The hits keep a coming for Trump. I meant to write about this hours ago but got sidetracked. Still, it’s too delicious a story not to talk about if before the day is done. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club, one of golf’s two governing bodies has let it slip that the “unofficial” removal of Trump Turnberry (used to be referred to as simply Turnberry) from consideration to host the (British) Open Championship is more official that had been known. In fact, reports are that as long as he owns the place it might as well not exist to them! As Chris Farley’s character in Tommy Boy would say “That’s gonna leave a mark.”
In effect, the R&A has gone the golf version of Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi” – “No Open for YOU!”
Yep, The Royal & Ancient Golf Club (aka the R&A) has reportedly said golf’s oldest, most storied championship won’t be returning to Turnberry (as it was called before Trump got hold of it and slapped his name on it) not only won’t be hosting The Open Championship (for golf purists this is the name, not “British Open” but “The Open”) for an indefinite period of time, but won’t be considered until it is no longer owned by Trump! Basically he’s been told “You want to see The Open at Turnberry? Sell it to someone respectable, so that the championship will be about the golfers and the game instead of your crap and THEN we’ll think about it.” (Reports are unconfirmed but “people say” they added it will take some years for the Trump stench to go away completely so then and only then will we see about adding it back into the Rota.)
FYI, when you hear golf folks refer to the Rota or Open Rota they mean the set of storied courses that the Open gets played on. A rotation of courses if you will although there isn’t a particular order used. It’s not a long list but the names are old, historic venues indeed. Turnberry first became part of the Open Rota hosting it in 1977 during which one of golf’s epic duels, an instant classic between Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson took place. It’s still on the list of golf’s most riveting rounds. Once part of the Rota Turnberry hosted The Open four more times, the last being in 2009. Before Trump. Many a highbrow Brit was distressed when Trump got his grubby hands on the place.
Trump has dreamed of hosting a Major Championship for decades. The Masters is obviously out as The Augusta National would never have Trump as a member (or even guest) much less sell it to him. If he even tried we’d lose some members due to them dying of laughter. They could by Trump and his precious Trump Org. Empire for what amounts to the price of a pimento cheese sandwich (a Masters classic) and cup of lemonade at the Masters. Which in case you didn’t know are still dirt cheap. Three or four bucks total!
That leaves the U.S. Open, the PGA and of course The Open. The courses for their annual major championships are determined years in advance. While the R&A is pretty resistant to adding new venues to their Rota the USGA and PGA have been more willing to do so, but even they have a short list of courses that players and fans like to see host those major championships on a semi-regular basis. BUT, a completely new place isn’t out of the question and Trump has put a lot of hope in that. Problem is, he doesn’t own any course in the U.S. up to the standards of the USGA or PGA for a major. Even with their ability to toughen a place up.
Still, to their everlasting shame the LPGA has played one of their majors on a Trump owned course, but not the men and it’s a men’s major that Trump has always lusted to host. To be the STAR of which is exactly why even if one of his venues could be brought up to major championship grade golf they’d still not want to use one of his courses. The USGA and the R&A co-rule golf and they are in agreement when it comes to Trump. (and the PGA follows the USGA’s lead) As in keep him at a distance.
There are still far too many in golf who won’t publicly denounce Trump. Players and executives alike. Hell, some still sing his praises although I’ve noticed they’ve become muted as of late. Anyway, getting back to Turnberry it is a course that became part of The Open Rota. Trump has never been popular with most folks in the UK and the fans there know their golf. And see Trump with clear eyes that don’t like what they see. If by unspoken agreement after he became President Turnberry wasn’t near the top of the list when choosing future venues, after January 6 it became known that Trump’s course would be indefinitely removed from consideration to host The Open. He complained of course, and then said they’d approached him about “Trump Turnberry” hosting an Open. At that point they were forced to go on the record and issue a statement saying “No. No such conversation has taken place.” And 2009, pre-Trump ownership remains the last time the course has hosted The Open. Because of Trump.
So, as I said after J6 the R&A quietly lt be known that The Open wasn’t coming back to Trump’s venue. Now, as if to emphasize the point they’ve quietly leaked not only is Trump Turnberry still unofficially blasklisted from the Rota, but that there’s a condition to it being added in to the mix again. What you ask?
Trump has to sell the place!
As Chris Farley’s character in Tommy Boy said (more than once) after getting smacked in the head “That’s gonna leave a mark.” We can be certain if was a bad day to be a ketchup bottle anywhere near Trump today. (Although for the vendor that provides the condiment to Trump’s place it’s always good news when Trump gets bad news cause a BIG order is going to be placed!)
Anyway, Trump had to have gone ballistic when he heard. Now, BOTH of golf’s major governing bodies (The R&A and the USGA) are shunning him and if not trashing him publicly they also aren’t putting out statements denying that Trump is someone they want nothing to do with. As with NYC high society, he thought he was one of them and it turns out they never liked him in the first place. “Oh the humanity humiliation!”
Donnie Boy Trump might not ever set foot in Scotland again which would be just fine with the Scots. No longer being President he can’t keep regular Scots pushed way the hell away, out of eye and ear shot anymore and you gotta love those folks. They are entertaining as hell in how they insult Trump.
His whining on this should be fun. He’s been claiming Turnberry is ALL the pro golfers favorite course which is why it should host The Open. Oh, and despite its history it simply wasn’t good enough so he “improved it” some and for the life of him he can’t understand why the R&A doesn’t recognize it as the greatest golf course that’s ever been. The one EVERY golfer dreams of playing!
If you’ve read this far and aren’t a golfer, I chose that title pic for two reasons. It was taken from a very popular spot for photos from the 18th fairway at St. Andrews. The famous Swilcan Bridge is shown (and ever golfing great stand on if for-freaking-ever when making their last appearance at an Open held at St. Andrews) and the historic clubhouse (the gray building) sits there in all its majesty. St. Andrews, for those who don’t know is the birthplace of golf. Kind of fitting that that clubhouse in the background happens to house not just the members of St. Andrews but the R&A itself!
And you know what? EVERY golfer (even sometimes Trump) want to play at least once at St. Andrews. Ask any pro golfer if they could win The Open & only once, and choose the venue where their win would take place 99% would say St. Andrews, the home of golf. (Some grew up as members of other courses on the Rota) Second would likely be Muirfield which got dropped from the Rota when a vote to allow women to be members came up a few short. Turnberry, even before Trump bought it would be down near the bottom lof the list.
I’m wondering if after this sinks it with Trump he’ll decide to never set foot in Scotland again. Scots would be just fine with that. On the other hand they have been brilliant in their takedowns of Trump. And now? Boy would they ever shine! After all, Trump is an EX President. He can’t call on the resources of LE over there and others to keep the crowds far, far away, a half-mile or even mile away. Out of sight and out of mind. Nope, they’d be able to sail offshore with signs, fly planes trailing banners, and planes sky-writing insults overhead. Not to mention throngs of folks on around the entrance and on the roads. Scots are really, REALLY creative when they decide to insult!
Ok, I’m being petty with all this. But when it comes to humiliation and scorn being heaped on Trump, especially from people he deluded himself into believing thought of him as an equal, as one of the ‘magic circle” as it’s known over in Great Britain screw it. I’m going to be enjoying his pain for a long, long time to come.
Whether he goes back someday or not, I can’t wait to see what the good people of Scotland will come up with to mock Trump over this!
I doubt he can even compete with the pros who aren’t seniors. And he has to cheat even with the seniors.
This could be a wee bit of payback for the disaster he created with his other course. “You’ve Been Trumped”, a documentary from 2011, showed what an Ugly American can do with power, lust, greed, and a lot of other people’s money. The way he treated farmers in the way of him creating “the greatest golf course ever” should have been the canaries in the coal mind of how he would contaminate America if given the chance.
Good to know that about Turnberry. thanks Denis
EVERY golfer (even sometimes Trump) wants to play at least once at St. Andrews.
More specifically, they want to play The Old Course at least once.
My first year of High School was in St. Andrews, back in the late 1960’s, and the anecdotes you used to see in US magazines about housewives going shopping with a small set of clubs, so they could play a few holes as part of the trip, were then quite true. My bus trip to school each morning went past the links, and if you were on the top deck (as we ALWAYS were) you could usually see people playing on one of the subsidiary courses (I think the Eden course would have been closest to the road).
I haven’t played for years, even some time before my disability developed. If I had the means a physical therapist could teach me how to develop a swing that would allow me to keep my balance, and then on to a teaching pro. Perhaps the two of them working together. But that’s something I simply can’t afford. If I were to hit the lottery though I damn sure would make the effort. And take a nice luxury cruise ship over to the UK and Scotland in particular. Even if I couldn’t manage to get a round on the Old Course even taking a Sunday to head out and walk around (I’m sure I could get a special cane with a broad, flat end that wouldn’t make an indentation in the ground) as much as I could. It’s my understanding that unless a special competition (the Open or one of the team match play events) is going on they still suspend play on Sundays to “rest” the course but let people roam around, picnic and whatnot. Unlike here in the states people over there know to show the proper respect for where they are! I’d also want to go up to Muirfield. It’s probably the #1 combination of tough yet fair of any championship level course when set up for The Open. Old Tom Morris really outdid himself with that layout/design. Given it’s age I wonder why more courses that have a typical prevailing wind (and in the case of Muirfield when not blowing from the normal direction it’s almost always 180 degrees opposite!) in the same manner. Six holes into the wind, six downwind, three with left to right wind and three with right to left wind. Awesome! When pro golf when to the whole morning and afternoon draw thing I hated it. Still do because sometimes in majors half the golfers luck out and the other half get screwed. I’d still rather see old school stuff, with (mostly – there will always be a few exceptions for certain reasons) the top 30-40 players starting play around nine or so in the morning on the first two days and the lower ranking folks going out very early and later. If they want a better start time then play better in the 6 plus months beforehand. But that really doesn’t matter much at Muirfield. Anyway, I’d love to take in several days exploring the town of St. Andrews itself in addition to experiencing even just walking around the Old Course.