Did Donald Trump get caught cheating at golf in Scotland?
Longstanding accusations of President Donald Trump cheating at golf have resurfaced after a video of him in Scotland over the weekend went viral.
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The way President Donald Trump told it, the new Scotland golf course the Trump Organization named in his honor and dedicated to his mother wouldn’t have happened without Sean Connery. He even broke out his best Bond impression to praise the late Scottish actor at the grand opening of Trump International Golf Links on Tuesday, July 29 near Aberdeen, Scotland.
“The land, they said it couldn’t get zoned. It was an impossibility,” Trump said at the ribbon cutting ceremony before playing the course’s ceremonial opening round with his son, Eric Trump, 2002 PGA champion Rich Beem and Irish golfer Paul McGinley. “Sean Connery said, ‘Let the bloody bloke build his golf course.’ Once he said that, everything came into line.”
Connery did offer support in 2008 for what Eric Trump described Tuesday as his father’s “passion project,” which Trump acknowledged got off to a rocky start with its neighbors. There were environmental concerns due to the resort’s intrusion on the region’s sand dunes and Trump’s alleged tactics trying to acquire land. But Connery cited the potential benefits to the economy when Trump’s initial $1.5 billion plan, which also included hundreds of houses that have not been built yet, received approval from the Scottish government.
“During tough economic times, this is a major vote of confidence in Scotland’s tourist industry and our ability to rise to the challenge,” Connery said, according to the Daily Express. “I look forward to seeing a new gem in the north-east that is good for Aberdeenshire and good for Scotland.”
The resulting 36-hole golf resort, featuring a highly-acclaimed “Old Course” built in 2012 and the new course Trump formally debuted before returning to the United States after a five-day visit to Scotland, will officially open to the public on August 13. Before that, the property is set to host PGA Legends Tour and DP World Tour events the next two weeks. It will join Trump Turnberry, which Trump bought in 2014, as Scottish golf destinations.
Tee times and hotel rooms are available starting next month for what the Trump Organization has dubbed “the greatest 36 holes in golf.” But it won’t necessarily come cheap. Here’s a breakdown of how to stay and play at Trump’s newest golf course, Trump International Golf Links.
How to stay at Trump’s new golf course
Those wanting to play golf at Trump’s golf property outside Aberdeen, Scotland can stay on property.
Trump MacLeod House & Lodge Hotel is billed as a five-star Scottish baronial mansion nestled within the 1,400-acre grounds of Trump International Golf Links, which is located on the former Menie Estate of Balmedie on the Scottish North-East coast.
There are 19 “lavish” guest rooms (with personal butler service available), Italian marble staircases, intimate dining and bar facilities, a separate whisky bar, a full spa, outdoor hot tub, traditional log fires and secret stairways. It’s available for exclusive use, corporate events and weddings and “minutes” from the property’s golf courses.
A house or lodge room for the week beginning on Sunday, August 18 ‒ the earliest day rooms are available as of July 29 ‒ costs 683 Euros (about $787) or more depending on availability and number of nights.
“We had an unlimited budget and we exceeded it,” Eric Trump said. “This was his (father’s) Mona Lisa.”
There are also golf packages that include hotel stays, with options built around playing one round or two rounds on the two courses at Trump International Golf Links.
The two-night version featuring two rounds of golf on the property’s old and new course, which includes a two-night stay at the hotel, a welcome dinner and dram of whisky and breakfast, costs 2,500 Euros per person (about $2,884) or 4000 Euros (about $4,615) for two people sharing a room. The package is available from August 25 until October 31, 2025, according to the property website.
The one-night version, which includes one round of golf on the property’s old course, a one-night stay at the hotel and a three-course dinner at The Dunes Restaurant & Bar at the golf clubhouse, costs 1,070 Euros (about $1,234) for a single occupancy room and 782.50 Euros (about $903) per person for a double occupancy room.
A one-night package with just golf and hotel accommodations costs 985 Euros ($1,136) for a single occupancy room and 697.50 Euros (about $804) per person for a double occupancy room. In November and December, the costs drop to 460 Euros (about $530) per person per night.
The property website also advertises a “Winter Getaway for two” package at 495 Euros (about $571). It includes a one-night stay, three-course dinner at “Trump’s Restaurant & Cellar,” breakfast in the morning and beauty and wellness treatments at the hotel spa.
How to play at Trump International Golf Links
Golfers looking to play Trump International Golf Links can get tee times on the old course, the new course or “play the greatest 36 holes in golf.” Tee times are available on the new course and old course beginning on Aug. 13, with greens fees costing 495 Euros (about $571) per person. There is a combined “Greatest 36” rate as well until October 31.
Tee times will be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis during the first few months of play, according to the property website. There are also various levels of club membership available for an undisclosed cost.
“It’s going to be something special and the big question is which is going to be better if there is such a thing,” Donald Trump said about the two 18-hole courses, “because we’ve had such great ratings on the first, I don’t know if you can match them on the second, but the second should be every bit as good. The land is of equal quality right on the North Sea and it’s going to be good.”
Golf Digest ranked the property’s old course No. 34 in the world in its 2024 rankings, writing it is “set in sand dunes that are as dramatic as there is in golf. … It’s a setting as grand as it gets, though some critics label it the most ‘American’ of any links in the ranking for the elevated tees and “framing” of the greens and fairways.
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