US president Donald Trump to visit Scotland in 2025 – here’s why

Just like its sister course, the brand new MacLeod layout at Trump International has come under a fair bit of scrutiny.

Together with the existing links, the organisation owned by the president-elect says the Aberdeenshire resort will be “the greatest 36 holes in golf”.

But that isn’t enough to satisfy the critics, including Scottish MSP Maggie Chapman who called it a “vanity project” that is “not welcome”. And while Trump International dismissed those claims as “baseless” and “pathetic”, fresh criticism regarding the golf course’s environmental credentials came from the London School of Ecomonics, which said describing the building of a second 18-hole golf course on the site as “eco-friendly” is both “laughable” and “complete nonsense”.

The protestations will fall on deaf ears, because the course – which is named after Trump’s Scottish-born mother, Mary MacLeod – will open for play in the summer.

What’s more, Trump – who will have returned to the White House by then – will be in in the country to cut the ribbon.

• 11 ways golf played a major role in the 2024 US election campaign

• Donald Trump presidency ‘odds on’ to break PGA Tour-LIV deadlock

That’s according to his son, Eric, who was also critical of the Scottish government, saying it made it “virtually impossible” to do business, and that it takes “very long to get permits” and that “there are a lot of regulations, a lot of red tape, insane taxation, government leaders who just take pot shots at you for no reason whatsoever”.

He also told the Press Association, it’s his family’s “love” for Scotland that keeps them investing in the country.

But, he added, “I’ve never really gotten so much as a thank you.”

Trump Jr also took aim at Scotland’s first minister John Swinney for endorsing Democratic candidate Kamala Harris during the recent election campaign.

“My father adores Scotland,” Trump’s third child added. “And you have a first minister coming out and just being fairly nasty in the days leading up.

“I mean, who did that benefit? Did that benefit Scotland?”

• How many golf courses does Donald Trump own?

• Golf pro makes astonishing claim over Donald Trump’s game

If the 47th president does head across the Atlantic to open his new golf course, it will attract global coverage and, almost certainly, demonstrations.

A 2018 visit to his other Scottish complex, Turnberry, during his first term in the Oval Office, saw Trump booed by protesters who had gathered at the gates of the former Open venue, while a paraglider flew over the resort’s hotel with a banner that read: “Trump: Well below par.”

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor