Trump National Golf Club Westchester
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Trump National Golf Club Westchester is a private
golf club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Wood (golf), Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; iron (golf), irons, the most versatile class ...
in
Briarcliff Manor, New York Briarcliff Manor () is a suburban village in Westchester County, New York, north of New York City. It is on of land on the east bank of the Hudson River, geographically shared by the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining. Briarcliff Manor inc ...
. The course has eighteen holes, with a clubhouse. Founded in 1922 as ''Briarcliff Country Club'', it later operated as ''Briar Hills Country Club'' and ''Briar Hall Golf and Country Club.''
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, the former
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
, purchased the property in 1996 and renamed the club after its county,
Westchester Westchester most commonly refers to Westchester County, New York, immediately north of New York City. __NOTOC__ It may also refer to: Geography Canada *Westchester Station, Nova Scotia, Canada United States *Town of Westchester, the original seat ...
, in a similar manner to his other golf properties. He had the clubhouse and course rebuilt for its 2002 reopening; the course was designed by Jim Fazio. Donald Trump served as president over Trump National Golf Club LLC (managing the Westchester club) from August 2000 until January 19, 2017, the day before his inauguration.


History

The club had its origins around 1895, with Briarcliff founder
Walter W. Law Walter William Law (November 13, 1837 – January 17, 1924) was a businessman and the founder of the 8,000-person village of Briarcliff Manor, New York. He was a vice president of furniture and carpet retailer W. & J. Sloane, and later founded t ...
's private nine-hole course on his estate, which became available to
Briarcliff Lodge The Briarcliff Lodge was a luxury resort in the village of Briarcliff Manor, New York. It was a notable example of Tudor Revival architecture, and was one of the largest wooden structures in the United States. It was also the first hotel in Westc ...
guests, and was then known as the Briarcliff Golf Club. In 1922, Devereux Emmet designed a course across the street with eighteen holes, and thus Briarcliff Country Club was founded that year. The name was changed in 1927 to avoid confusion, to Briar Hills Country Club. Briar Hills opened in May 1929 with a new clubhouse; construction began in May 1928 and utilized local stones for the building's exterior. The interior was noted for its design and spaciousness. In 1936, A. W. Tillinghast redesigned the course. In 1948, Henry Law's son Theodore sold the club to local businessmen who renamed it Briar Hall Golf and Country Club. The 1964
Metropolitan Open The Metropolitan Open is a golf tournament organized by the Metropolitan Golf Association. In the early 20th century it was one of the top events in the country and was retroactively given PGA Tour-level status. History The tournament has been ...
was hosted at Briar Hall; Jack Patroni won the championship. In 1980, ownership of the club changed hands again. Henry Law, a son of village founder Walter W. Law, was among Briar Hill's founders. Among the club's directors were Henry Law and his son Theodore Gilman Law;
Gene Sarazen Gene Sarazen (; born Eugenio Saraceni, February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He is one of five players (along ...
was the club's golf professional in 1923–24, followed by 1952 PGA Champion
Jim Turnesa James R. Turnesa (December 9, 1912 – August 27, 1971) was an American professional golfer and winner of the 1952 PGA Championship, beating Chick Harbert 1-up in the match-play final. He was one of seven famous golfing brothers; Phil (1896–198 ...
.


Trump's purchase and redevelopment

At the time of Briar Hall's 1996 sale, the club had an 18-hole, golf course and clubhouse, seven tennis courts, an in-ground swimming pool, pro shop, maintenance building, and pool house. Briar Hall had been taken over by the Marine Midland Bank, which then sold the property to Trump. Trump bought Briar Hall Country Club for $7.5 million in the foreclosure in December 1996 and ran the club until 1999, until he closed the property to begin its redevelopment. The first general manager of the club, Chief Operating Officer
Carolyn Kepcher Carolyn Kepcher (born January 30, 1969) is an American businesswoman who was one of the judges on the NBC television program ''The Apprentice''. She was formerly the Executive Vice President, chief operating officer, for the Trump Golf Propertie ...
, later became co-host on Trump's television show ''
The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...
''. She was fired from the show and management position in August 2006. On March 16, 1999, Briarcliff was operating its mayoral election, and incumbent mayor Keith Austin ran unopposed. Write-ins supporting lawyer Richard Mattiaccio prompted a conflict involving hundreds of residents, which led to one arrest. The event took place near the polls at the Village Hall; Mattiaccio had gained supporters by criticizing Austin's weak opposition to Trump's club reconstruction plans. Many residents believed a large project would congest streets with construction vehicles and rip up the landscape. In redesigning the club and its course, Trump hired golf course architect Jim Fazio, brother of
Tom Fazio Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...
in the same profession. Around the same time, the workmen resodded a village soccer field and assisted in constructing a new veterans' memorial in Briarcliff. He also had the current white clapboard and fieldstone clubhouse built on the property. At one time, due to residents' criticism, the clubhouse was reduced to , eliminating guest rooms and special event halls. It was designed by Robert Lamb Hart Planners & Architects, and included three stories with lockers, a 150-seat restaurant, and top-floor lounge. Other difficulties with the club's plans arose; the village planning board recognized villager concerns over golf tournaments, membership requirements, and pesticide use. And at the time of the club's reconstruction, Trump had three other golf clubs planned, including one in Seven Springs, an area within three towns which would require approval from all three, and one in the French Hill section of Yorktown. Trump later dropped all of the plans, calling Westchester County "the toughest place to build on the planet".


Reopening and further events

The first head golf professional was Frank Graniero. The club's first nine holes opened on April 15, 2002, followed by the next nine on June 29, 2002. The club had a total cost of $30 million or $40 million, and was claimed to be the largest excavation project in Westchester County's history, with about of earth moved. The thirteenth hole cost Trump $7 million, surrounded by an artificial black granite waterfall, which pumps a minute. In 2003 Trump tried to move the
Sybase Classic The Sybase Classic was a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour for twenty years, from 1990 to 2009. The event was originally known as the "Big Apple Classic", but the name was dropped in 2007 when the tournament relocated from the ...
, a
LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...
tournament, from
Wykagyl Country Club Wykagyl Country Club is a golf course in the Wykagyl section of New Rochelle, New York. Through the years, the club has hosted major professional and amateur tournaments and is considered to be one of the premier "classic courses" in the countr ...
to Trump's club for 2007; the Wykagyl lease would run out in that year. Briarcliff Manor's mayor Peter Chatzky was opposed to the plan; Trump attempted to persuade the mayor to talk to his wife,
Jean Chatzky Jean Sherman Chatzky (born September 7, 1964) is an American journalist, a personal finance columnist, financial editor of NBC’s ''TODAY'' show, AARP’s personal finance ambassador, and the founder and CEO of the multimedia company HerMoney. E ...
, about the financial benefit of hosting the tournament, adding that village residents would be hired for the event. A Trump Organization vice president suggested donating some proceeds to the Briarcliff Manor Public Library's then-proposed expansion or toward improving a village baseball field. The club's special-use permit with the village restricted the course to 300 people and banned large-scale tournaments from taking place there. The discussion between the Trump Organization and village government stopped that year, however in 2004, Trump submitted a new request to bring a LPGA or
PGA PGA is an acronym or initialism that may stand for: Aviation * IATA code for Page Municipal Airport, Coconino County, Arizona * ICAO designator for Portugália, regional airline based in Lisbon, Portugal * Abbreviation for Prince George Airport ...
tournament to the club. A storm in June 2011 caused public utilities including the Briarcliff library and Law Memorial Park's public pool and playing fields to be flooded. When Trump had renovated the course, his workers made unauthorized changes to its drainage system, which made the course look and play better for golfers. The alterations lowered the system's water capacity and thus raised water levels by about six feet. The Trump Organization met with the village over the issue, though it did not take corrective actions. After negotiations ended, the village billed the club $238,353. The Trump Organization blamed the flooding on a village drainage pipe which lacked a grate, and blamed the conflict on then-Briarcliff mayor William Vescio, who owns a company that previously came into conflict with Trump. Vescio denied the relation to the previous conflict and claimed that the flooding was caused by rocks and trees at washed down the hill from the golf club. When President Obama was in Westchester in 2014, his staff attempted to schedule visits to local golf clubs including Trump National, none of which wanted to close their courses for the president to play. Trump replied to
NBC 4 New York WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo station WN ...
's report of the news with a widely circulated and publicized tweet—"If Obama resigns from office NOW, thereby doing a great service to the country—I will give him free lifetime golf at any one of my courses!" In 2015, the club sued the town of Ossining to lower its worth from $13.5 million to $1.4 million in order to reduce property and school taxes; local residents complained because their own taxes would rise. In 2016, the club revised its claims to $9 million, closer to the 2014 town estimate of $14.3 million. In June 2017, Trump disclosed a value of the club at over $50 million, with $9.7 million in personal income in 2016.
Daniel Scavino Daniel Scavino Jr. is an American political adviser who served in the Trump administration as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications from 2019 to 2021 and Director of Social Media from 2017 to 2021. Scavino previously was the gener ...
began working at Briar Hall Country Club as a caddie in 1990, while in high school. He was promoted several times, including to general manager of the club after Trump's purchase. After serving as social media director for Trump's presidential campaign, he became Assistant to the President and Director of Social Media in December 2016. Trump's candidacy for the
2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
affected the club;
Horace Greeley High School Horace Greeley High School is a public, four-year secondary school serving students in grades 9– 12 in Chappaqua, New York, United States. It is part of the Chappaqua Central School District. It is consistently ranked among the top high schoo ...
used the facility for its annual proms, which was protested by its students in late 2015 due to its connection to Trump as a political candidate. The location for the 2016 prom has yet to be changed by student decision. In the following year, it was reported that Pleasantville High School's graduating class was considering changing its prom venue from Trump's club as well. The graduating class voted, 97–44, to keep the venue. On June 7, 2016, Trump gave his nomination victory speech at the clubhouse; he had just won the Republican primaries. In July 2016, during Trump's presidential campaign, his opponent
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
released a campaign video of one of the club's architects. The architect, Andrew Tesoro, described his dealings with
the Trump Organization The Trump Organization is a group of about 500 business entities of which Donald Trump is the sole or principal owner. Around 250 of these entities use the Trump name. The organization was founded in 1927 by Donald Trump's paternal grandmother ...
, where about a dozen employees met him at the finished clubhouse to negotiate reducing his fees. They pressured him into sending a reduced bill, of $50,000 instead of $140,000. After the organization failed to pay the bill, Tesoro met with Trump who convinced him to accept only $25,000 for his services. The Clinton campaign used the story as part of its effort to demonstrate that the Trump Organization harms small businesses. Later during Trump's campaign, in September 2016, ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' reported that a painting of Trump may be on display at the club. Trump had purchased Michael Israel's work for $200,000 in 2007 through his charity, the
Donald J. Trump Foundation The Donald J. Trump Foundation was a New York-based tax-exempt private foundation formed in 1988 by Donald Trump and dissolved by court order in 2019 after various legal violations came to light. The foundation was created to receive royalti ...
. According to IRS regulations, the painting would have to be used for a charitable purpose, or donated to a charity, however Melania Trump had planned to hang it in the club's boardroom or conference room, and the artist later stated he believed it was at the clubhouse. Although the painting was purchased at a charity auction, where half of the Trump Foundation's check went to the charity, in September 2016 an IRS director deemed Trump to have violated IRS rules and President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
publicly criticized Trump's purchase. The golf club was a topic of discussion in 2019, in a trial against the now-defunct Trump Foundation, where the president admitted the foundation had been used to settle legal obligations of the club.


Current operations

In 2001, annual membership dues were stated to be $9,000 per member or $12,000 for a family, with an initial deposit of $250,000. Before the 2008 recession, initiation fees were $100,000 to $150,000. As of late 2015, initiation fees were down to $50,000. Around that time, many new members were reportedly not charged an initiation fee or were no longer required by the club to fully pay it within five years. Annual dues were $19,400 a year.


Property

The club is located on about adjacent to Briarcliff Manor's central business district and in a residential area near
Pace University Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pac ...
's former Briarcliff campus off Pine Road. The property contains "The Residences at Trump National Golf Club", a series of sixteen attached townhouses ranging in size from and which were designed by William Devereaux & Associates. Plans exist for an additional 71 condominiums; the site was approved for 87 home sites in 1987. The club also includes a member restaurant, which serves
Kobe beef is Wagyu beef from the Tajima strain of Japanese Black cattle, raised in Japan's Hyōgo Prefecture according to rules set out by the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association. The meat is a delicacy, valued for its flavor, te ...
burgers, tuna flown in daily from Honolulu, and
Trump Ice Trump Ice Natural Spring Water, often referred to as just Trump Ice, was a bottled water brand owned by American businessman Donald Trump. It was discontinued in 2010. History Trump Ice was initially sold only at Trump-owned casinos and other sel ...
bottled water.


Tax assessments

Every year since 2015, the Trump Organization has challenged the local tax assessment which is based on the property's value. Local entity officials assessed it at $15 million, while the organization put it at $1.4 million. In a compromise agreement in July 2021, the assessed value was reduced by 30%. In October, the district attorney for Westchester County subpoenaed the property-tax records, indicating "signaling a previously unknown criminal inquiry into the Trump Organization." It is very likely to go to trial with the others.


Notable members

In 2011, notable members included former Yankees manager
Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...
, and actors
Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
and
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
. Around 2003, members included
Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
,
Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
,
Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...
,
George Steinbrenner George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...
, and
Regis Philbin Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, talk show host, game show host, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest working ma ...
. Visiting players include
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
,
Regis Philbin Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, talk show host, game show host, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest working ma ...
, and
Bobby Bonilla Roberto Martin Antonio Bonilla (, born February 23, 1963) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001. Bonilla was one of the Major League's best batters a ...
, who came for the course's reopening in 2002, and professional golfer
Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo, (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. A top player of his era, renowned for his dedication to the game, he was ranked No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for ...
. Other visitors include
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
, former
New York City mayor The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...
s
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
and Rudy Giuliani, and
Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
, who joined Trump and members Bill Clinton and Joe Torre for the 2008 Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation Golf Classic at the club. Former US President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
became a member of the club in May 2003. Donald Trump has said that he bought the club partly "because he knew Bill Clinton would need a place to play". Part of the Clintons' gift for Bill's 65th birthday was a round of golf at Trump National with Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. The golf club is
Eric Trump Eric Frederick Trump (born January 6, 1984) is an American businessman, activist, and former reality television presenter. He is the third child and second son of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, and his fir ...
's home course. He raises about $3 million each year in an event there for
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research facility located in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on children's catastrophic diseases, pa ...
.
Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...
, the
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
, and the Rangers also run charity tournaments there. At one time, Donald Trump had scheduled to be there himself at least once a week. Eric Trump and his foundation received scrutiny from the press in June 2017 after it was revealed that the foundation was funneling money to the Trump Organization through its charity tournaments, held at Trump National Golf Club Westchester and other sites. A few days later, New York Attorney General
Eric Schneiderman Eric Tradd Schneiderman (born December 31, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 65th Attorney General of New York from 2011 until his resignation in May 2018. Schneiderman, a member of the Democratic Party, spent ten year ...
was reported to be investigating Eric Trump's foundation and its events at the golf course.


In popular culture

The club was shown on Trump's show ''The Apprentice'', in
season one Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) * Season 4 (disambiguat ...
's two-part finale for
Bill Rancic William Rancic (; born May 16, 1971) is an American entrepreneur who was the first candidate hired by The Trump Organization at the conclusion of the first season of Donald Trump's reality television show ''The Apprentice''. He is married to E! ...
's last challenge and season 10's two-part finale for Clint Robertson's.


See also

*
Donald Trump and golf Donald Trump is closely associated with the sport of golf. As a real estate developer, Trump began acquiring and constructing golf courses in 1999. By the time of his election as United States President in 2016, he owned 17 golf courses worldwide ...
* History of Briarcliff Manor * Legal affairs of Donald Trump


References


External links

* {{authority control 1890 establishments in New York (state) Athletics clubs in the United States Briarcliff Manor, New York Buildings and structures in Westchester County, New York Clubs and societies in New York (state) Golf clubs and courses in New York (state) Sports venues completed in 1890 Sports in New York (state) Sports venues in Westchester County, New York Tennis venues in New York (state) Assets owned by the Trump Organization Donald Trump real estate