Golf Courses

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Donald Trump currently owns or operates 18 golf courses. Thirteen of Trump's golf courses are located in the United States. Five are located overseas in Ireland, Scotland or Dubai. Donald Trump's initial financial disclosure indicated that "roughly half" of Trump's reported income came from golf courses. [1]

During the recession, Trump began snapping up financially distressed golf courses, rather than developing new courses. Trump claimed “I'm buying courses that are among the best around, for substantial discounts ... The risk-takers were the previous owners, who spent a lot of money getting these courses up and running.” Trump claimed that his investments in golf courses were primarily a marketing tool designed to raise his profile among potential buyers of luxury units in his real estate developments.[2]

During the 2016 US Presidential campaign, Donald Trump claimed he enjoyed "tremendous support from the golf world," suggesting that professional golf associations endorsed his overt racism towards Mexicans. A group of professional golf associations issued a joint declaration that "we feel compelled to clarify that those remarks do not reflect the views of our organizations."[3]

Trump pays property taxes on ten golf courses in the United States (some of Trump's courses are leased from other owners and operated by Trump). Trump's financial disclosure has claimed the value of those ten courses is greater than $385 million. But local assessment values for the courses suggest their values are only 60% of the reported figures.[4]

Name of Course Location of Course Date Acquired Acquisition Cost Reported Value (Trump) Reported Income (Trump) Known Debt
Trump National Golf Club Westchester New York - Briarcliff Manor 1995 $8,000,000 $50,000,000 + $10,313,031 ?
Trump International Golf Club Florida Florida - West Palm Beach 1999 $40,000,000 $25,000,000 - $50,000,000 $17,510,455 ?
Trump National Golf Club Bedminster New Jersey - Bedminster 2002 $35,000,000 + $50,000,000 + $20,572,150 ?
Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles California - Rancho Palos Verdes 2002 $27,000,000 $50,000,000 + $15,635,196 [5] ?
Trump International Golf Links Scotland United Kingdom - Scotland - Aberdeenshire 2006 $48,000,000 $50,000,000 + $4,880,743 ?
Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck New Jersey - Colts Neck 2008 $28,000,000 $50,000,000 + $7,512,891 ?
Trump National Golf Club Washington DC Virginia - Potomac Falls 2009 ? $50,000,000 + $17,497,594 ?
Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia - December, 2009 - $3.7 million New Jersey - Pine Hill 2009 $3,700,000 $5,000,000 - $25,000,000 $5,641,122 ?
Trump National Golf Club Hudson Valley New York - Hopewell Junction 2009 ? $5,000,000 - $25,000,000 $5,574,955 ?
Trump National Doral Florida - Miami 2011 $150,000,000 $50,000,000 + $131,978,893 [6] ?
Trump Ferry Point New York - New York City 2012 $10,000,000 [7] $5,000,000 - $25,000,000 $7,930,134 ?
Trump National Golf Club Charlotte North Carolina - Charlotte 2012 $3,000,000 $5,000,000 = $25,000,000 $14,125,381 ?
Trump Turnberry United Kingdom - Scotland - Ayrshire 2014 $63,000,000 $50,000,000 + $18,186,951 ?
Trump International Golf Links Dubai United Arab Emirates - Dubai 2013 ? $0 - $1,000 $1,000,000 - $5,000,000 ?
Trump National Golf Club Jupiter Florida - Jupiter 2012 ? $50,000,000 + $17,903,803 ?
Trump World Golf Club Dubai United Arab Emirates - Dubai 2014 ? $15,000 - $50,000 $1,000,000 - $5,000,000 ?
Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg United Kingdom - Ireland - Doonbeg 2014 $47,600,000 $5,000,000 - $25,000,000 $10,750,645 ?
Golf Acquisitions LLC New York - New York City 2010 ? $0 - $1,000 $21,985 ?
Golf Productions LLC New York - New York City 2009 ? ? ? ?

2 failed golf courses in Puerto Rico. 3 failed golf course developments in Westchester County, New York

Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles

Donald Trump bought the Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in 2002 for $27 million. The course is located in the community of Ranchos Palos Verdes. Trump claimed that the course was worth $50 million or more in his 2016 financial disclosure. This claim contradicts appeals Trump has made to lower the assessment value of the golf course to $14 million. Trump has reported two streams of income for his Los Angeles Golf Club. Golf related revenue was $15,635,196 in 2016. Land Sales accounted for $11,270,300 in 2016. Trump developed housing associated with the site, building fifty mansions worth millions of dollars each.

Trump National Doral (Miami)

Donald Trump purchased the iconic Doral golf course near Miami in 2011 for $150 million and promptly renamed it Trump National Doral. The deal was financed with a $125 million loan from DeutscheBank. DeutscheBank holds two mortgages on the property, worth more than $55 million. Both mortgages were issued in 2012 and mature in 2023. Invanka Trump reportedly led negotiations to purchase the course from the Winthrop Realty Trust. Trump claimed that the course was worth $50 million or more in his 2016 financial disclosure. Trump has aggressively appealed for local officials to reduce the course's assessed value, most recently having its assessed value lowered to $75 million. Trump has reported that the course earned income of $131,892,107 in 2016. Trump's attorneys argued in a 2014 tax challenge that the golf resort actually lost $2.4 million. Trump reported $49,448,432 of income for Trump National Doral in his 2015 financial disclosure.

Trump National Golf Club Jupiter

Donald Trump purchased Jupiter's Ritz-Carlton Golf Club & Spa in November of 2012 for an undisclosed sum, renaming it Trump National Golf Club Jupiter. Trump claimed that the course was worth $50 million or more in his 2016 financial disclosure. This valuation conflicts with claims Trump has made to local officials, where he has argued the course should be considered worth "no more than $5 million" for the purpose of assessing local property tax rates. Trump reported income of $17,903,803 for the course. Trump lost a federal lawsuit brought by former members of the club in February of 2017. When Trump purchased the club, the plaintiffs had been members of its "resignation list" - club members who had expressed an intention to leave the club, but were unable to resign until new members had been recruited to replace them. After assuming ownership of the club, Trump denied members on the resignation list access to the club, but continued charging them membership fees and refused to return their deposits. A judge has ordered the Trump Organization to pay the former members more than $5 million in damages. Trump's golf club in Jupiter is one of several Trump properties that has applied to hire foreign seasonal workers through the H2B visa program.

Trump International Golf Club Florida (West Palm Beach)

Donald Trump acquired and began development of Trump International Golf Club Florida in 1999, for a reported cost of $40 million . Trump developed the course on land he leased from the local government. Trump obtained the lease in a legal settlement with local officials over airport noise above Mar-A-Lago. During development, local officials complained that Trump failed to honor terms of his contract requiring the use of minority contractors. When the course opened in 2000, golfers complained about being heckled by inmates of the Palm Beach County Jail , which overlooked the course. Trump claimed that the course was worth between $25 million and $50 million in his 2016 financial disclosure. Trump most recently reported $17,510,455 of income for the course. Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach is one of several Trump properties that has applied to hire foreign seasonal workers through the H2B visa program.

Trump National Golf Club Bedminster

Donald Trump purchased Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, then an unfinished golf course at Bedminster, in 2002 for less than $35 million. Trump purchased the course from Fairways International, which had bought the land from the bankrupt estate of carmaker John DeLorean. Trump claimed that the course was worth $50 million or more in his 2016 financial disclosure. Trump has reported income of $20,572,150 for the course. Trump has lowered his property taxes by grazing goats on the course in order to claim a local farmland tax exemption. Trump applied to local zoning officials for permission to build a family crypt on the course in 2007. The proposal was later withdrawn, but the Trump Organization resubmitted plans for a cemetery in March of 2017. Trump's golf club in Bedminster is one of several Trump properties that has applied to hire foreign seasonal workers through the H2B visa program.

Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck

Donald Trump acquired the Shadow Isle Golf Club in Colts Neck for $28 million in September of 2008, renaming it Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck. Trump claimed that the course was worth $50 million or more in his 2016 financial disclosure. Trump has reported income of $7,512,891 for the course. Amboy Bank holds a mortgage on the course worth between $5 million and $25 million. The mortgage was issued in 2008, matures in 2028 and has a 5.25% interest rate. Trump has lowered his property taxes by grazing goats on the course in order to claim a local farmland tax exemption. Local officials agreed to swap land with Trump in 2014, after unapproved upgrades on Trump's golf course encroached on protective easements held by the town. When local officials denied Trump permission to build a helipad on the golf course, he successfully appealed to courts and state officials to overrule their decision. Trump fought to divert millions of gallons of water from local reservoirs and aquifers to irrigate his course over the objections of local officials and residents. Trump's golf club in Colts Neck is one of several Trump properties that has applied to hire foreign seasonal workers through the H2B visa program. Trump's golf course at Colts Neck was sued for age discrimination by Edward Bals, a political supporter of Trump. Bals' case was dismissed in December of 2016 after a judge found the golf course had non-discriminatory reasons to have fired him. Karena Virginia, one of the women who accused Trump of sexual assault during the 2016 presidential campaign, at one time lived adjacent to Trump's golf course in Colts Neck. The couple had a dispute with Trump over trees planted on their property line.

Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia

Trump purchased the Pine Hill Golf Club on Christmas Eve of 2009 and renamed it Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia. Trump claimed that the course was worth between $5 million and $25 million in his 2016 financial disclosure. While the initial sales price was not disclosed, subsequent reporting indicates the club was acquired for $3.7 million. The club is technically owned by the borough of Pine Hill, exempting it from local property tax. Trump instead acquired a lease calling for him to pay $284,000 annual rent to the Borough of Pine Hill. After Trump acquired the club, he converted it from a semi-public to an exclusively private course. The club has been sued by a former employee alleging anti-gay discrimination.

Trump National Golf Club Hudson Valley

Trump reportedly purchased the Branton Woods Golf Club in Hopewell Junction New York on December 24, 2009, renaming it Trump National Golf Club Hudson Valley. Trump claimed that the course was worth between $5 million and $25 million in his 2016 financial disclosure. Trump does not technically own the golf course. Instead he holds a 99 year ground lease.

Trump Ferry Point

Donald Trump operates Trump Ferry Point, a golf course owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation built upon a former landfill. Trump was awarded the contract to run Ferry Point in 2012. Trump paid no part of the course's $127 million development cost, but his contract specified he would spend $10 million to construct a club house. Trump's contract calls for him to eventually pay New York City a licensing fee to operate the course, but the contract exempted Trump from paying those fees for the first five years. Trump will ultimately be required to pay the City 7% of the course's gross revenue or a minimum annual fee of $300,000. The course at Ferry Point opened in April of 2015. The course was developed by a private firm named Ferry Point Partners and by contractors working for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Trump's biographical video at the Republican National Convention falsely claimed that Trump had built the course at Ferry Point, with the video's narrator claiming "Donald transformed a landfill into a championship public golf course and saved the city millions." Trump continued to insist he had built the course, even as city officials publicly refuted him. The clubhouse - which Trump's contract does require to him build - had still not been erected by August of 2016. Trump has declared the value of his contract to operate the course between $5 million and $25 million. Trump's 2016 financial disclosure claimed the course earned $7,930,134. This figure seems to closely match figures Trump has reported to New York City.

Trump National Golf Club Westchester

Donald Trump purchased the land that he developed into Trump National Golf Club Westchester in 1995 for $8 million. The course opened for play in 2002. Trump reported the course's value at greater than $50 million in his 2016 financial disclosure. In a tax appeals designed to lower the assessed value of the course, Trump's attorneys have argued that its actual value was as low as $1.4 million. More recently, Trump has tried to convince local officials that the club is only worth $9 million. Trump's 2016 financial disclosure reported $10,313,031 of income from the course. Trump sued the contractors who built the course, claiming they overcharged him. Trump won a $4 million verdict in 2005. Trump boasted in 2000 that his golf course was being developed "five minutes" from Bill Clinton's new home in Chappaqua and that Trump "would be happy to have him as a member."

Trump National Golf Club Charlotte

Trump acquired the former Point Lake Golf Club outside Charlotte for $3 million in April of 2012 and renamed it Trump National Golf Club Charlotte. Trump claimed that the course was worth between $5 million and $25 million in his 2016 financial disclosure. Since acquiring the property, Trump has lobbied local officials to lower its assessed value from $22.7 million to $9.6 million.

Trump National Golf Club Washington DC

Donald Trump bought the Lowes Island golf club in February of 2009 and renamed it Trump National Golf Club Washington DC. The exact price that Trump paid is not clear, but the course's owner had previously tried to sell the course for $18 million. Trump bought the club from Chevy Chase Bank. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. holds a mortgage on Trump's DC golf club worth between $5 million and $25 million. The mortgage was issued in 2009 at a 5.5% interest rate and matures in 2029. Trump reportedly installed a state-of-the-art surveillance system at the club which is monitored continuously by a security service in New York. Trump cut down hundreds of trees along the Potomac River shoreline in 2010, surprising neighbors and raising concern among environmentalists. Trump's clear-cutting led to months of conflict with environmentalists. Local officials were notified of the clear-cutting plan but lacked authority to prevent it. Officials from the Trump Organization argued that the trees had been causing shoreline erosion, in defiance of traditional understanding that trees prevent erosion. Trump installed a plaque on the golf course's grounds that falsely claims it was the site of a historic Civil War battle.

Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg

Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg

Trump International Golf Links Dubai

Trump was appointed to manage Trump International Golf Links Dubai in May of 2013. The golf club was developed by a company named DAMAC Properties and was conceived as part of a larger master-development known as Akoya. Donald Trump's sons attended a grand opening ceremony of the golf course's clubhouse in February of 2017. Trump reported income between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000 for DT Dubai Golf Manager LLC in 2015 and 2016. DT Dubai II Golf Manager LLC had no reported income.

Trump World Golf Club Dubai

Trump was appointed to manage a second golf course under development in Dubai, Trump World Golf Club Dubai, in September of 2014. The golf course is owned by Damac Properties and is part of the same Akoya master development as Trump International Golf Links Dubai

Trump International Golf Links Scotland (Aberdeen)

Donald Trump first began developing Trump International Golf Links Scotland in the Scottish town of Aberdeenshire in 2006. Trump's plan was initially rejected by local officials in November of 2007. Trump ultimately received approval from Scotland's parliament, which overrode the local government's rejection of the plan. The course and resort opened to the public in 2012. Trump reported that Trump International Golf Links Scotland earned income of $4,349,651 in his 2015 financial disclosure. Trump reported to British officials that Turnberry lost approximately $1.6 million in 2015. Trump has told reporters that the discrepancy reflects his decision to report "projected future income" on his campaign finance disclosures, rather than actual income. Eric Trump has claimed that the figures released by Trump to American voters reflect "gross revenue."

Trump's development efforts in Aberdeen led to an extensive feud with various neighbors who owned land that Trump sought to confiscate.

Trump fought unsuccessfully to prevent development of wind turbines off the Scottish coast near his resort. Trump argued the wind farm would ruin the view from his course. Trump took his opposition to the wind farm to Britain's highest court. After losing, Trump threatened to withdraw all his investments from Scotland.

Trump's Aberdeen development required disturbing beach-side sand dunes that had existed for 4,000 years and were considered a significant environmental resource. Concerns about the dunes were ultimately outweighed by Trump's promises of investment and economic development. Some of Trump's local supporters have since expressed a feeling of betrayal, as Trump's investments were ultimately far smaller than he had initially promised.

Trump Turnberry

Donald Trump purchased the famous Turnberry golf course in April of 2014, renaming it Trump Turnberry. The course had previously hosted the Open Championship four times. Trump reportedly paid £35.7 million ($63 million at the 2014 conversion rate) to buy the golf course and resort from Leisurecorp, which has been described as a "subsidiary of the Dubai government." Leisurecorp had previously purchased Turnberry in 2008 for £52 million and invested £40 million upgrading the property. At the time of the purchase, Trump reportedly vowed not to redevelop the course. It is unclear why the previous owners opted to sell at a total loss of £56.3 million. Trump reported that Trump Turnberry earned income of $20,395,000 in his 2015 financial disclosure. Trump reported to British officials that Turnberry lost approximately $12.4 million in 2015. Trump has told reporters that the discrepancy reflects his decision to report "projected future income" on his campaign finance disclosures, rather than actual income. In December of 2015, Scottish officials voted to cancel plans to hold The Open - a prestigious golf tournament - at Turnberry. The decision was a response to Trump's intemperate remarks during the 2016 US Presidential election.

Failed Golf Courses

Puerto Rico

Westchester County

Footnotes and Citations

  1. Despite Mr. Trump's reputation as a builder of office and residential towers, it turns out that roughly half of his income, about $200 million, derives from golf courses and resorts. (New York Times, July 23, 2015)
  2. The first thing Donald Trump wants you to know is, he's not really much of a risk-taker. Not in his golf business, anyway. “I'm buying courses that are among the best around, for substantial discounts,” he says. “The risk-takers were the previous owners, who spent a lot of money getting these courses up and running.” Perhaps. But the fact is, anybody who has acquired five conspicuously high-end courses in the past three years, as Trump has done, is taking a chance. Even discounted, private golf clubs are nobody's idea of a sure thing these days. [...] Along with his regular media appearances, the courses are part of his marketing apparatus, raising his profile among wealthy people who might buy apartments or lease offices in his real-estate developments. “You have to remember these are all small deals compared with a billion-dollar office tower,” he says. “They might seem like a big risk, but next to what I do in my main business, they're small.”(Golf Digest, March 2011)
  3. In the wake of his comments about Mexicans, businessman/presidential candidate Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has had "tremendous support from the golf world." On Wednesday, four pillars of that world made it clear that they wanted no part of any association with Trump's controversial assertions.

    The PGA Tour, PGA of America, LPGA and USGA issued this joint statement: "In response to Mr. Trump's comments about the golf industry 'knowing he is right' in regards to his recent statements about Mexican immigrants, we feel compelled to clarify that those remarks do not reflect the views of our organizations.”

    During the announcement of his White House bid, Trump had said,"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best.... They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." (Washington Post, July 1, 2015)
  4. Trump pays property taxes on 10 U.S. golf courses. In the case of eight of those courses, the actual assessed value is far lower than the values Trump claimed in his FEC financial disclosure filing. The FEC form requires candidates to list assets in value ranges, with $50 million and above as the highest category. The combined value of the 10 courses, as determined by local officials, is roughly 60 percent of the $385 million Trump gave as a minimum estimate. (Washington Post, August 21, 2016)
  5. This figure omits another $11,270,300 in reported income from land sales
  6. This figure includes $86,786 of reported "golf related revenue" for White Course LLC.
  7. This figure represents the value of a clubhouse Trump pledged to build on the course's grounds. The clubhouse had not been built before the election.