Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles

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Trump National Golf Club (Los Angeles)
Club information
Coordinates33°44′N 118°21′W / 33.73°N 118.35°W / 33.73; -118.35
LocationRancho Palos Verdes, California, U.S.
EstablishedJanuary 20, 2006
TypePublic
Owned byThe Trump Organization
Total holes18
WebsiteTrumpnationallosangeles.com
Designed byPete Dye and Donald Trump
Par71
Length7,242-yard (6,622 m)

Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles is a public golf club in Rancho Palos Verdes, California with a 7,242-yard (6,622 m) course designed by Pete Dye and Donald J. Trump Signature Design.[1] It is owned by The Trump Organization.

Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles was formerly known as Ocean Trails Golf Club, an 18–hole course designed by Pete Dye, which was about to open when a landslide occurred in June 1999, and the 18th hole slid toward the Pacific Ocean. The Ocean Trails Golf Club subsequently went into bankruptcy, and on November 26, 2002, Trump bought the property for $27 million, intending to redesign the course.[2] It includes a 45,000 sq ft (4,200 m2) clubhouse.[2]

It is ranked among the Top 100 Courses You Can Play by Golf Magazine.[3]

The club is known for its views of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. The course featured three artificial waterfalls[2] until they were removed during the 2011–2017 drought. The Michael Douglas Pro-Celebrity and Friends Golf Tournament takes place there annually, in April.[4]

At a total cost of $264 million, it would be the most expensive golf course ever constructed.[5][6][7] Trump's representatives claimed the course was worth $10 million in dealing with the L.A. County property tax assessor two years after the course opened.[8]

History[edit]

Trump National's predecessor, the Ocean Trails Golf Club, was part of a 150-acre (0.61 km2) property owned by developer Edward Zuckerman and a partner. Prior to the Zuckerman purchase, the property was used as a farm.[9] The golf course is on the Palos Verdes Peninsula known for its landslides.[10] The height of the peninsula of 370 meters (1,210 ft) above sea level and the action of the waves are two main contributing factors for the landslides. The stratification of the sedimentary rock below the course is visible in the high cliffs of the area as it gradually slopes seaward. The sloping and stratification create favorable conditions for the generation of landslides. As a result, homes and roads have been lost to the ocean in that area.[10] In the area occupied by the golf course and its vicinity, there are three ancient landslides which have been named by geologists as A, B and C respectively.[11] The green of the Ocean Trails golf course 18th hole and half of its fairway were on top of ancient landslide C.[5]

On June 2, 1999 the construction on the $126 million Ocean Trails golf course was almost complete and the course was close to its scheduled opening when a landslide unexpectedly occurred, caused by the sudden reactivation of ancient landslide C,[5] and 300 meters (980 ft) of the 18th hole fairway disappeared under the ocean when a fissure parallel to the cliff appeared and subsequently collapsed.[10] A 215 meters (705 ft) long island was created due to the landslide, temporarily trapping a local resident.[10] The landslide caused most of the 496 yard par 4 18th hole to slide 50-foot (15 m) toward the ocean,[9] including the fairway and green.[5][9][10][12]

Also due to the slide, bike paths, walking paths, the edge of the bluffs and a segment of an LA County sewer line disappeared. It is believed that fluid discharge from the sewer line, probably leaking before the slide, acted as a lubricant on the thin underlying layer of bentonite, which became saturated with liquid sewage in turn, and this acted as a facilitator for the stratified geological accumulations to slide relative to each other.[5][10] Bentonite, a form of clay, exhibits a low frictional coefficient when wet, i.e. it becomes slippery.[5] The golf course opened with only 15 holes because of the landslide.[10]

The landslide caused the Ocean Trails Golf Course construction project to go into bankruptcy. Covered by insurance funds, a massive geotechnical project was launched to reconstruct the 18th hole using 1,250,000 cubic yards of earth to fill it.[9] The stabilization work and the slide caused cosmetic damage to the course.[10] At the time, golf course historian Geoff Shackelford said that at the then projected cost of repair of more than $20 million, the 18th hole would have been "the most expensive single hole in history".[9]

After three years, legal issues between the involved banks and developers caused the geological stabilization work to stop.[10] In 2002 Donald Trump stepped in and bought the 300-acre (1.2 km2) property,[13] including the golf course, with the intention of finalizing construction and repairs by the summer of 2003. On January 20, 2006 the 18-hole Trump National Golf Club opened in Los Angeles. The reinforcement fill designed to stabilize the area affected by the slide is located under holes 17 and 18.[10] During the massive geological stabilization process the golf course was open for business.[5]

The geological stabilization process was based on a geotechnical design involving the use of geosynthetic materials designed to enhance the cohesion and strength of the landslide fill.[5] Asked about the safety of the work, Trump said: "If I'm ever in California for an earthquake, this is where I want to be standing".[5]

In 2008 Trump sued the city of Rancho Palos Verdes for $100 million, alleging that the city did not allow him to make the improvements needed to maintain the Trump image.[13][14] The lawsuit was settled in 2012 for undisclosed terms.[8][15]

In 2015, the course was to have become the host of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.[16] The tournament was cancelled due to Trump's comments about illegal immigrants.[17] Sports teams and charities continued to move their charity-golf tournaments to other venues during his presidency.[18]

Media[edit]

  • The Trump National Los Angeles was also the setting for the golf course shots in "50 First Dates", with Catalina Island clearly seen in some of the shots.
  • In the 2008 film Step Brothers, the course was used for the "Catalina Wine Mixer" scenes, doubling as Catalina Island.
  • In 2016 it was the filming location for and the subject of the Adult Swim special The Adult Swim Golf Classic which depicted Trump National Los Angeles hosting a golf tournament in 1966 sponsored by the fictional cigarette company Portnoy 100s.[21]

Scorecard[edit]

Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Black 74.6 / 144 379 504 403 169 467 461 573 230 496 3682 440 223 531 441 491 167 338 240 503 3374 7056
Blue 71.9 / 136 334 452 362 150 439 405 544 199 462 3347 330 191 504 413 481 143 300 201 392 2955 6302
White 69.9 / 130 328 425 336 136 388 388 508 168 432 3109 307 135 478 386 461 130 289 183 367 2736 5845
SI Men's 5 17 13 15 1 11 9 7 3 14 6 12 2 10 16 18 8 4
Par 4 5 4 3 4 4 5 3 4 36 4 3 5 4 5 3 4 3 4 35 71
SI Women's 5 15 9 17 7 1 3 11 13 10 16 6 2 8 18 14 12 4
Red 67.1 / 121 302 403 276 116 315 358 448 147 398 2763 284 98 457 330 454 114 266 159 334 2496 5259
Gold 63.6 / 111 233 319 224 95 287 328 399 102 355 2362 230 98 416 258 412 91 204 135 301 2135 4497

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "trumpnationallosangeles.com FAQ". Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c David R. Holland, Senior Writer (April 29, 2010). "Brash, bold and built by a billionaire: Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles". travelgolf.com. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  3. ^ "Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles". Golf.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  4. ^ Donald Trump (2008). Trump never give up: how I turned my biggest challenges into success. Wiley. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-470-19084-5. Retrieved September 18, 2011. Trump National Golf Club (Los Angeles) Michael Douglas.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rich Sack (2005). "Golfing atop a landslide. A signature hole is born at Trump National Golf" (PDF). GFR Magazine, Volume 23, No. 6, reprinted by permission of Industrial Fabrics Association International. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-16. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  6. ^ "Trump National Golf Club". worldgolf.com. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  7. ^ Links Magazine. "Destination: Santa Monica". pgatour.com. Retrieved September 19, 2011. Trump National Golf Club Located on the tip of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, each hole on the clifftop design, the most expensive course ever built, features views of the Pacific Ocean.
  8. ^ a b Maddaus, Gene (June 9, 2016). "Donald Trump's California Golf Course Valued Far Lower Than He Said". Variety. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d e Steve Sailer (June 12, 2001). "A Golf Course 30 Years in the Making: Golf, the Environment, and Politics". UPI. Archived from the original on July 14, 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bernard W. Pipkin; D. D. Trent; Richard Hazlett; Paul Bierman (August 2012). Geology and the Environment. Cengage Learning. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-538-73755-5. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  11. ^ earthconsultants.com. "Ocean Trails Landslides Peer Review Panel for Landslide Mitigation at the Ocean Trails Golf Course Rancho Palos Verdes, California". Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  12. ^ Wallace, John (2005). "The Ocean Trails Landslide: Defining safe zones along high coastal bluffs, Rancho Palos Verdes, California". Abstracts with Programs. 37 (4). Geological Society of America: 100. Archived from the original on 2017-12-27. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
  13. ^ a b Stephen Foley (December 22, 2008). "Another round of trouble as Trump sues for $100m". The Independent UK. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  14. ^ Victoria Kim (December 20, 2008). "Trump sues city for $100 million". LA Times. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  15. ^ Mary Scott. "Rancho Palos Verdes, Trump settle differences, including $100M lawsuit". Daily Breeze.
  16. ^ "33rd PGA Grand Slam of Golf to be Hosted by Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles". PGA.com. PGA of America. Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  17. ^ "PGA can't find replacement course, cancels Grand Slam of Golf". ESPN. Associated Press. September 3, 2015.
  18. ^ Fahrenthold, David A.; O'Connell, Jonathan (2019-04-05). "Trump dinner comes at a pivotal time for Rancho Palos Verdes golf club". Daily Breeze. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  19. ^ "Horrible Bosses 2 Filming Locations | filming.90210locations.info".
  20. ^ ""Modern Family" the Wedding, Part 2 (TV Episode 2014)". IMDb.
  21. ^ The Adult Swim Golf Classic (Retrieved from the adultswim.com website on 09 June)

External links[edit]

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