Trump International Golf Links Scotland

With the opening last summer of Trump International Golf Links-Scotland, the country’s northeast coast has become a world-class golf destination. Golf connoisseurs had long known the area above the oil-industry city of Aberdeen for a pair of Old World links, Royal Aberdeen Golf Club and Cruden Bay Golf Club. Now, thanks to the design efforts of British architect Martin Hawtree and the persistence of the Trump Organization and its development team, a vast stretch of towering dunes along the North Sea is home to a major new links course.

Trump International Golf Links occupies a breathtaking three-mile-long coastal stretch that comprises some of the most dramatic golf ground in all of Great Britain. The par-72 layout stretches to 7,428 yards, though visitors at this resort layout will likely opt for less taxing tees. Many tees are set deep in the dunes and offer powerful long views. Three holes sure to elicit a “10” on the “Yikes Meter” are the par-3 sixth holes with the green set above a yawning chasm; the par-4 14th hole over monstrous dunes; and the par-5 18th hole, where the tee shot looks out upon the entire site.

Trump International Scotland sets a whole new standard for the country’s tourism in terms of service, caddie program and what, at 20 acres, must be Scotland’s largest practice range.

Next up for development is a sparkling five-star hotel and extensive real estate–all of it to be set far back inland from the golf course so that no views are spoiled out there.

The course sits in the village of Balmedie, 12 miles north of downtown Aberdeen. The Granite City, named for the locally quarried stone that forms so much of its architecture, has a population of 220,000, making it the country’s third-largest municipality. Aberdeen is a business hub for the oil industry whose hotels enjoy (or suffer) a notoriously high occupancy rate. Trump International Scotland will, in the short run, exacerbate that problem but in the long run will help relieve the pressure.

Course:
Trump International Golf Links-Scotland, Menie Park Lodge, Menie Estate, Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, 44-1358-74-33-00, www.trumpgolfscotland.com

Airport:
Aberdeen International Airport is 12 miles southwest of the golf course. Its longest runway is 6,394 feet and it has three helipads.