Time to listen to the people Don
Turnberry could be in a better place
I have to confess that – last Saturday afternoon - my heart went out to the most unfortunate man in the whole of the United States.
I could almost visualise the shockwave in his wretched face – and feel his wounds of disappointment and despair – as the dreadful news arrived at the White House.
But hey . . . wait a minute . . . I’m not talking about that trumpet Trump. Oh no. . . Diddy Donald had it coming. I’m feeling sorry for the poor schmuck who had to go out and play a round of golf with him!
Eighteen holes with old grumble guts?
They should be giving this guy a Congressional Medal or something. You can just imagine the scenario. The Don is so upset – he couldn’t hit a barn door with a shovel.
The match is all over when his opponent tramlines a birdie on the 12 th to go an unassailable seven up with six to play.
Does the leader of the free world acknowledge defeat and offer congratulations?
Hell no! Trump says its all a fraud, the other guy’s shots were illegal – then speed dials his lawyer from his golf buggy!
Seriously though, the President’s reaction to defeat might be shocking . . . but it’s certainly not surprising.
Narcissism, vanity, selfabsorption, duplicity and greed are part of his DNA.
Psychiatrists would have drooled over Trump even as the moody child who hid toys from his brother and craved attention and approval.
Understanding how wee Donald worked must have been the equivalent of getting a PhD in Cognitive Child Psychology . . . wrapped in a pair of short trousers.
But Trump’s business brain was still malleable in the 1970s when he met a gunslinger New York lawyer called Ray Cohn.
Hired to defend Trump on a breach of the Fair Housing Act, Cohn explained his legal principles – never settle, never apologise, never admit . . . and even if you lose, claim that you won!
Donald lost – but his PR machine pumped out declarations of a great Trump victory.
He loved it – and Cohn’s principles became the Trump code of practice that took him all the way to the White House.
Connoisseurs of Trump speculated pre- election that not even Donald could play his “even if you lose, claim you won” card in the face of an irrefutable ballot box rout. They underestimated him. Meanwhile . . . back at the golf course . . . it’s four years since I predicted on this very page that The Open would never return to Turnberry as long Donald J. Trump remained in the White House. And guess what? It hasn’t.
The oldest and greatest golf tournament in the world has been allocated its future venues all the way through to 2025.
Royal Troon has been given the nod for 2023.
But for its illustrious Ayrshire rival it remains in the golfing wilderness.
So – will it be whole new ball game now that ‘ The Don’ has been given notice to quit?
Just like that US election, the golfing world will be polarised.
There will be purists who’ll contend that Turnberry is part of The Open’s heritage. “Golfers play the course, they play the elements and they play each other – but they don’t play the owner” they will argue. And that’s a fair point.
But also on the tee will be those who would rather curl up and die in a greenside bunker than give Trump a wooden nickel of revenue.
As Trump’s legal deliriums evolved on Monday, I just wondered what the rulers of the game, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, would make of it all.
Golf is one of the few sports where “to concede” is written in the rule book.
Players can “concede” a putt, a hole . . . or even a whole match.
The greatest example came in the 1969 Ryder Cup when the USA’s Jack
Nicklaus conceded a final match two foot putt to his opponent, Great Britain’s Tony Jacklin.
His decision tied the match – it tied the Ryder Cup for the first time ever at 16 – 16 - and the players left the green arm in arm.
It’s now simply known as “The Concession” and is hailed as one of the most magnanimous, generous and sportsmanlike gestures in the history of ANY sport.
Donald Trump claims to love the game of golf and has a huge respect for Jack Nicklaus. Nicklaus returned the compliment by voting for him.
Mr Trump should consider exchanging all those calls to all those lawyers and give Nicklaus a ring. “Jack – what should I do . . .?” The greatest ever golfer would give him a simple one word answer.
And if Donald Trump would only listen for a change – the world, the United States, the game of golf, Donald Trump - and even Turnberry Golf Club - would be in a much better place.
The greatest ever golfer would give him a simple one word answer