scotland Trump's Dune Deal

Donald Trump has re-named a slice of northeastern Scotland.

Trump International Golf Links Scotland was supposed to have been built on property called Menie Dunes, a name that clearly doesn't satisfy its owner's marketing imperatives.

Trump is now calling the property, near Balmedie in Aberdeenshire, "the Great Dunes of Scotland," a name that, for me at least, conjures up images of thrill rides and amusement parks. Trump believes the new name will resonate with prospective


home buyers, especially those who might associate the original name with a mean, nasty person, or perhaps a bully.

“I think it’s a more appropriate name,” he said in a story posted at the Times Online. “I think it’s a bigger name, I think it’s a better name, and I think it’s a name people can really understand and relate to in Scotland.”

The name change did not endear Trump to any of his Scottish neighbors or weaken the resolve of his critics. But hey, he owns the property. He can call it anything he wants to call it.

The first 18-hole track at Trump International Golf Links Scotland, Trump's piece de resistance, has been designed by Martin Hawtree. Trump has promised that it'll be the finest golf course in the world, and he hopes it'll one day host the British Open.

The course is currently under construction and is expected to open in the spring of 2012.

Here's a link to the Times' story, called "Great Dunes of Scotland!"