The Donald To Monty: "You Made Winning Majors Look Easy!"

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Enjoyable on so many levels...

 And the reply...

Speaking of Trump Turnberry, Iain Lowe has posted some stunning new aerials of the revamped course at his site.

" When Oscar De La Hoya says Donald Trump 'cheats in golf,' this is what he's talking about"

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There have been a few "I won't vote for Donald Trump because I've played golf with him" stories, but also one Lou Holtz endorsement because he loved the service at a Trump golf property. Politics is dirty business!

Still, Oscar De La Hoya sharing his golf story from a day with the presumptive nominee at Trump National Los Angeles--as written up by Lance Pugmire of the LA Times--is fun to visualize. I'm just teasing you with the punch line...hit the link for the full story.

“We get up there [to the green] and he’s like, ‘Oh, my ball’s right here!’ Three feet away. ‘And by the way, I’m going to pick it up, it’s a gimme,’” De La Hoya said.

“You don’t do that in golf,” De La Hoya said, adding there were no side games in play where money was exchanged.

“No money at all, how can I win?” De La Hoya said. “I’m not [voting] for someone who cheats in golf.”

Of course, another former President was known to fudge the mulligan rules. Oh, and his wife will be running for President against Trump. What a world.

DII School Bans Team From Trump National Doral; Coach Endorses The Donald

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Brentley Romine with the story of Division II Barry University barring its golf team from practicing at Trump Doral because the school's mission statement clashes with the campaign rhetoric of the resort's owner.

Forget your political views for a moment, and note that Trump Doral was providing some free golf to a Division II school. In an era when more and more clubs sadly close their doors to local college and high school teams, it's pretty impressive that a high end resort course was still providing some free golf to a Division II school.

Anyway, coach Jimmy Stobbs tells Romine that he has no opinion...well, not really...

“We were very appreciative of the opportunity to play on the outstanding courses that aided in the player development. Barry University administration has an issue with Mr. Trump that now affects the golf team in many ways.

“I will keep my opinion of the decision to myself, but for the record, my wife and I both voted for Mr. Trump in the Florida primary, and we will again in the general election.”

Early Photos Of Trump Turnberry Reveal Shocking Twist!

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Some of you may know I find the links golf move toward immaculately manicured jacuzzi bunkers to be a depressing evolution of seaside bunkering. Especially given what the old photographs show and the vitality of naturalness in links golf.

So imagine my shock and joy in seeing the first photos emerging from Trump Turnberry showing off the finished product. No more bathtub bunkers. Architects Mackenzie and Ebert deserve most of the credit, especially since they convinced The Donald to go this route.

Exciting stuff from Turnberry, which reopens soon and will be getting a full inspection from yours truly this July:


And click on the lower left photo to see the new par-3...

 

Video: Preview Of Real Sports Segment On Trump In Scotland

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And I had such high hopes for Alex Salmond and Donald Trump patching things up!

HBO's Bernard Goldberg heads back to Scotland to follow up on his reporting from a few years ago when everyone was a lot thinner and younger. What he finds appears to be a lot less enthusiasm for Trump.

The segment debuts Tuesday, April 19th.



The Donald Files: New Column Credits Scotland, Spieth Chokes

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As Dominic Hinde of The Washington Times notes, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is now writing a column for The Press and Journal in Aberdeen and in his opening effort, compared his fight to get Trump International Scotland build with his campaign.

Many Scots will be glad to know The Donald credits the Aberdeen fight with making him a stronger candidate.

I am also known as a great golf course developer, and since Scotland and golf go hand in hand, it is no surprise that I would be passionate about developing a golf course there.

I think what surprised people is just how passionate I was about it – it’s kind of like how I feel about America.

When I first arrived on the scene in Aberdeen, the people of Scotland were testing me to see just how serious I was – just like the citizens in the United States have done about my race for the White House.

I had to win them over – I had to convince them that I meant business and that I had their best interests in mind.

Well, Scotland has already been won – and so will the United States.

And he compared Jordan Spieth and Mitt Romney as chokers, notes Joel Beall.

Poll Claims 77% Will Avoid Trump Properties Out Of Protest

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Forbes' Erin Carlyle reports that 77% of 500 surveyed by Penn Schoen Berland would boycott Trump branded properties as a boycott over Donald Trump's campaign and possible Republican nomination.

The poll claims to have contacted folks earning over $200,000, and I'm struggling to believe that many people making that much money answered the phone. Nonethless, some numbers to keep an eye on.

Of these Trump-averse people, 77% said they would avoid Trump properties specifically to protest his campaign. They all agreed with this statement: “Over the course of his presidential campaign, I have found Donald Trump to be an unwelcome and generally negative addition to the political and social arenas – and by not patronizing his business I would be demonstrating my opposition.”

The survey respondents were fairly evenly divided in terms of political affiliation: 156 identified as Democrats, 172 Republicans, and 172 independents. A total of 257 were men; 243 were women. More than a third of the respondents said they have influence over their company’s travel and entertainment spending, suggesting that their opinions could have a broader effect.

Globe On Trump: "The man loves his golf, and by many accounts has a good bit of skill when playing."

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Michael Whitmer of the Boston Globe tries to dissect Donald Trump's golf humblebrags and concludes that yes, there may be some exaggerations, but that the next president also is decent enough to back up his claims.

He writes:

Fact-checking a candidate during a campaign is par for the course — pardon the pun — but some of Trump’s claims can be confirmed. His name is included with the list of club champions at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. A plaque recognizing his hole-in-one on the 12th hole at Trump Golf Links Ferry Point in the Bronx has been added to the tee box (8-iron, 149 yards, Oct. 9, 2013). His GHIN handicap index — available for perusal to anyone with Internet access — shows the 20 most recent 18-hole scores Trump has posted. The low, a 70, is from August 2013, and came in a tournament; the highest, an 86, was posted in October 2014.

The Donald Plays The Club Championship Card Again!

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He's a closer! He took the Mara-a-Lago Mixed Stableford Four-Ball, Gross Division! Give this man the keys to the White House!

After winning Michigan and further solidifying his Republican nomination lead, Donald Trump peppered his acceptance speech/press conference/product plugfest with multiple golf references: Jack Nicklaus, Adam Scott, the WGC at Doral, Trump International, Trump National, Trump wine, etc...

And though he's mentioned his club championship-winning prowess before, something about the references seems a bit more eye-opening when he's a leading candidate for the White House.

Unfortunately, the ABC video transcript wasn't particularly accurate. And yet so, so fun, starting with its interpretation of Trump:

Hewitt National Golf Club. Jack Nicklaus did this it's a Jack Nicklaus signature course and it's a great great. Resort and place and we have a lot of our members here SC. We love our members. Jack Jack by the way Jack Nicklaus is a special man indeed the special job and yet we have another special man Paul O'Neill of the Yankees can end up all.

And...

And have I won many club championship distraught daughter close. You know believe it or not it's not so different winning is winning you gotta be not easy to a club championships believe me. And I'm not talking about with strokes and Doug it would no strokes but the fact is that. I like to close I like to close things out so until the last person you know get restarted with a field of seven. And now we're down to four. And I really what analysts engines I am not even focused on yet I'm doing well numerous balls and winning.

Kind of like the old Ali G translator!

You'll have a hard time taking your eyes off of this, and I promise, big giggles when he mentioned the major played last week:

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