Trump National, Here We Come

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25161922.jpgThe LA Times Bob Pool reports on a strange prank played on Trump National.
An official-looking sign at Sunset's southbound freeway onramp pointed the way to the Trump National Golf Club with a giant arrow.

One passerby who was not amused was Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss, who represents several nearby Westside neighborhoods and for years has crusaded against illegal signs and billboard blight.

Weiss called Caltrans officials demanding to know whether they had authorized a sign advertising something 30 miles away — and in the city of Rancho Palos Verdes to boot.

Puzzled transportation planners quickly explained that the sign wasn't placed at the onramp by them and promised that Caltrans workers would be sent today to remove it from the ramp, used by 4,100 motorists daily.

"Advertising businesses is totally not our policy. That would not be our sign," said Caltrans spokeswoman Judy Gish. "I can't begin to imagine who put it up. It wasn't us."

Weiss said he hoped that that is the case.

"If it is a real Caltrans sign, you have to be outraged. Assuming that it's not, I have to say I'm impressed at how authentic-looking it is. But my feelings on this will sour if Caltrans doesn't take it down right away. Intended or not, this is tremendous free advertising for the one man in the United States who least needs it."

Managers at Trump's golf club in Rancho Palos Verdes did not respond to inquiries about the sign. A Trump spokeswoman in Pebble Beach said she knew nothing about it.

But others were wondering if the sign might be the handiwork of a shadowy group of prankster artists, architects and builders who call themselves Heavy Traffic. Six years ago the guerrilla artists created a flurry of excitement by posting fake but authentic-looking MTA signs around the Westside announcing the "future route of the Metro Aqua Line."

The Trump Torch

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Tod Leonard has fun with The Donald and the redesigned Ocean Trails opening this week...

When he purchased troubled Ocean Trails Golf Club – the infamous course with the 18th hole that had disastrously toppled onto the beach – out of bankruptcy for $27 million in 2002, The Donald had to give it the Trump Touch. So that means grandiose waterfalls and man-made lakes amid the coastal sagebrush and a new finishing hole that was rebuilt from the beach up.

Price tag: $61 million – for the 18th hole.

Total cost to basically redo a course that already was built: $264 million, making it the world's most expensive face-lift.

"When I took it over, I had to make a determination," Trump said last month in a conference call with reporters. "Did I want to just fix up what was there, or did we want to do something that was really special? We decided that the land was just too good to not to do anything but the best.

"We feel it's better than Pebble Beach. We have had some people out who are very familiar with Pebble Beach. Most people consider (Trump National) to be substantially superior."

Trump didn't drop any names, but those people he's talking about were probably kissing up for a spot on "The Apprentice."

In reality, Trump National doesn't come close to rivaling Pebble Beach in either its scenic grandeur or its quality of golf. Well-traveled Southern California golfers who picture a blend of Torrey Pines, Pelican Hill and Bajamar can get a fairly accurate mental image.