“It's just the whole concept of shaking hands, which I see as
a bad thing ... it's the optimum way for spreading germs.”
— Donald Trump
ing. He’s made my project hot. I’m getting
messages from people all over the world
who can’t wait to come and play when we
open on July 1 next year. Incidentally, 93
percent of the people up here are in favour
of what we’re doing.
of longish blond locks.) I’ve always worn it
long though I could, I suppose, put a band
round it like Jimenez. Now there’s a gentle-
man. I like Miguel Angel – a great player.
(Above) The rugged
coastline north of
Aberdeen is where
Donald Trump is
developing a billion-
dollar golf resort.
(Right) Michael Forbes
has made headlines
by refusing to sell his
land to Trump.
POST
I gather that you were installing mounds of
earth so Forbes’ property and neighbour-
ing buildings would be hidden from sight.
Surely, everyone who plays here will want
to have a glimpse of what the fuss was all
about. Will they be able to see things from
the top of one of the dunes?
DT
I don’t know.
POST
Do you see this stretch of Aberdeenshire
coastline through the proverbial rose-tinted
spectacles or do you have a handle on just
how wild the weather can be?
DT
The weather, here, is no different from how
it is at St Andrews and, even closer to home,
at Royal Aberdeen, a course I love and whose
front nine is rightly held to be one of the best
nine holes in golf. To be honest, I love the
weather in these parts. It’s never been that
bad when I’ve been here.
POST
The British love an underdog such as Mi-
chael Forbes, the fisherman who has stub-
bornly refused to make way for your grand
plans by cleaning up his small holding or
agreeing to one of your deals to buy him
out. Do you have a sneaking admiration for
the man yourself?
DT
Certainly not. The goings-on have all been
pretty foolish and his property is a slum.
Okay, it’s funny, but we could have done
without it. On the other hand, I have to say
that all the media attention given to him
and his little group has done us no harm.
It’s because of him that our course is on the
front of all the Scottish papers this morn-
POST
Do you think Tiger Woods is going to make a
comeback?
DT
I really like Tiger and I hope he recovers from
his problems. They’ve been big problems.
Tiger has been great for golf. I’m not sure
how things went as wrong as they did but Ti-
ger, like Rory, had loving parents. Earl was a
great guy. The only thing you could say about
Tiger is that he was in the limelight a whole
lot sooner than most sports stars. But look,
he had a charmed existence for a long time
and I think he could get that back.
POST
I read on the Internet that you don’t like to
shake hands.
DT
I shook yours. I don’t mind shaking hands
and I do it all the time. It’s just the whole
concept of shaking hands, which I see as
a bad thing. It’s a stupid custom. I do it
because everyone else does it, but it’s the
optimum way for spreading germs. The other
day, a man came into my office and shook my
hand and, seconds later, he was coughing
and sneezing all over the place.
I asked, “What’s up with you?” and he
told me he had a particular virulent form of
pneumonia. I said, “If that’s the case, why did
you shake my hand?”
POST
So how do you feel about the proliferating
number of hugs and handshakes that occur
at the end of every professional round. Play-
ers, caddies, scorers and everyone else.
DT
I hadn’t noticed it but, good heavens, you’re
right. It’s getting worse all the time.
POST
How?
DT
He needs to win. That’s what he has to do.
(The day after this interview, Trump and his family
did get a view of conditions at their worst. So much
so that they flew back to the States a day early.)
POST
I’ve asked several people what questions
they would like to put to you, and women, in
particular, mention your hair and what hap-
pens to it when you are out and about.
DT
(Removing his cap to reveal there is no hair-
do as such, just a surprisingly ordinary crop
POST
It follows that you don’t approve of spitting,
something which was in the news during
this year’s Dubai Desert Classic. Tiger spat
and the European Tour fined him for it.
DT
I’ve never seen anyone spit, though that may
have something to do with the fact that I play
at pretty high-end clubs. I’m sorry to hear
that it was Tiger doing the spitting but spit-
ting is up there with shaking a germ-ridden
hand. It’s disgusting. l
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