Given our president's connection to the game -- owning 19 golf properties around the world -- and the championships these courses will host in 2017 (the U.S. Senior Open is being hosted this week at Trump National Washington D.C., and the U.S. Women's Open at Trump National Bedminster), Trump's courses are bound to be in the fore this summer. Which courses are the best? Our course-ranking panelists, who evaluated candidate courses across the country and Canada, will let the scores do the talking.
Courses
May 25, 2017
What is the best Trump golf course?
Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Trump International G.C., West Palm Beach (Score: 59.2281)
Trump West Palm Beach is Trump's highest-ranked course according to our Golf Digest course-ranking panelists -- coming in at No. 156 in our ranking of America's Second 100 Greatest Courses.Photo: Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Trump National G.C., Washington, D.C. (Championship) (58.7801)
Trump National in Washington, D.C., features the Championship and Riverview courses. The Championship course, host of the Senior PGA Championship, is a Tom Fazio design.Photo: Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Trump National G.C., Bedminster (Old) (58.4291)
Ranked third by our panelists, the Old course at Trump National Bedminster will host the U.S. Women's Open in 2017. The Old course, a Fazio design that opened in 2004, was ranked No. 165 on our 2015 America's Second 100 Greatest, and 141st in 2013.Photo: Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Courtesy of Stephen Szurlej/The Trump Organization
Trump National Doral Golf Club, Miami (56.9936)
Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner's renovation in 2014 to Dick Wilson's 1961 design added some extra bite and undulating slopes. The Blue Monster course held a PGA Tour event from 1962 to 2017, when the tour moved its WGC to Mexico. This is the highest-ranked public course as scored by our panelists.Photo: Courtesy of Stephen Szurlej/The Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of Stephen Szurlej/The Trump Organization
Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Trump National Bedminster (New) (56.8355)
The sister course to the Old course at Trump Bedminster, the New course opened in 2008.Photo: Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Courtesy of Stephen Szurlej/The Trump Organization
Trump G. Links Ferry Point, Bronx, N.Y. (55.8283)
The Jack Nicklaus, John Stanford and Jim Lipe design atop an NYC trash dump opened in 2014 debuted at No. 95 on our newly released 100 Greatest Public ranking.Photo: Courtesy of Stephen Szurlej/The Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of Stephen Szurlej/The Trump Organization
Stephen Szurlej
Trump National, Jupiter (55.5538)
Trump bought the Ritz-Carlton resort in 2012. Its Jack Nicklaus design is one of a number of quality courses in the area -- including the Bear's Club down the road and the Floridian.Photo: Stephen Szurlej
Photo By: Stephen Szurlej
J.D. Cuban
Trump National, Los Angeles (55.3429)
Trump L.A. was ranked 90th in our 100 Greatest Public rankings in 2015, but it fell off in 2017.Photo: J.D. Cuban
Photo By: J.D. Cuban
Courtesy of The Trump Organization
Trump National G.C., Philadelphia (55.2862)
Trump National Philadelphia, in Pine Hill, N.J., was ranked 20th in our 2015 Best in State rankings, and 18th in 2013. It's a Tom Fazio design.Photo: Courtesy of The Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of The Trump Organization
Courtesy of The Trump Organization
Trump National G.C., Charlotte (55.1209)
A Greg Norman design, Trump National Charlotte was ranked No. 21 in our 2015 Best in State rankings.Photo: Courtesy of The Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of The Trump Organization
Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Trump National G.C., Washington, D.C. (Riverview) (53.8729)
Trump National in Washington, D.C., with 36 holes, is the former Lowes Island Club purchased six years ago by Trump.Photo: Courtesy of The Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Courtesy of The Trump Organization
The following courses did not receive enough ballots to be ranked by our panelists: Trump National G.C., Colts Neck, New Jersey
Pictured here is a par-3 19th hole at the ultra-private Trump National Colts Neck. The course lacked the 10 ballots necessary, over an eight-year period, to be eligible for our Best in State rankings.Photo: Courtesy of The Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of The Trump Organization
Courtesy of The Trump Organization
Trump National G.C., Hudson Valley, Hopewell Junction, N.Y.
Trump Hudson Valley was ranked second in our 2002 ranking of Best New Upscale courses. The course lacked the 10 ballots necessary, over an eight-year period, to be eligible for our Best in State rankings.Photo: Courtesy of The Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of The Trump Organization
Courtesy of Stephen Szurlej/The Trump Organization
Trump National G.C., Westchester, Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.
The Jim Fazio design was ranked in our top 25 in New York in 2007 and 2009, and inside the top 30 in state in 2011. It lacked the 10 ballots necessary to be eligible for our Best in State rankings this year.Photo: Courtesy of Stephen Szurlej/The Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of Stephen Szurlej/The Trump Organization
David Cannon/Getty Images
Trump's global courses: Trump Turnberry, Scotland (22nd in our World 100 rankings)
Donald Trump hired Martin Ebert to upgrade the legendary Ailsa course, which reopened in 2016. Changes included converting the par-4 ninth hole into a par 3, and moving the green on the par-3 11th onto the water, turning the hole into a beautiful, short one-shotter.Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images
Photo By: David Cannon/Getty Images
Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Trump International G. Links, Scotland, Aberdeenshire (54th in our last World 100 rankings)
Our Ron Whitten wrote of Trump International, Scotland: "This Martin Hawtree design is set in as dramatic a set of sand dunes as there is in golf."Photo: Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Courtesy of Steve Carr/The Trump Organization
Trump International G. Links, Ireland, Doonbeg
The Greg Norman course opened in 2002 and was purchased by the Trump Organization in 2014. Trump hired Hawtree, who worked at Trump Turnberry, to modify the course.Photo: Courtesy of Steve Carr/The Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of Steve Carr/The Trump Organization
Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Trump International G.C., Dubai
Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner built Trump International Dubai in 2015 from barren land. Trump Golf also has a second project underway, Trump World, with 18 holes being designed by Tiger Woods on the site of Tiger's partially completed, then-abandoned Al Ruwaya design in 2009. The Trump organization projects the course to open in 2018.Other projects around the world include: Trump International Hotel & Tower Lido, outside Jakarta, Indonesia, where Ernie Els Design will remodel the existing Lido Lakes course.
Trump Golf has also purchased Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort and the adjacent Nirwana Bali Golf Club on Indonesia's island of Bali.Photo: Courtesy of the Trump Organization
Photo By: Courtesy of the Trump Organization