Trump National Golf Club (Los Angeles)

Coordinates: 33°43′47″N 118°20′58″W / 33.729622°N 118.349576°W / 33.729622; -118.349576

Trump National Golf Club (Los Angeles)
Club information
Location Rancho Palos Verdes, California, U.S.
Established January 20, 2006
Type Public
Owned by The Trump Organization
Total holes 18
Website Trumpnationallosangeles.com
Designed by Pete Dye and Donald Trump
Par 71
Length 7,242-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 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. It is not the only ocean-front golf course in LA County. Nearby is also the Los Verdes Golf Course.[4] The course featured three artificial waterfalls until they were removed during the 2012–15 drought.[2] The Michael Douglas Pro-Celebrity and Friends Golf Tournament takes place there annually, in April.[5]

At a total cost of $264 million, Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles would be the most expensive golf course ever constructed.[4][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

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.[4]

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,[4] 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.[4][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.[4][10] Bentonite, a form of clay, exhibits a low frictional coefficient when wet, i.e. it becomes slippery.[4] 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.[4]

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.[4] 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".[4]

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]

Media

The Trump National Los Angeles was the setting for the filming of Golf Channel's The Big Break VI: Trump National. 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.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "trumpnationallosangeles.com FAQ". trumpnationallosangeles.com. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 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. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 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. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  5. ↑ Donald Trump. Trump never give up: how I turned my biggest challenges into success. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-470-19084-5. Retrieved September 18, 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. 1 2 Maddaus, Gene (June 9, 2016). "Donald Trump’s California Golf Course Valued Far Lower Than He Said". Variety. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Steve Sailer (June 12, 2001). UPI https://web.archive.org/web/20060714092058/http://www.isteve.com/Golf_Course_30_Years.htm. Retrieved September 20, 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bernard W. Pipkin, D. D. Trent, Richard Hazlett, Paul Bierman. Geology and the Environment. 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". 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. Geological Society of America. 37 (4): 100.
  13. 1 2 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.
  17. ↑ "PGA can't find replacement course, cancels Grand Slam of Golf". ESPN. Associated Press. September 3, 2015.
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