Turnberry (golf course)

Ailsa Craig to the southwest,
from the South Ayrshire coast

The idea of the course came from Archibald Kennedy, 3rd Marquess of Ailsa after the announcement of the Maidens and Dunure Light Railway in 1899. The line would follow the Ayrshire coastline from Ayr to Girvan. The Marquess owned 175 acres (71 ha) of land at Turnberry Green, south of Maidens, which was infertile and unsuitable for agriculture, and therefore an ideal golf course location.[4][5] He realized the new railway would provide easy access for people wanting to visit a quality course. Following the construction of the line, he asked 1883 Open Championship winner Willie Fernie to design a suitable course. Fernie designed an initial round of 13 holes in 1901, with a second-round following later.[4]

The hotel was designed by station architect James Miller, whose other work included Glasgow Central and Stirling railway stations.[6] It was built adjacent to the railway, and opened concurrently with the station on 17 May 1906.[4] The course was intended to attract visitors from across Britain, and was advertised heavily in the national press.[4]

The property was used as an airbase in World War I, and a landing strip built for this purpose still exists, now disused. The Royal Flying Corps trained pilots in the arts of aerial gunnery and combat, and the Turnberry Hotel was used as a hospital for the wounded.[7] After the war, courses 1 and 2 were rebuilt and renamed "Ailsa" and "Arran".[8] A memorial to honour lost airmen was erected on the hill overlooking the ninth hole of Ailsa, which is still standing.[9]

The cycle was repeated for World War II. The hotel was commissioned as a hospital, and the golf courses were seconded for air training for the Royal Air Force (RAF); it is thought that as many as 200 died at the base.[7]

The hotel and golf course was served by its own dedicated railway station. Turnberry railway station opened in 1906 and operated until 1942, when the Maidens and Dunure Light Railway line was partially closed.[10]

Following the war, the course was in need of refurbishment and the hotel was in a dilapidated state. Frank Hole, chairman of British Transport Hotels, convinced the Government that golf courses should be rebuilt and restored. The architect Mackenzie Ross rebuilt the course, removing the wartime runways and covering the land with sand and topsoil.[5][11] Ross is credited with restoring the courses to their high quality, and the Ailsa course was re-opened in 1951, a seaside links with views of Ailsa Craig and the Isle of Arran.[12]

The hotel was bought by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. in 1997, and until 2008 was operated under the Westin brand. In 2008, Leisurecorp, Dubai World's sport and leisure subsidiary, purchased the resort, with Starwood Hotels & Resorts continuing to manage operations under the Luxury Collection brand.[13]

Donald Trump purchased the hotel and golf courses from Leisurecorp in 2014 for $60 million,[14][15][16] and the resort was renamed Trump Turnberry.[17][18] Trump resigned his directorship of the companies which own Trump Turnberry in 2017, just before he was inaugurated as President of the United States, and passed control to his sons Eric and Donald.[19] The Trump Organization claims to have spent about two hundred million dollars on renovating the course; $18m were accounted for in 2016.[20] Donald Trump remains the owner of Golf Recreation Scotland, which in turn owns SLC Turnberry.[21]

Financing for Trump's golf courses came under scrutiny in the Special Counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Glenn Simpson testified before Congress that "enormous amounts of capital [was] flowing into these projects from unknown sources and – or at least on paper it says it’s from the Trump Organisation, but it’s hundreds of millions of dollars. And these golf courses are just, you know, they’re sinks. They don’t actually make any money."[22][23]

In September 2019, it was reported that the House Oversight and Reform Committee of the United States Congress was investigating increased military expenditure at Glasgow Prestwick Airport that might constitute a conflict of interest in regard the Trump Turnberry golf course.[24][25][26] It was reported September 2019 that the Pentagon had spent nearly $200,000 at Turnberry since Trump took office.[27]