Trump International Golf Links
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Established
2012 (13 years old)
Capacity
0
Build Cost
Architect
Country
Scotland
Location
almedie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Timezone
UTC +00:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Coordinates
57°16′38″N 02°01′17″W
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Description
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Trump International Golf Links, Scotland is a golf course in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, owned by Donald Trump. It opened in 2012.
History
In 2006, Trump purchased a 1,400-acre (570-hectare) plot just north of Aberdeen at Menie (Balmedie), Scotland, with the promise of turning it into a £1 billion golf resort and "the world's best golf course" capable of hosting world class events such as The Open Championship. Despite opposition from many people both locally and in other parts of Scotland and the UK, and negative reaction from a number of environmental groups, the project continued.
The development plan for Trump International Golf Links, Scotland (TIGLS) included two 18-hole courses, a 5-star hotel, golf villas, holiday homes, and a golf academy. It was strongly supported by local business leaders, but met opposition from local residents, campaigners and environmental groups anxious to preserve the 4,000-year-old sand dunes that were designated an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). In June 2019, Scottish Natural Heritage ruled that the golf course had "partially destroyed" the sand dune system, causing permanent habitat loss, and recommended that the SSSI status be revoked. The SSSI special status was removed in December 2020.
Though the development was recommended for approval by Aberdeenshire Council officials, the development was initially rejected by a local subcommittee of elected members; however, it was subsequently approved following a controversial planning inquiry ordered by the Scottish Government in June 2008, at which Trump personally testified. Work began on the site in July 2010.
In March 2009, the Trump Organization had asked the Council to use its powers of compulsory purchase to acquire some areas of land at Balmedie not forming part of the original TIGLS site for which planning permission already existed. These included four family-owned properties. In response local campaigners established Tripping Up Trump, a movement aimed at protecting the families at Menie being threatened with eviction. When it emerged at the end of January 2011 that Queen guitarist Brian May had agreed to the use of the band's song "Bohemian Rhapsody" in a film highlighting the plight of the families, Trump appeared to deny in a media statement that there had ever been an eviction threat, declaring "we have no interest in compulsory purchase and have never applied for it."
In September 2011, the Trump Organization lodged a formal objection to the proposed construction of a wind farm off the Aberdeenshire coast not far from the site of the new hotel and luxury housing. Donald Trump also wrote personally to the First Minister of Scotland protesting mainly on aesthetic grounds at the proposed erection of offshore wind turbines, which he characterised as 'ugly'. His letter claimed that he was protesting on behalf of the Scottish people, 'not... merely for the benefit of Trump International Golf Links.' The Organization's subsequent lawsuit failed as did the appeal.
In 2011, a documentary directed by Anthony Baxter called You've Been Trumped was released, showing the situation of local residents adversely affected by the resort's construction. It contains footage of, among others, economists who query the benefits claimed for the local economy, environmentalists critical of the damage allegedly caused by the development and golfers who voice doubts about claims made for the resort by the Trump Organization. It also shows Anthony Baxter being arrested by a Grampian Police officer, while filming; he was later released without charge. Baxter has been quoted as saying that Trump branded the film 'boring' and Baxter himself 'a fraud'. The film has won several awards including the Hamptons Film Festival Social Justice Award, the Maysles Brothers Award for best documentary at the Denver Film Festival and the Sedona International Film Festival Director's Choice Award.
The course opened on 10 July 2012.
Despite Trump's threat to withdraw any further investment in Scotland amid the wind turbine controversy, he later purchased the prestigious Turnberry resort in Ayrshire in April 2014.
Aberdeenshire Council granted planning approval for a second golf course on the Menie site, to be named the MacLeod Course after Donald Trump's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, in October 2020.
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