Scottish Clash Over Trump Golf Plan

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By a single vote, an Aberdeenshire zoning board recently rejected the application of the New York developer, thereby infuriating the Scottish government, which stepped in and is expected to rule on the plans. "We hope all this will be resolved within three months," says Sorial.

Trump bought the 1,400-acre country property—a scenic old seaside shooting estate—for $10 million in March 2007. He envisions spas, a golf academy, a driving range, a conference center, 950 time-share units, dozens of golf villas, as many as 500 private homes, and an eight-story, 450-room Gothic hotel.

Sorial contends that the Trump International Golf Links will be a tremendous boon to the region, especially 30 years from now when the oil runs out. By his projections, the megadevelopment will generate 1,400 jobs and bring hundreds of millions of dollars in investments. Where those workers would come from is another matter: Aberdeenshire's unemployment rate—1.8 per cent—is among the lowest in Britain.
   
"People need to understand the impact this resort will have in terms of putting the northeast on the map," says project manager Neil Hobday. "If we're refused, nothing of this scope will ever come back to Scotland."
   
The centerpiece of the development would be two championship golf courses that Trump proclaims will be "the greatest in the world" and will one day attract the British Open. In the hallowed heart of the game—the home of St. Andrews, Royal Troon, Carnoustie, Muirfield, and Turnberry—some see this as laughable.
   
Trump International sits in a chilly, windy, rainy expanse with fog so thick and impenetrable that it has its own name, the Harr. "The kind of course Trump desires would be lovely in Florida or Dubai, where the sun is always shining," says Storr. "The golf season in Aberdeenshire is April to September, and even then, Gore-Tex is an essential part of your equipment."
   
Then again, some cynics believe the links are just a ruse. "This entire pantomime isn't about building a course—it's a marketing exercise in selling luxury homes," says Mickey Foote, a former producer for the punk-rock band the Clash, who is now spokesman for the anti-Trump group Sustainable Aberdeenshire. "Trump is really planning a wealthy town with a couple of courses attached."

As you might expect, Sorial disputes this notion. He insists the organization's intentions are strictly honorable. "Of course this is all about golf," he says. "Obviously the real estate is a part of the development. You have to justify the golf with a residential component to make the project financially viable. We've always been up front about this."

Golf, as it turns out, is anathema to Forbes, Trump's nemesis. "It's the one sport I've always detested," he says. "I can't see the fascination. And now, with this going on, I hate golf even more."

Forbes prefers fishing for salmon, as his father and grandfather did before him.

Years ago he and his dad netted 500 in a single day; last year he caught one all season. "Nowadays, the seals swim in too close," he more or less explains.

Life is slow and easy here in Mill of Menie. Time stands still. It's like Brigadoon, but without the curse. "I've never had a vacation," Forbes says. "That's how crazy I am about this place."

On this clear, sharp morning, the wind blusters low off the fields when Forbes dons his waders and stomps across the grasslands. "I walk the dunes every day," he says. "I see something new every day. Fox, roe deer, weasels, partridges, curlews, buzzards, owls, kestrels, skylarks, violets, wild purple hyacinths, sand lizards, thistles..." He insists Trump's resort would wreck everything wonderful about the place.

"Would I sell to Trump? No, never," Forbes says. "When this all began, I didn't care about the course, so long as it didn't damage the dunes. But the hotel and condos are something else again. Trump should build houses young married couples can afford, not for the rich. He won't listen, though. He thinks we're all a bunch of cabbages."

Last year, Trump visited Mill of Menie to talk turkey. Forbes sat with his wife, Sophie. His mum, Molly, served tea.

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