Donald Trump said the “horrible look” of the renovated Pinehurst No. 2 during the U.S. Open would “translate into poor television ratings” and contended that several of his own courses were “far superior.” Reaction included a suggestion that Trump might like Pinehurst better if it had “one of your waterfalls.”
The renovated look of Pinehurst No. 2 received high praise from the field at the U.S. Open competition that culminated with Martin Kaymer’s runaway victory in North Carolina on June 15, Golf Channel Digital reported.
But while the changes to the storied North Carolina course made by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw were designed to create a more environmentally conscious golf course (with 40 acres of land removed from the maintenance budget) while also taking it closer to Donald Ross’ original design, their work received one notable detractor, Golf Channel Digital noted.
Donald Trump took to Twitter multiple times over the weekend to express his distaste for Pinehurst’s new look— he didn’t stop there. Trump stated that two of his golf course properties—Turnberry in Scotland and Trump National Doral in Miami—were “far superior” to the course that just hosted the season’s second major. “And it isn’t even close!” Trump’s initial tweet proclaimed.
Trump followed up that tweet with one that said, “I’d bet the horrible look of Pinehurst translates into poor television ratings. This is not what golf is about!” He then noted that he agreed with NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller for “correctly [being] very critical” of Pinehurst’s greens and saying that “they should be ‘redone’.”
When Trump’s contention that Doral and Turnberry were superior to Pinehurst was challenged by the Golf Channel’s Matt Ginella, he responded with a tweet that said “It’s true Matt” and added that not only are the new “Blue Monster” at Doral and Turnberry better than Pinehurst, but that Trump National Bedminster and Trump Aberdeen also “blow it away!”
He added that “I have watched Open Championships at Turnberry, one of the great golf courses of the world [and] Pinehurst [is] not in the same league.”
Not surprisingly, Trump’s statements met with some sharp criticism from others in the golf media, with one suggesting that perhaps he would like Pinehurst better if it had “one of your waterfalls.”
Another wrote, “As a leader and a loud voice within an evolving industry, your position on Pinehurst is disappointing and irresponsible.”
And another said, “If you understood the game, you’d be buying [sports entertainment facility] TopGolf instead of force-feeding us more Trump Golf.”
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