club moving from Pittordie."

Sorry to be a dumb ass but I dont get what you mean there?

I presume the council/local links trust owns the ground Pittodrie is on, and AFC pay rent. However as AFC can't even afford to run a toaster, I doubt they'll be moving anytime soon.

A long story so here's the main points.

The Kinks Links is a public course and three clubs use the course. All three clubs are over 100 years old so lots of history / tradition. There used to be another club but it went under about 40 years ago.

The clubs are next door to Pittordie and all three clubs get increased bar revenue on match days.

Up till 25 years ago each club was financially secure because of social members Friday to Sunday. Since then turnover has slowly declined.

About 12 years ago Aberdeen Football Club made it very public that they intended moving. At the same time one of clubs was close to going under. All three clubs realised that if AFC moved then at least one of them would go under. Talks started about a merger. The majority were against because of "loss of identity", "why should be help the struggling club - let them go under and we'll get there members", "we don't need Pittordie" or "we will be putting more money in then them".
The talks broke down but then AFC's move stalled. A lot of us were gutted.

AFC are now definetely moving. If anything turnover at these three clubs is even less. In 2010 or last year they started a much more serious discussions about a merger. Bacially sell off the three adjoining plots and move into a new clubhouse actually closer to the 1st tee. One of the clubs had to change its constitution so that if the club merged then the net funds could be transferred to the new club rather than being split between existing members. This club had a vote and voted against the change. I understand each member may have got a few grand so most on the outside see the decision as a selfish one by some of the members.

As I understand it the merger plans are on hold.

I hope they can get it sorted. A significant number of golfers in Aberdeen play the Links. A new clubhouse and one club and that club taking ownership of the course off the counsil (as another public club in aberdeen has recently sone) must be the best way forward.

I hope this has not offended any of the members.

Scottie, there is some really good holes on that Links but I'm astonished that the course in general which is pretty poor can support so many clubs.

Typical of golf there are many courses where the clubs that play over them would be better off merging. Leven being a prime example, but all parties are as stubborn as the others.

Super,

I'v probably played 90% of my golf on the Links over the years. The layout in the middle and end has changed a few times over the 35 years I've played it. I think the layout was better / tougher 30 years ago when 8, 11 and 12 ran across the course and 9 and 18 were par 5s (probably 9th was the signature hole, but the council used that hole to make a 6 hole course).

The council recently out sourced the up-keep of the course and I heard the greens were shocking last year. I played in early June and they were bad, but through the summer it was awful.

The course is probably too short by today's standard and too open off the tee, but whichever 9 is into the wind (normally windy in Aberdeen of course) is long and tough for most. The par is 71 but SSS is 69 so not that easy to break your handicap but the young guys that hit it a mile can kill the course on a decent day.

In my 20's the Doug Daunders World Junior Comp was held at the Links in late summer and in my 30's Bruce Davidson (running the range then) had a pro event late summer. Over that period the council would get the course is good nick for the Links Championship in May / June and again near the end of the season for these competitions and it normally stayed in decent nick in the middle. Also the greens used to be about 50% bigger, but the council reduced the size of the greens to save money. The greenside bunkers used to touch the green but now there is between 5 to 10 yards of fairway between them and the green.

With a bit of care and a small investment it could become a decent course again. Just hope the three clubs get their act together and get control over the course.

Regarding the course supporting three clubs. On Saturdays the council split the tee times into a sequence of Club 1, Club 2, Club 3 and Public so each club gets 25% of the tee times. My club would split the day into 4 sections and members would put their 4 ball against one section. The first two sections were over subscribed. There would be 8 or 9 slots available in each and about 12 or 13 4 balls on the list which meant every third week one of your own 4 ball would have to book a public time (which meant waiting at the starters box on a Friday morning for an hour before it opened at 5 or 6am depending on the sunrise).

Memories coming back now. In my youth all times were public. People started to queue from midnight or 1am and by the time the box opened at 5am I've seen over 50 guys in the queue. The etiquite was for the first guy to leave out a piece of paper and pen with the paper held down with a stone. As each new guy arrived they would put their name on the list and get back into their car. By 5am there would be a string of cars on Links Road and when the starter arrived everyone would get out of their cars and form an orderly queue at the box. the best Saturday times were availalable to book on Friday morning. It was not uncommon for guys at the end of the queue not to get a time and have to come back and do it again on Saturday morning. As a junior I had to cycle down and shelter behind buildings for a few hours until the box opened. Far from ideal on a dark, wet and windy April or early May morning.

Scottie

Ah, memories of playing the Links. Haven't played it in ages, but will always remember it as the first time I ever broke 80 ... 20 odd years ago. Finished at 10:40pm, after playing the last 3 holes in total darkness. It was only the streetlamps that gave me a clue which way I was going! It was the first time I'd ever played the course as well, to add to the challenge. Needed a bogey 5 at 18 to break 80, and came in with a magnificent par 4 for a 78. Happy days.

PS - That sounds about right on the inter-club squabbling. Total shambles.

I tell you what though. Must be the cheapest round of golf in Britain. Use to pay about £3 as a student. Greens were usually rubbish, but still worth a game on. Don't remember it too clearly, but did enjoy it.

I can beat that price.

When I was in Primary School the folks gave me 10 pence to play golf. 2p for the bus to Hazelhead, 6p for 9 holes and 2p back on the bus. At that time it was 10p to play the public 18 holers in Aberdeen. Only 10p got rid of me for half a day.

To get my kids out the house for a similar time (i.e. pictures) costs between £10 and £20 and I have to drive them there and back.

Do your kids not play golf Scottie?

The story of queuing from the night before to get a round seems crazy, were participation numbers in golf much higher in those days? It is very rare not get a tee time at some point in the day these days if you call in the morning. Although there was a boom in golf course construction in Scotland from the mid eighties up to a few years ago so I wonder if that has left us in a situation where we have a surplus of courses even with more golfers?

McLaren,

The kids don't play I'm afraid. I decided not to push them into it and probably went too far the other way. My other half is not very sporty so that also did not help. A bit of a regret. I have a friend who's daughter is now at a US college on a scholarship and he seems to get a lot of enjoyment out of her successes. I think I'll try harder when the grandkids come along, but hopefully that's a long way off.............

I understand the playing numbers at the Links are still good. Certainly getting a time for Saturday morning is still difficult. In the middle of summer the tee times start from 5am and mostly 4 balls.

The main problem is that the golfers don't use the bar enough and the social memebers have dropped off and the club's overheads keep going up year on year. These clubs get into a downward spiral (stop booking weekend entertainment / closing some evenings) and the drinkers slowly drift away or die off. All of the clubs now rely on private functions on a Friday to survive. Loss of the football revenue will probably be the tipping point. Very sad when you think all three clubs have lasted for well over 100 years to date.

Ah the links.... Thats where I played when learning the game from about 13 to 18 so about 10 years since I have stopped playing there regulary.

Super post this morning Scottie and cant disagree with any of that. Never actually did the paper on the stone as was always playing football on a Saturday but do remember hearing about it.

When I first started playing there the greens were very good from what I remember but now due to the council outsourcing they are terrible and a lot smaller than what they used to be. Still quite cheap around 18 to 20 quid a round but the poor condition of the course still makes that too expensive IMO.

Regarding the 3 clubs merging I really hope they sort that out. Would be a travesty if they didnt. Believe what you said about the 3 clubs and the Caledonian having more cash and not wanting to put this cash into the one club merger is correct.

Its a shambles really. When you think about it the other 2 clubs (Northern & Bon Accord) have more land to sell off to bring to the table of the merger and willing to put it in the one pot, its crazy.

Ive only ever walked this area on business waiting for the flight back and TBH if it wasnt for the tee markers to give a clue I wouldnt have been able to follow the course, looked like a decent test..Didnt appreciate the history but did notice the individual club rooms.Must be a way to resolve it and maybe take on the coure management to improve things.Hope for the best

Dave The Jackal wrote:Scottie

Ah, memories of playing the Links. Haven't played it in ages, but will always remember it as the first time I ever broke 80 ... 20 odd years ago. Finished at 10:40pm, after playing the last 3 holes in total darkness. It was only the streetlamps that gave me a clue which way I was going! It was the first time I'd ever played the course as well, to add to the challenge. Needed a bogey 5 at 18 to break 80, and came in with a magnificent par 4 for a 78. Happy days.

PS - That sounds about right on the inter-club squabbling. Total shambles.

Your post has reminded me of a couple of stories.

Like you, my first sub 80 round came at the Links, but on the winter course. I needed a 4 at the last which is basically the first played backwards (the Links winter course is the summer course backwards - who else does this!). It was into the wind and as a junior I would need two good shots to reach. After an average drive I decided to lay up with the out of bounds just left of the green and rely on an up and down from 50 or 60 yards to break 80. A bit nervous over the pitch. Holed it for a 78.

Another time me and a mate went down to watch the semi-final of the junior club championship. We met them at 17 and it was already almost dark. As they played the last 2 holes me and my mate lifted up the rear wheel, peddled with one hand and used the dynamo to shine light to let them hit their shots.

Great stories you tell, Scottie . . . . Priceless!

Kwini,

Cheers. All true.

The Links is a busy course with three working class golf clubs so a lot of characters and a lot of funny stories over the years. Here's another one.

In 1990 or so Bruce Davidson (associated with one of the Harmens in the States years later) was the pro when the driving range was built. Still a successfull business to this day.

To promote its first year Bruce arranged a competition day for the memebers of the three clubs. The twist was that each player could take a drink after each hole and get a shot off their score. The majority participated fully.

I was working in the old man's pub so I came armed with a full bottle of Bell's Highlander and an optic measure. I was 2 over after 3 when still sober but got it back to level par mid way through the back 9 when far less sober. I ended up dropping a few shots and losing my ping 1 iron by the 18th.

But that's not the story, only the back story. Becuase I had the optic my playing partners also had the full measure after each hole so they ended up in the same state as me by the end, but one of my partners stayed at the club and continued to drink (I went home, slept for a few hours and woke with the worst headache ever). He ended up trying to walk home but fell over a hedge and ended up falling asleep in a local's garden. The women phoned the police and the police picked the guy up. The police knew of the event so the policeman put the guy in the back seat and decided to drive his home.

The poor bloke was making little sense and gave the policeman the wrong address a couple of times. Each time the policeman would get out the car, ring the doorbell and get the same answer "he doesn't live here".

On the second or third occassion the policeman turned back to his car and saw the bloke had climbed into the front seat and he was driving the police car slowly along the raod (he was obviously getting a bit fed up aswell and wanted his own bed).

Our man did not get charged for driving the police car. We assumed the policeman would have been in even more trouble trying to explain to his Sergeant how he let a drunk drive his police car.

The competition was not repeated the next year.

It seems that trump may have lost interest in Scotland and turned his attention to Florida.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/more/wires/02/28/2080.ap.us.trump.doral.1st.ld.writethru.0279/index.html


So we will see the players playing Trump Doral national in a week or two.

The blue monster will be redeveloped with architect Gill hanse set to help out. I have never played the course but having seen it on TV it looks like the opposite to what type of course I usually enjoy.

So hopefully getting someone like Hanse on board can help both the daily players and the viewer at home watching the pro's play a more interesting course.

Trump is the ultimate "country club" dictator. It's all about who CAN'T play on his courses than who can.

Is Trump's deal dead or stalled in Scotland? If the government wants to put up windfarms or even an incinerator right next to Trump's course, good for them. These are the risks Trump made when he started the project.

I've played 3 Trump courses, and all were well run and well maintained. Must admit, he doesn't turn and burn on his properties. Puts his money where his mouth is.

I think he is currently considering suing the Scottish government over the building of the windfarm, stopping the real estate and hotel complex but committed to the completion of the course by this summer.

Every once in a while I read something highly entertaining on a golf website. Mostly it comes from Kwini's keyboard. This is also right up there and relates to Mr. Trump ...

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51270.0.html