The Week That Was, september 13, 2015

     Donald “the Candidate” Trump isn’t only trying to slash the tax hit on his golf club in Briarcliff Manor, New York. He’s also trying to avoid paying a $238,000 bill for flood damage that village officials say his high-priced club caused, and the dispute has made its way to the state’s supreme court. “It’s not the best use of taxpayer dollars,” one of Trump’s attorneys told the Journal News. “I’m surprised they are proceeding with the case.” If you read between those lines, Trump’s strategy for winning this battle becomes clear: He thinks he can lawyer the village into submission. Is this what he means when he says he’s going to make American great again?

     Gifts of Gab: Greg “the Living Brand” Norman wants somebody to fix what’s wrong with golf before it’s too late. “I’m a big proponent of increasing the speed of the game -- building 12-hole golf courses, reducing the time,” he told the Australian Financial Review. “Why do we have to build these 7,000-metre-long golf courses for maybe one week a year, or not even one week, when the cost of constructing and maintaining these ridiculous clubhouses gets out of hand? We’ve really got to get our crap together.” The irony here is that Norman, one of the richest and most influential people in golf, is among the precious few who can pretty much effect change on his own, presuming he actually wants to. If Norman thinks championship-length tracks are truly a detriment to our industry, he should stop selling them.

     Spokane Country Club’s days as a private club are numbered. Much to the dismay of some members, Phil “the Gambler” Mickelson’s investment group, M Club Holdings, has dropped out as a bidder for Spokane, leaving the bankrupt club to negotiate with suitors who aim to open the property to the public. The moral of the story: Private clubs shouldn’t foolishly discriminate against their own members.

     Tom Doak isn’t usually regarded as a designer of courses created to sell high-priced real estate, but the lots flanking his forthcoming course in New Zealand are commanding Dubai-like prices. The developers of Tara Iti Golf Club, which is expected to open next month, have set out to sell 11 lots around Doak’s links-like course, with prices reportedly ranging from $2.8 million (U.S. $1.77 million) to $4 million ($2.53 million). If the sales go smoothly, developers of high-end communities might start choosing Doak’s courses over Gil Hanse’s.

     Donald “the Candidate” Trump, who’s promised to make Trump Turnberry “the finest resort of its kind anywhere in the world,” has secured permission to build a huge Roman-themed fountain outside the property’s hotel. The monument’s design is in keeping with the resort’s new marketing slogan: Let’s Make Scotland Great Again!