A week after announcing his bid for president, Donald Trump was on hand in a suit, golf shoes and a baseball cap to unveil the next feather in said cap: Trump National Golf Club.
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On 800 sprawling acres on the banks of the Potomac River in Sterling, VA, The Donald was in high spirits in front of more than 100 media members and golfers. He held court on the Confederate Flag in South Carolina ("I think it has to go"), who he thinks the first woman on the $10 bill should be ("my mother") and the state of golf ("doing really, really well"). Real estate's brashest personality bought Lowes Island Golf Club in 2009 at the height of the recession (the asking price was $18M), and has poured millions into turning it into a destination facility.
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Donald worked to chop down trees to clear views of the Potomac River, turning the course into an entirely riverfront property. "Nothing else in DC, Maryland or Virginia has this long a stretch of the Potomac," he says. He even took a lighthearted jab at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda—generally viewed as the top club in the region—boasting Trump National's par 3 where the river touches the green. "There's nothing like it."
The press conference was held on the Potomac Observation Deck, a platform on top of a waterfall where Donald says four or five weddings a week are held already. This shot of the picturesque course was snapped from the deck, and you can see a few golfers enjoying the 18th fairway. In 2017, some of golf's greats will enjoy it too, when Trump National hosts the Senior PGA Championship. It's the first of many major tournaments The Donald expects the course to host.
Trump redid the clubhouse when he bought the property, renovating the shell and installing an ornate fountain right in front. He put in a large ballroom and just a few weeks earlier unveiled a $10M tennis center, joined by arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, Serena Williams, who called it "the best (tennis facility) I have ever seen." Trump also owns golf courses in Florida, LA, North Carolina and Scotland, making his commitment to ultra-luxury country club sports more than just a passing fad.
The golf community has taken notice as well. PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua joined Trump and his guests in celebrating the renovated course, and foretold of putting many future pro events in Sterling. "You just know there's going to be a storied championship history at this property," Pete told the crowd. With two courses to play, the glitzy tennis center and the Donald's name attached to it, Trump National will have people talking in DC for a while. Add that to his highly regarded downtown hotel project in the Old Post Office Pavilion, and DC is fully coming up Trump.
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