timelliott review of Trump International Golf Links

Donald Trump creates mixed emotions but no one can fault his determination to build an outstanding Golf course by the North Sea to the north of Aberdeen. And by not taking ‘no’for an answer he has succeeded in overcoming local objections and creating a golfing masterpiece. There have been three magnificent golf courses opened on Scotland’s East Coast since 2000, Kingsbarns, Castle Stuart and now Trump International. Arguably this is the best of the three, and that is some accolade! The Course is set among towering sand dunes covered by marram grass, and each hole is a perfect amphitheatre and all have views of the sea. We started with 4 holes downwind, which settled us down with some par figures, but the challenge was ratcheted up massively once we headed into the wind, I liked starting and ending with a par five, but all the holes in between were similarly exceptional, with many raised tee boxes. The Course staff were helpful and a 15 minute gap between tee times was a nice touch. The clubhouse is a relatively modest affair, not like Turnberry, and in fact the changing rooms were a bit cramped. We stayed for Dinner in the Dunes Restaurant and enjoyed watching the sun set over this quite remarkable stretch of golfing real estate. Golf played here in decent (or even half decent) weather is a good as it gets.

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