Trump International Golf Links Scotland

Aberdeen is where Donald Trump has developed 36 holes of thrilling links golf

Oil and gas from the North Sea fields once used to pump the Aberdeen economy. Now, thanks to Donald Trump, the Granite City has become one of the premier links destinations in Scotland with the completion of a 36-hole complex at Trump International Golf Links.

Trump was recently in Scotland to preside at the opening of his latest golfing offspring. The New Course co-habits the same magnificent linksland as his Old Course on the rugged coastline north of Aberdeen. Typical of Trump, it is being promoted as “The Greatest 36 Holes in Golf.”

The terms Old and New in relation to golf are commonly associated with St Andrews. The Old Course there originated in the 18th century, while the New Course, designed by Old Tom Morris, opened in 1895. Trump’s team assigned these simple titles to his two courses on the Menie Estate at Balmedie to forge a visible identity that golfers will easily remember. Old in this case is 2012, and New is 2025.

In August, the grandeur of the Trump International property was revealed to a global audience with television coverage of the Old’s first hosting of a DP World Tour event, the Nexo Championship. The links proved a formidable test for the tour pros, with just nine players finishing under par for the week. The clearcut winner was a Scot, Grant Forrest, whose knowledge of local conditions proved invaluable.

A visit there myself a few weeks later confirmed that the Older Trump is one of the most demanding courses I have played anywhere in the world. It was a humbling round of sheer survival, and yet I would happily go back there tomorrow because it is a spell-binding experience.

Interestingly, locals hesitate when asked to describe the playing conditions at Trump International. Other older courses in Aberdeen are referred to as “traditional links,” while the Old and New are considered fabricated. However, these are two genuine links. They just play differently because they are new and still settling in. Fifty years from now they might be called “traditional.”

Trump International Golf Links – New Course 9th Hole

Perfect fit for an Open

The Old Course would be a perfect fit for the Open Championship, a test for the best, yet sadly it is unlikely to be afforded the opportunity to join the Open rota. The access for large crowds would be a colossal problem in those heaving seaside dunes. Spectators would have to walk on the sides of the fairways, as the rough is thick with wiry grass, knotty tufts, broom, and heather, that not only restricts movement, but also encases golf balls in their midst.

The New Course at Trump International will not, though, be overshadowed by the Old, which has been the case at St Andrews. This is a triumphant design which is significantly different to the Old, even though it too ventures into the wilderness of dunes which is such a dramatic feature of the property. The Old was designed as a pure championship layout by Martin Hawtree; the New has its own equally pleasing identity. It sensibly had a different design team, which is the trend today at many multi-course facilities. Each must be played if you’re visiting Balmedie because they complement each other so perfectly. Play one, and not the other, and you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Doubling up does make it an expensive outing though. The green fee for each course varies between £396 (off-peak) and £495 (there is dynamic pricing in summer). Green fees at high-end links in Scotland have become prohibitively expensive thanks to increased demand from the American market to play bucket list destinations. Kingsbarns near St Andrews is £450.

At those fees it’s no wonder that losing a few golf balls around these courses would seem inconsequential. I said farewell to 12 balls during my two rounds, due to the simple fact that I am incapable of hitting every fairway off the tee. Some of the fairways are generously wide, but others less so, notably the opening holes on each course. Everyone starts at No 1, even though the Old Course returns to the clubhouse after nine holes. The New Course is an out-and-back design, having its own halfway house, situated between the seventh and 15th tees.

Trump International Golf Links – New Course 10th Hole

Intimidating opening holes

Both courses begin with strong par 5s from elevated tees which I found intimidating as opening holes on a fresh Scottish day. However, they are not indicative of what is to come. The fairways generally open up more as you get into the courses, boosting your confidence, particularly on the closing holes of the New Course, where they are generously wide. I would have preferred that kind of welcome on the first tee when I was loosening up.

The two courses are similar in length, especially playing from the three forward men’s tees – there are six teeing options altogether, including red specifically for women. The black tees are terrifying – yet very much worth looking at to cast your eye over the challenge ahead – and even the gold tees at around 6 500 metres are daunting for a scratch golfer. The Old has a Course Rating of 76.3 with a Slope of 149, while the New is 74.9 and 143. That’s the gold tees. These are high figures for Slope, indicating the difficulty factor. The Slope from the most forward tee on the Old is still 130.

I played Old and New on separate days – don’t try and attempt them both in one day unless you have a masochistic bent – and equally loved their various challenges. Martin Hawtree did not design the New Course, merely consulting on the project which was a dual design effort by Swedish architect Christian Lundin (who works with Henrik Stenson) and Canadian Christine Fraser. It was driven by Eric Trump, Donald’s second son from his first marriage.

Some of the differences on the New Course: large wetland areas over the opening six holes; fewer bunkers; and exceptionally spacious greens complexes which are closer in height to the fairways than many of the raised surfaces on the Old Course.

Through the first six holes this links occupies flatter land inland from the front nine of the Old Course, which hugs the coastline, before it metamorphosises into the most amazing dune landscape south of the other links. The stretch of holes from 7 to 14 are the jewel in the crown of this layout.

Trump International Golf Links – New Course 11th Hole

The Jewel in the Crown

The par-3 seventh arrives unexpectedly after what has come before. The green sits high above the tee boxes on the slope of a dune, and bunkers litter the hillside leading up to the green. It’s an exciting tee shot which raises the adrenalin levels, and they will stay that way for a while.

One of the magical features of both the Trump courses are the paths you walk through the dunes from green to tee. They’re not short walks, unless you’re going off black, but neither are they tiresome ones. Playing each hole you have no view of subsequent holes, so it is all very anticipatory. There are wooden signposts indicating the whereabouts of each of the six tees. An arrow usually points one way towards the black and gold tees, and another arrow to the blue, white, green and red. Only as you step on to the tee does each hole fully present itself.

Cresting the dune from seventh green to eighth tee was the highlight of my visit. I stepped into the most beautiful natural dunescape, a panoramic links vista laid out before me. Here and there I glimpsed emerald fairways and greens tumbling through a valley of dunes and vast sandy waste areas. It was a sensory moment where I couldn’t take my eyes off this visual feast. Then I had to face a daunting tee shot.

Within these seven holes were six par 4s and a lone par 3 (No 12) which was hidden away on top of a dune overlooking the beach. These holes alone make the New Course a must-play in my book. They are each terrific and eminently playable. No 10 is the only short 4 on the New, and it was just 235 metres from the middle blue tees, playing from a high tee overlooking the ocean. The green was perched on top of a ridge, and the fairway snaked its way down the left side of the hole. Going directly for the green meant having to traverse wispy rough and sandy outcrops. No bunkers. Risk-reward at its rawest.

The halfway house is so perfectly situated that you can stop for a refreshment after six holes, then replenish yourself eight holes later before tackling 15-18. They are big finishing holes in terms of metres, 550, 225, 425 and 500. The par-5 18th climbs a hill to an enormous infinity green where you look down on the impressive range facilities and the clubhouse. You conclude with a long downhill walk to the car park. A buggy service meeting golfers behind the 18th green would have been welcome.

Trump International Golf Links – Old Course 14th Hole

Links Golf in Aberdeen

Royal Aberdeen, the sixth oldest golf club in the world (1780) and Murcar Links (1909) are two traditional seaside links located north of the Granite City, 15 kilometres south of Trump International. The two clubs share a boundary fence, and there is an annual cross-country match between them which begins at the Royal Aberdeen clubhouse. Members play the front nine of Royal Aberdeen and then step over a fence on to either the second or fourth tee at Murcar Links and continue for another nine holes. The match finishes at the Murcar clubhouse. Royal Aberdeen is where Jovan Rebula, nephew of Ernie Els, won the 2018 British Amateur championship.

In the city centre are two 18-hole municipal links, Kings Links and Balnagask, with fast-running fairways, which can be played for a green fee of £33 and are popular with locals. Golf is often a family outing. I noticed two golfers walking with their clubs, and alongside them a young woman pushing a pram with her bairn. While the Kings Links is flat (opposite the Pittodrie football stadium), Balnagask looks vastly more interesting on a hilly promontory overlooking the entrance to Aberdeen harbour on the River Dee.

The Clubhouse. Trump International Golf Links

Luxury Lodge Experience

Trump International is not a resort course, so there is no large hotel on the property, as there is at Trump Turnberry on the west coast of Scotland. However, there is the 5-star MacLeod Lodge (named after Donald’s mother Mary MacLeod) a short drive from the clubhouse. Two nights bed & breakfast, plus a round on each course, is offered for AED 12,000 a person, or AED 20,000 for two sharing.

MacLeon Lodge. Trump International Golf Links

There is likely to be a cheaper accommodation offering in 2026, as an old double-storey farmhouse building on top of a hillside near the clubhouse is being converted into en-suite dormy-type rooms. It will offer amazing views.

The clubhouse is a surprisingly small one considering there are two courses. All it contains is a pro shop, locker rooms and the Dunes brasserie – a Trump burger is on the menu – with an outside deck. The range, though, is gigantic.

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Main image: Jacob Sjoman and Brian Morgan / Courtesy Trump International Golf Links

This article was featured in the November 2025 issue of Golf Digest Middle East. Click here for a digital issue of the full magazine