It is said that the, ‘Great White Shark,’ made 23 visits to the County Clare site before and during construction, saying, “I thought I was the luckiest designer in the world,” adding, “If I spent the rest of my life building golf courses, I don’t think I’d find a comparable site anywhere.”
The Irish course’s accommodation offer is officially five-star, but, by comparison with Turnberry, either it’s four-star or the Ayrshire hotel can claim six, and, an hour from Shannon Airport and a four-hour drive from Dublin, Trump International Golf Links demands a short break as opposed to a day visit.
To summarise Mr. President’s three European golf properties, it would be fair to say they reflect the man himself, bold and brash, in Turnberry’s case, lavish, all controversial, inconsistent, the parts that are good are truly excellent, those that are bad are poor – take for example the websites and booking systems - and there can be no doubt that Trump Turnberry is first amongst equals, by a country mile.
That’s not to say that, given the promised investment, Aberdeen and Doonbeg - especially the former - can’t mount a challenge, although currently, they over-promise and under-deliver, not on the golf course but off it.
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