Trump accused of 'hoodwinking' Scotland over golf course $1BN investment promise

29 March 2024 , 14:04

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Donald Trump humorously gives a two fingered gesture to the media on the Menie Estate, where his controversial luxury golf resort was to be built (Image: PA)

Scotland was "hoodwinked" by Donald Trump over his Aberdeenshire golf course, the man who helped broker the deal has said.

Neil Hobday was the project director for the controversial resort, which opened in 2012 after the former president claimed he would invest $1 billion into the venture.

Speaking to the BBC, he said he felt "hoodwinked and ashamed that I fell for it and Scotland fell for it".

"I don't think even if he could raise the money to build the whole thing out, he wanted the golf course, and that was it," Mr Hobday added.

"He was willing to fight the environmental battle and create this impression that this was a $1 billion project and Scotland absolutely needed it. But I think he never really had the money or the intention of finishing it.

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"I feel very hoodwinked and ashamed that I fell for it, and Scotland fell for it. We all fell for it. He was never going to do it."

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Trump gestures duiring a visit to the construction site of his golf course on the Menie Estate near Aberdeen, Scotland on May 27, 201 (AFP/Getty Images)

Trump is pictured after recieving an Honorary award of Doctor of Business Administration at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland, on October 8, 2010 (AFP/Getty Images)

Located eight miles north of Aberdeen, the Menie Estate once spanned across windswept sand dunes, meadows, and woodlands.

Then, in 2006, Trump unveiled his ambitious plans to transform it into what he touted as the world's premier golf course.

It was initially estimated to cost "in excess of $500 million", according to the first official announcement by Trump International Golf Links.

But Trump boasted when he arrived in Scotland to address the media that the project's budget had skyrocketed to over a billion dollars.

Trump at his luxury golf resort during a visit to the Menie estate in Aberdeenshire in 2011 (PA)

Despite the steep cost increase, the plans garnered significant support from the local business community, enticed by the promised investment scale expected to lure major golf tournaments to the area.

Trump International Scotland said it had invested "hundreds of millions of pounds" into the economy.

The company added it had "delivered on its promise to build one of the greatest modern links golf courses of all time".

Christopher Bucktin