‘Suspicious package’ causes panic as Donald Trump officially opens new Scottish course
Last updated:
US president Donald Trump was in Aberdeen to hit the first official tee shot at his new golf course at Trump International Scotland. But there was drama when police were forced to evacuate the grounds…
Donald Trump has officially opened his new golf course at his Aberdeenshire resort.
The US president teed off at the New Course in Menie that will complement the existing 18-hole Trump International design.
A number of media outlets were there, including Today’s Golfer, as was Scottish First Minister John Swinney and the Scottish Labour leader.
Despite widespread opposition from locals, Trump insisted that “we started with a beautiful piece of land, but we made it much more beautiful” before teeing off the 1st hole of what was originally known as the MacLeod course, in honor of his late mother, who was born in Scotland.
He added: “The area has really welcomed us. If you remember at the beginning there wasn’t quite a welcome, but it wasn’t bad. But with time they liked us more and more, now they love us and we love them.”
The 79-year-old also paid tribute to his son, Eric, who looks after a number of the Trump Organization’s golf properties – notably in Aberdeen and Turnberry.
Construction of the new layout began in 2023, with Trump International Scotland describing the two courses as the “greatest 36 holes in golf”.
“This has been an unbelievable development,” Trump added. “The land, they said it couldn’t get zoned, it was an impossibility.”
Trump, who was surrounded by rifle-toting special agents and protected by a missile radar as he teed up alongside 2014 Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley and 2002 PGA champion Rich Beem, will now head back across the Atlantic to “put out fires all over the world”.
But of course the day couldn’t go without a bit of drama.
Dozens of people – including the media – were left stranded at the gates after the resort was cordoned off due to a “suspicious package”.
However, after a thorough check of the site, the police released a this statement: “Shortly after 3pm, a security cordon was put in place at an entrance to the Menie Estate, Aberdeenshire, as officers carried out precautionary checks on a vehicle. This search has been completed, there was no criminality and the cordon has been removed.”
Donald Trump’s visit so far
The president touched down in Prestwick last week and has been making the most of his time in the Home of Golf.
He played at his Ayrshire resort Turnberry on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, during which he was caught up in a bizarre incident after a video that went viral on social media showed his caddie dropping a ball in the rough for him.
But whatever anyone’s thoughts are on the man, there is no denying his portfolio of golf venues.
TG’s Chris Bertram was one of the first to visit his latest course three months before it opened and was blown away by what he saw.
“While the Old Course at Trump Scotland is unquestionably one of the most spectacular and dramatic courses in GB&I (it could not have been anything else, given the breathtaking dunescape in which it sits), the site for the New did not have such consistently outstanding land,” he wrote.
“It’s very good, and the majority of it is prime terrain for great golf, but the canvas was not jaw-droppingly great from start to finish.
“That is what makes what has been built there so impressive.”
-
Donald Trump opens the new golf course at his Trump International resort in Aberdeen, Scotland.
