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You are here: Home / golf values / Elite or Not so Elite? Trump’s views on who should play

Elite or Not so Elite? Trump’s views on who should play

February 26, 2017 by Stephen Altschuler 18 Comments

So what do you think? Donald Trump thinks golf should be for the rich elite, rightly unaffordable for peons like you and I. We should only have golf as a distant goal to work towards until we have attained a place in life where we can afford to join folks like him and play and stay on ridiculously pricey courses and high end resorts like he owns. I love the game, but if prices went up tenfold at my local muni as a result of some executive order he issued on Twitter, I guess I’d give up the game and take up badminton or old guys basketball to occupy my free time. Under his new rules, of course, Trump would be growing his fortune but not the game. As he said during an interview with Fortune magazine, while still on the campaign trail in June of 2015, “If you have great property, it’s still a great business. But you have to have great locations and really good courses. I have the very best courses, in the best places. At Doral [in Miami], as an example, our “Blue Monster” course opened up, and I’m getting $475 a round, it’s just been so successful.”

Further fleshing out his deconstructive ideas on growing the game, Trump continued in the Fortune interview, “I feel golf should be an aspirational game, something people aspire to. People should come to golf, golf shouldn’t come to them. They shouldn’t do many of the things that have been done over the last five years. I think the bigger hole idea is just terrible. Golf is the sport of business…I hate to see it cheapened with soccer golf or kick-golf, whatever it is they call it. A lot of businesspeople play a lot more golf than they want you to think they play. I know many businesspeople who say to me, ‘Don’t tell people I’m a good golfer.’ They don’t want that image, necessarily. But again, so much business is transacted on golf courses. And it should be aspirational as opposed to widespread. Golf should be something beautiful, elegant, something people aspire to play eventually.”

Is that elitist, asked the Fortune interviewer?

“It may be elitist,” Trump answered, “and perhaps that’s what golf needs. Let golf be elitist. When I say “aspire,” that’s a positive word. Let people work hard and aspire to some day be able to play golf. To afford to play it. They’re trying to teach golf to people who will never be able to really play it. They’re trying too hard. Because of the expense of playing, and the land needed, golf is never going to be basketball, where all you need is a court.

“All these great athletes, you know what they do when they retire? They do nothing but play golf. Basketball players, hockey players, football players, all they want to do is golf. Let it be aspirational instead of bringing it down by trying to get players to do it when they’re 15 years old and they’re also learning other sports. I think it’s very damaging to the game.”

So unless you can afford the new green fees at Pebble, which are now $525, and be able to play that Number 1 public course on a weekly basis, flying in from wherever, it’s time to hang up the clubs, says our new president, whose own stock of 12 or so courses require that amount or more to play. Make more deals, stockpiling loads of money, and maybe one day you’ll be able to return to that “noble and elegant” game, much like bored noblemen did 600 years ago, come to think of it. It’s kind of a retro plan for limiting the game to the rich and possibly famous and fattening the coffers of the golf course resort owners, like Trump.

As for working class stiffs–even the ones who helped elect the guy–fegetabout’it. “Shut up and get outta here, losers! Golf ain’t for people like you. Take your snotnose kids and get off the premises. There’s a frisbee golf course down the street that’ll take you in for pennies.”

Now this scenario may not seem possible or plausible, but neither did Trump’s victory a few months ago. All it takes, as Trump discovered, are just a few well-placed Tweets about elite golf, and his lock-step core will jump on board and start sending death threats and hate mail to low-cost courses around the world demanding they raise their prices, or else. Golf is for making deals. Big deals. All others needn’t apply…or play.

Get outta here, kid. Ya botha me…

I know. Go ahead and castigate me for politicizing a golf blog. Go ahead and blast me with hate mail, if you like. Or, bloody hell, unsubscribe. Or…maybe…thank me. But my job is to promote golf for anyone who wishes to play. Anyone of any income, any job, any faith, any race, any gender, any creed, any age, any political persuasion, any disability, any anything. Golf is a game beyond any socio-economic distinctions. It’s a game that should be available to anyone, as it was for me when I was 14 in Philly and cost two bucks to play. I was a super shy kid and golf helped bring me out of my shell. I didn’t have to “aspire” or financially qualify to play this great game. I put my budget in danger a few years ago to play Pebble, and can now say I did it. Probably never will again, unless I come into some discretionary cash along the way (although I have to say Pacific Dunes at Bandon Dunes resort is a better venue). But at 20 bucks at 1 PM, I’ll stick to Oakmont Golf Course near home for now…as long as the president of the country doesn’t issue an executive order banning me playing a course under 500 per round.

***

Just blowing off some steam, folks; and trying to grow this amazing game, not limit it to the ultra-rich.

 

 

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Filed Under: golf values, Mindful golf, Suggestions for golf Tagged With: bandon dunes, cost of playing, Donald Trump, golf resorts, Pebble Beach Golf

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Richard says

    February 26, 2017 at 10:52 pm

    Thanks for some sane remarks about our insane President! Golf levels the playing field. Golf will humble the rich man as well as the working man! Let it stay available for all!

    Reply
    • Stephen Altschuler says

      February 27, 2017 at 11:20 am

      I totally agree with you, Richard. The beautiful thing about golf is that almost anyone can play.
      Thanks so much for your comments.

      Reply
    • David says

      April 17, 2017 at 2:26 pm

      Stephen aka mindfulgolfer
      Are you ok? No posts in a long while.
      I’m missing your wisdom and insight.
      All the best

      Reply
      • Stephen Altschuler says

        April 22, 2017 at 11:13 am

        Thanks for your concern, David. My best friend, Bob, passed away from cancer a short time ago, and to be honest, I’ve been grieving ever since. He was only 62. I just haven’t had the energy or inclination to write any blog posts. But by allowing that grief to work its way through me, I’m beginning to feel more inspiration returning and have just completed another article which I’ll be posting tomorrow.
        Again, thanks so much for your kind words of concern.

        Reply
        • David says

          April 22, 2017 at 1:12 pm

          Stephen
          Thank you for writing back.
          I’m glad you are fine but so sorry to hear about your friend. Take care and I look forward to reading your next post.
          David in Virginia

          Reply
  2. J.R. says

    February 27, 2017 at 12:13 am

    Well I am not American, I am from the Netherlands and here we never took him serious. The sad thing is that he managed to get into a powerful position and that you have to take him serious (best shown in this satirical video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELD2AwFN9Nc). I can understand that people vote for these kind of people to get changes but these kind of people can also be very dangerous as we have seen in the second world war. Considering his opinion on golf, a sane person will see that’s ridiculous of course and will never happen. By ventilating these kind of statements he will only making himself more ridiculous.

    Reply
  3. John Keenan says

    February 27, 2017 at 5:50 am

    Well written and not really a “political” article. I would describe your piece as your disagree with a personal opinion of Donald Trump on a golf issue.

    John

    Reply
    • Stephen Altschuler says

      February 27, 2017 at 11:23 am

      You’ve hit the nail on the head, John. That was exactly my intention.
      Thanks for your comments.

      Reply
  4. eternal vigilance says

    February 27, 2017 at 7:00 am

    I thought this was a website about how to play the game, not about political bloviating! I venture to say that the following (even though surrounded by quotation marks) are your words and not those of Trump. Please do not diminish yourself by expecting that readers will give credence for your words just because you hit a golf ball!

    Reply
    • eternal vigilance says

      February 27, 2017 at 7:02 am

      Omitted your words “Shut up and get outta here, losers! Golf ain’t for people like you. Take your snotnose kids and get off the premises. There’s a frisbee golf course down the street that’ll take you in for pennies.”

      Reply
    • Stephen Altschuler says

      February 27, 2017 at 11:18 am

      Well, sure this blog is about how to play the game, but it’s also about the state of golf, in general. So the president’s remarks about golf are fair game, I believe.
      As for the quote you mentioned, I thought it was pretty obvious it was from a fictitious upscale golf course owner. If Trump had said it, I would have attributed it to him directly.
      Not sure what you mean by me feeling diminished, but I don’t feel that way at all. I’m just exercising my First Amendment rights, just as you are in expressing your opinion about what I write. If anyone should feel diminished it’s Trump for advocating golf be increasingly elitist.

      Reply
  5. David Tabb says

    February 28, 2017 at 11:29 am

    There’s nothing wrong with the idea that golf is “aspirational”. I just don’t associate the idea with Trump. His character contradicts all the values that mindful golf is meant to develop . It’s not a political statement to say that he disgraces the nation and golf.

    Reply
    • Stephen Altschuler says

      March 10, 2017 at 7:34 pm

      Sure, we all aspire to play better, David, and so, yes, golf is “aspirational.” But Trump’s definition has more to do with aspiring to be wealthy so as to qualify to be permitted to play the game. That is truly a disgrace to the game we all love.
      Thanks for your comments.

      Reply
  6. Cosmicswing says

    April 5, 2017 at 3:39 am

    I was surprised to see Greg Norman in an interview explain how he has played with Trump and that Bush advised him to the take up Clinton’s invitation at play when visiting Australia. So now Rory has played with Trump too. I imagine these players are so cocooned from political reality by professional golf and celebrity infused state propaganda, they lack the holistic wisdom to refuse taking part in such publicity stunts.

    Reply
    • Stephen Altschuler says

      April 8, 2017 at 10:53 am

      Here, here. Thanks for commenting.

      Reply
  7. Chuck Bracht says

    August 18, 2017 at 8:12 pm

    I’m a new golfer at the age of almost 70. I love playing at one of Houston’s great municipal golf courses, Herman Park Golf Course. As a senior I play for $12 on weekdays. Actually I “aspire” to go there. (Take that, Donald…)

    Reply
    • Stephen Altschuler says

      August 27, 2017 at 11:42 am

      Right on, Chuck! My favorite muni is Bennett Valley in Santa Rosa, which just raised its rates to $15. I haven’t met Trump out there. I don’t think he’s aspired to and attained those heights yet.
      Thanks so much for your comments. And wishing you another 25 years of good golf.

      Reply

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