Donald Trump has given the green light for a new golf venture in Scotland with the aim of creating "one of the great golf courses of the world".
The 45th President of the United States is visiting his courses his Scotland and Ireland and announced that work on his new MacLeod course – dedicated to his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod – was set to begin.
The new course will be built to the south and west of the existing layout at Trump International Scotland in Aberdeenshire and the 76-year-old marked the occasion by cutting a ceremonial red ribbon.
Trump said: "We are going to build a great golf course that aims to replicate the outstanding championship links we already have here and many believe to be the greatest golf course in the world.
"We will build a course that will be fit to host many great championships in the future along with our championship links. We’ve had a lot of pleasure in working on this land and there is no other land like it. We have incredible views by the sea and there are no other dunes like these in the world. It will be a great success.
"This project is very close to my heart and I am delighted to say that this is our first day of work on the new course It will be dedicated to my late mother and that is a source of great pride to me and my family. My mother was an incredible woman who loved Scotland. She returned here every year and she loved The Queen. I got to know The Queen too during my visits here [and] I love Scotland just as much."
Eric Trump, Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization, accompanied his father and added: "We’re extremely excited to be breaking ground on another world-class links course in Aberdeenshire.
"We own and operate the best courses on earth and this new course at Trump International, Scotland has the potential to top them all and reaffirm its place as a top world ranking golf destination."
Dr Martin Hawtree, the renowned architect who was responsible for the initial championship links at the Menie Estate, has been commissioned to design the MacLeod course that was approved by the Aberdeenshire Council in late 2020.
