  Trump International Golf Links | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
  Location in Scotland | |
| Coordinates | 57°16′38″N02°01′17″W / 57.27722°N 2.02139°W |
| Location | Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| Established | 2012, 12 years ago |
| Type | Private |
| Owned by | The Trump Organization |
| Course | |
| Designed by | Dr Martin Hawtree |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 7,300 yards (6,700 m) |
Trump International Golf Links, Scotland is a golf course in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, owned by Donald Trump. It opened in 2012.
In 2006, Trump purchased a 1,400-acre (570-hectare) plot just north of Aberdeen at Menie (Balmedie), Scotland, with the intention 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. [1]
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, [2] 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. [3] [4] The SSSI special status was removed in December 2020. [5]
Though the development was recommended for approval by Aberdeenshire Council officials, [6] 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. [7]
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. [8] 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." [9]
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.' [10] The Organization's subsequent lawsuit failed [11] as did the appeal. [12]
In 2011, a documentary directed by Anthony Baxter called You've Been Trumped [13] 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. [14] It also shows Anthony Baxter being arrested by a Grampian Police officer, while filming; he was later released without charge. [15] Baxter has been quoted as saying that Trump branded the film 'boring' and Baxter himself 'a fraud'. [16] 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. [17]
The course opened on 10 July 2012. [18]
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. [19]
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. [20]
By 31 December 2018, the accounts reveal an overall expenditure on assets to date of £33,659,179. During the year there had been an operating loss of £866,991 and loss before tax of £1,077,504. [21] This loss represented a small improvement on the previous year (2017), when it made a loss of around £1,250,000. [21] The number of employees had reduced from 84 during 2017 to 77 in 2018. [21] The shareholders' deficit increased by just over £1,000,000 to £11,725,897.
For 31 December 2019, the accounts reveal an overall asset value of £32,071,221. During the year there had been an operating loss of £896,367 and loss before tax of £1,105,763. This loss represented a further decline on the previous year (2018). [22] The number of employees rose back up to 84 during 2019 from 77 in 2018. The shareholders' deficit again increased by over £1M to £12,783,441.
In February 2023, the company managing the golf course, Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd, reported pre-tax losses of £697,000 ($860,000) in 2021. [23]
In 2008, Trump promoted the golf course with a coat of arms that he had used for his American businesses, but was warned by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the highest authority for Scottish heraldry, that a Scottish law disallows the use of unregistered arms. In January 2012, shortly after the inauguration of the golf course, Trump unveiled a new coat of arms that had been granted to "The Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd" by the Lord Lyon in 2011. [24] [25]
A spokesperson for the golf course said that "the coat of arms brings together visual elements that signify different aspects of the Trump family heritage [...], the Lion Rampant [in the crest] makes reference to Scotland and the stars to America. Three chevronels are used to denote the sky, sand dunes and sea—the essential components of the site, and the double-[headed] Eagle represents the dual nature and nationality of Trump's heritage (Scottish and German). The Eagle clutches golf balls making reference to the great name of golf, and the motto Numquam Concedere is Latin for Never Give Up—Trump's philosophy". [25]
The same coat of arms was later used for the Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Ireland. [26] [27]
The Press and Journal is a daily regional newspaper serving northern and Highland Scotland including the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness. Established in 1747, it is Scotland's oldest daily newspaper, and one of the longest-running newspapers in the world.
The Evening Express is a daily local newspaper serving the city of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Newburgh is a coastal village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The village dates to 1261 AD, when William St. Clair, 6th Baron of Roslin, wanted to establish a chapel in the area. Originally built as a school, somewhat later the chapel of Holy Rood was established.
Trump Turnberry is a golf resort in Turnberry, South Ayrshire, located on the Firth of Clyde in southwest Scotland. It comprises three links golf courses, a golf academy, a five-star James Miller-designed hotel from 1906, along with lodge and cottage accommodations. Turnberry was a popular golf course and resort from its inception, made accessible because of the Maidens and Dunure Light Railway. It closed in both World Wars for military use, and there was concern it would not open following World War II, but it was redesigned by Mackenzie Ross and re-opened in 1951.
The Trump Organization is an American privately-owned conglomerate owned by Donald Trump. It serves as the holding company for all of Trump's business ventures and investments, with around 250 of its affiliates and subsidiaries using the Trump name. Donald Trump joined the organization in 1968, began leading it in 1971, renamed it around 1973, and handed off its leadership to his children in 2017 after he won the 2016 United States presidential election.
Balmedie is a large village in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It lies north of the city of Aberdeen, in the civil parish of Belhelvie. The long and wide beach is bordered by an extensive dune system that stretches 14 miles (23 km) from Aberdeen to just north of the Ythan Estuary at Newburgh. The dynamic dunes have marram grass as the principal vegetation. They support a large array of wildlife. Two watercourses make their way to the sea within the area creating ribbons of wetland vegetation along their course. The village is near the Sands of Forvie Site of Special Scientific Interest, the fifth largest sand dune system in Britain; this is an integral part of the Ythan Estuary, which separates the sands from Balmedie Beach.
Embo is a village in the Highland Council Area in Scotland and the former postal county of Sutherland, about two miles north-northeast of Dornoch.
Michael Forbes is a farmer, part-time salmon fisherman and quarry worker from near Balmedie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, who became known after his refusal to sell his land to Donald Trump for a golf course and resort.
Doonbeg is a village in west County Clare, Ireland on the Atlantic coast. The surrounding natural environment has supported its development as a tourist resort. The area was officially classified as part of the West Clare Gaeltacht, an Irish-speaking community, until 1956.
You've Been Trumped is a 2011 documentary by British filmmaker Anthony Baxter. The film documents the construction of a luxury golf course on a beach in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by developer Donald Trump and the subsequent struggles between the locals, Donald Trump, and Scottish legal and governmental authorities.
The European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), also known as the Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm is an offshore wind test and demonstration facility located around 3 kilometres off the east coast of Aberdeenshire, in the North Sea, Scotland. It was developed by the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre consortium. The scheme is relatively small - it consists of 11 wind turbines with an installed capacity of 93.2 megawatts. It is located between Blackdog and Bridge of Don near Aberdeen. First power was generated in July 2018, with full commissioning following in September 2018.
Martin A. Ford is a Scottish politician, who is the Scottish Green Party councillor for the East Garioch ward of Aberdeenshire Council. He had a prominent role in the consideration of a planning application for a golf course at Balmedie.
Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd v Scotland [2015] UKSC 74 is a 2015 judgment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on the authority of the Scottish government to allow windfarm applications, under the Electricity Act 1989. It is relevant for UK enterprise law and the regulation of UK wind power.
Donald Trump began his career as a businessman at his father's real estate company, Trump Management, which he later renamed the Trump Organization. He expanded its business to Manhattan, where his father's financial and political backing enabled him to do his first deals, demolishing and renovating landmark buildings. Trump entered various businesses that did not require capital funding, including licensing his name to lodging and golf course enterprises around the world.His multimillion dollar empire was built through hard work and tenacity. Building on his public persona in the New York tabloid press, he later starred in the reality TV show The Apprentice.
Donald Trump is closely associated with the sport of golf. As a real estate developer, Trump began acquiring and constructing golf courses in 1999. By the time of his election as United States President in 2016, he owned 17 golf courses worldwide through his holding company, the Trump Organization. Courses owned by Trump have been selected to host various PGA and LPGA events, including the 2022 PGA Championship. A spokesman for the Trump Organization said that "This is a breach of a binding contract and they have no right to terminate the agreement".
Coul Links is an area of sand dunes in Sutherland, on the east coast of Scotland. It is located between Golspie and Dornoch, lying just to the north of the small village of Embo. The links are considered unusual within Scotland in displaying a complete transition from the foredune to dune system and coastal heathland. They also include habitats such as flooded slacks and seasonal lochs. The links lie on the eastern side of Loch Fleet, and form part of the Loch Fleet Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet Special Protection Area (SPA), and the Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet Ramsar site, but are outwith the Loch Fleet national nature reserve (NNR). Between 1985 and 2010 the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) managed Coul Links under an agreement with the landowner, however the agreement was not renewed when it expired. The SWT continues to be involved in the management of the adjacent Loch Fleet NNR.
Foveran Links is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the parish of Foveran, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It consists of a mobile dune system located along the coast south of the Ythan Estuary, which separates it from the sand dunes of the Forvie National Nature Reserve. The southern parts of the site were partially destroyed by the construction of the Trump International Golf Links resort, which has led to the start of a consultation for the removal of its SSSI status.
Anthony William James Baxter is a British documentary director and producer. He is known for his documentary films Eye of the Storm, Flint: Who Can You Trust?, You've Been Trumped and A Dangerous Game.