Donald Trump will open a second golf course at his Scottish resort next year despite receiving heavy criticism from locals.
Players will be welcomed at the MacLeod pitch, named after the former US president’s mother Mary, at the Trump International complex in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, from summer 2025.
The resort says the new 18-hole golf courses will feature the “largest sand dunes in Scotland” and will form “the largest 36 holes of golf” alongside the original course, which opened in 2012.
Plans for the course were approved in 2019 along with proposals for 550 new homes in the area north of Aberdeen, along with shops, offices and restaurants.
Trump International Golf Links had been involved in a long-running dispute with area residents over the project, leading to Aberdeenshire Council being bombarded with complaints when the plans were first announced.
Donald Trump announced that his new Links golf course will open in Aberdeen in the summer of 2025
Players will be welcomed at the MacLeod pitch, named after the former US president’s mother Mary, at the Trump International Resort in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire.
Images of the new camp show it perched on the beach, meters from the North Sea.
Planners revealed that they had received 2,921 valid representations from the public about the plan, 2,918 of which were objections and only 3 supported the Trump Organization’s request.
But despite significant local opposition (and a lack of local support), the council approved the £150 million plan.
Trump International claimed the new course was “one of the greenest and most sustainable” ever built, as images of the course perched on the beach, meters from the North Sea, show.
Sarah Malone, executive vice-president of Trump International Scotland, hailed the course as “one of the great wonders of the world of golf”.
She said: ‘Since we broke ground with President Trump and Eric Trump (her son) last spring, we have made extraordinary progress.
‘This course is unlike any other link course ever created and exceeds all expectations.
“A truly remarkable and world-class team of architects, engineers, environmental scientists and industry specialists have been working tirelessly in the background, etching every square inch of this phenomenal piece of land to create one of the great wonders of the golf world. ‘
The 18-hole MacLeod course will open alongside the original courses, which opened in 2012 after a long and controversial planning process.
The 18-hole MacLeod course has been adjacent to the original golf course, which opened in 2012 after a long and controversial planning process (pictured: Donald Trump plays a round of golf after the opening of the Trump International course Golf Links on July 10, 2012).
Trump International claimed the new course was “one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable” ever built.
A view of the luxury Trump golf course and resort in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire
Trump International Golf Links had been involved in a long-running dispute with area residents over the project (pictured under construction in August 2024), while Aberdeenshire Council was bombarded with complaints from locals opposing the plans.
Trump handed control of his two Scots courses to his son Eric (pictured in August). He became president in 2017 but maintained a financial interest.
The 18-hole MacLeod course (right) will be built next to the original Balmedie links, which opened in 2012 after a long and controversial planning process.
The original field drew criticism for its location due to the special scientific importance of the shifting sand dunes. But it was finally approved by Scottish ministers.
The approval came despite criticism that the plan deviated from original plans for the site, which included a 450-room hotel as part of the first phase of the luxury golf resort.
The hotel has not been built and current tourist accommodation is limited to 21 rooms at MacLeod House and an attached hostel.
However, the council’s planning committee recommended approval of the application, stating that it would “still result in a development that will provide economic and social benefits to the local area and region”.
Trump handed control of his golf empire to his children when he became president in 2017, but maintained a financial interest.
The company also owns fields in Turnberry, Ayrshire and Doonbeg, Co Clare, Ireland.