America’s ultimate deal-maker brings his A-game when it comes to golf—and everything else

“This is Arnold Palmer’s magazine?”
asks Donald J. Trump from his office in New York. He has me on speakerphone.
“Yes it is”
I answer from my [undoubtedly smaller] office in Los Angeles. I’m balancing the phone between my ear and my shoulder while typing.
“He is the greatest of all, a great man”
Trump says.
Donald Trump and I think alike.

You know the name because the name is everywhere, usually big and bold: TRUMP. It might be on the cover of a book you’ve read; it might be on a contract you’ve signed. One thing’s for certain: wherever the name appears, it means business—and the golf course is no exception.
“Oh, it’s a 1 or a 2,” says Donald Trump, referring to his handicap—and he’s not bragging, not really. Trump is a regular fixture on the golf course, whether he’s playing one of the many courses he owns or hitting it around Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, NY, where he’s a longtime member and where he’s had a recent bit of success.

“I just won my club championship,” he tells me. Then adds, “I’ve won many club championships.”

The Ultimate

After just a minute or so on the phone it’s apparent that, in my limited experience at least, Trump is not living up to the hype that would cast him as a severe and perhaps aggressive man to meet in an interview. In fact, I find him refreshingly direct, polite and efficient—a sentiment shared by my colleague and kingdom golf editor, Paul Trow. Earlier this year, Paul ran into Trump in the pro shop of the latter’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, and was surprised to find a “welcome and friendly” host.

As Paul, one of Britain’s best known golf writers, put it: “On the basis of anecdotal evidence alone, I had convinced myself that the taskmaster in the American version of The Apprentice would be as abrasive and demanding as his cockney counterpart [Sir Alan Sugar]. Nothing could have been further from the truth… I was charmed.”

Trump’s personality, combined with his competitiveness in all things, echoes that of another golfer and businessman, one whom Trump admires very much: Arnold Palmer.

“He’s one of the great champions who’s really a nice guy,” says Trump.

“The great champions, many of them are nasty people—and that’s why they’re great champions. They’re self-motivated self-centered…
“[Arnie] has a way of making you feel you’re the only one in the room. People meet him—and many people have told me this—they feel like they’re the only person in the room. That’s a very unusual thing for someone of that status.

“But while he’s a great champion who’s truly a nice person, at the same time he’s got a competitive streak the likes of which you don’t see. I saw him in an interview on TV and they were asking how he would have done against the current guys. He wasn’t backing down, wasn’t being diplomatic; he was going to beat everybody. I like that answer. He’s the ultimate.”

Sportsman

Developer, author (his collected “The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received” should be on every golfer’s shelf) and celebrity, Donald Trump is also quite an athlete. The son of New York real estate developer Fred Trump, Donald captained his varsity baseball team and played both varsity soccer and football during his high school years at the New York Military Academy. Golf came with college.

“I attended the Wharton school at University of Pennsylvania and I played the public courses there with friends; that’s when I got to like it,” Trump says. “I did well early on, and I got better quickly.”

Today, the ultimate deal-maker takes his single-digit handicap to charity tournaments and club rounds on a regular basis, playing a surprising amount of golf given his schedule—until you consider one thing: “The good news about owning golf courses,” Trump says, “is that I can consider it work. So I consider it work.”

Trump owns a fair number of courses around the world, eight at last count, with his newly acquired Trump National DC (formerly Lowes Island) and a much-publicized project in Scotland underway as well. All of his developments are considered top-tier, receive a constant stream of accolades and regularly host PGA tournaments. Trump International at the Raffles Resort on Canouan Island in The Grenadines, for example, has been named one of the best golf courses on the planet. Featuring one of the longest par 3s in the world (if not the longest), the views, waterfalls and other course features are unparalleled.

“Isn’t that beautiful?” Trump asks, already knowing the answer. “It’s great. And they’re doing a nice job down there.”

A COMMANDING VIEW AT ST. ANDREWS

The Deal

With the opportunities that come with course ownership, you’d think Trump’s children would be dangerous golfers as well, but they haven’t taken to the game just yet.

“They’re just starting,” says Trump. “They’re a little late blooming… I teach them a little bit, but I’d rather have pros teach them.”
The game is an important one to learn, he says, for a number of reasons.

“It’s been a great thing for me,” he explains. “I’ve made many, many deals on the golf course.”

And in addition to the business opportunities, Trump told USA Today in 2000 that he likes golf “because it gets your mind off everything. You just think about hitting that stupid white ball. You’re really focused on it. You get off the golf course after three or four hours and your mind is very fresh. It’s just a great, psychological exercise.”

The game’s positive effect on the business mind may have inadvertently contributed to Palmer’s business acumen, which Trump doesn’t hesitate to acknowledge.

“Arnold? He’s unbelievable. He’s not a good businessman, he’s a great businessman,” Trump says. “He’s a very conservative guy. I was talking to him about buying things, and he likes to buy for cash. In good times that’s not good, but in bad times that’s phenomenal because you don’t have any debt and you don’t end up being in bad times.

“I had a football player in my office the other day, I won’t say his name, but he mentioned Arnold as a role model. [Palmer] is an extraordinary businessman. He was the first, he figured it all out for athletes. He’s got one of the great brands anywhere.”
So is there any chance of a Palmer/Trump business relationship?

“I don’t know what it would be, but any business [Arnold] wanted to go into I would move immediately,” Trump says.
And what about on the golf course; who does a Palmer/Trump team face?

“Well, I’d like to play against two guys who couldn’t play—because I like to win,” says Trump. “But maybe a combination of Tiger and Ben Hogan… That would be good.”

Clubs Trump
Donald Trump’s golf developments are divided into Trump National Golf Clubs and Trump International Golf Clubs. The current lineup includes:

1. Westchester, New York
A serious challenge just 30 minutes from Manhattan.

2. Bedminster, New Jersey
Voted among the top courses in the world.

3. Colts Neck, New Jersey
Designed for highly competitive players by US Open Champion Jerry Pate.

4. Los Angeles
Stunning ocean-side play just south of the city.

5. Washington, D.C.
Newly acquired stunning course on the Potomoc.

6. West Palm Beach, Florida
One of the best in the state, host of pro tourneys, simply beautiful.

7. Canouan Island, The Grenadines
Possibly the world’s longest par-3, definitely some of the world’s best views.

8. Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
Rainforest views on 1,000 acres of Atlantic waterfront.

More info can be found at www.trumpgolf.com