Donald Trump was passionate about golf long before he became U.S. president. Trump’s first golf course acquisition was Trump National Golf Club Westchester in 1996, followed by The Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 1999.

However, setting it all up came with its own set of challenges.

During the construction of his first golf courses, Donald Trump faced multiple regulatory and logistical challenges. In Palm Beach County, development plans conflicted with a protected gopher tortoise habitat, leading to disputes with local authorities.

While appearing on the PGA Memes YouTube channel in August 2024, Donald Trump spoke about the challenges. "Boy, would that be good fora really luxury course," Trump said, recalling how he felt the first time he saw the Westchester course.

However, building the course he envisioned was easier said than done. “I got it approved, got it zoned. It was not easy, I will tell you. It was tough, actually. Tough community to get things done, but I got it done and built it," added President Trump.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump was almost "simultaneously" building the Palm Beach course. According to The Palm Beach Post, Jim Fazio, a Jupiter-based golf architect, designed Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. “He was the best client I ever had in the United States,’’ declared Jim Fazio.

"It was just a piece of flat land," recalled Fazio. "He leased it from the airport authority. The reasoning was that he had never built a golf course, but he played and knew the game."

Since then, President Donald Trump has owned 15 golf courses, with 11 in the United States of America. Yet, that doesn't mean getting those courses up and running was a walk in the park.

Donald Trump once credited Sean Connery for helping him

In 2020, President Trump shared a tribute to Connery after the legendary 007 actor's passing. Trump explained how his support helped him build the Trump International golf resort in Aberdeen, Scotland.

The PTOUS claimed that "after having a very hard time getting approvals," Connery's vote of confidence helped get the ball rolling. "All I needed, everything went swimmingly from there," added Trump.

In 2008, The Express also quoted Sean Connery's approval of the project. "I look forward to seeing a new gem in the north-east that is good for Aberdeenshire and good for Scotland," Connery said as per the report.

While the authenticity of President Donald Trump's claim became a topic of debate post his 2020 tweet, it was another anecdote in which Trump maintained that setting up golf courses hasn't been easy business.

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi