European Timeshare

The ladies of the LPGA and its European counterpart, the Ladies European Tour, as well as representatives from other international women’s golf tours, are finally getting the chance to tee it up at St. Andrews in a Major tournament.

Long overdue.

This week, historic St. Andrews is home to the Ricoh Women’s British Open, the first championship at the Old Course ever hosted for professional women golfers. For 154 years, the clubhouse at St. Andrews has carried the sign, “No Dogs. No Women”. Over the years, women have been permitted inside only for social events, despite the fact that women have played there since Mary Queen of Scotts first teed it up on the Old Course.

But as steeped in tradition as St. Andrews is, anyone can book a tee time there and it is an incredible place for a golf and timeshare vacation. Eight of St. Andrews’ ten courses are open to the public. There are wonderful opportunities in Scotland timeshares and certainly no better place for the true golf lover to holiday. You may even recall that some of the old dormitory buildings at St. Andrews University, have recently been converted to fabulous timeshares where Phil Mickelson is among the timeshare owners.

Sell My Timeshare NOW’s favorite PGA Tour veteran, Bobby Cole, who has played St. Andrews many times, including twice in the British Open, offers this advice that will serve the ladies well this weekend, and will also help you when you tee it up on the Scottish links during your St. Andrews timeshare holiday, “You will get a lot of bad bounces and breaks at St. Andrews. Expect that; it happens to everyone who plays there. St. Andrews” Old Course is incredible and brilliantly designed, but extremely different from US courses. With patience and determination you will get your best result.” Cole reminds us of this often-quoted St. Andrews axiom, “Swing easy when it’s breezy,” he says, “don’t try to hit the ball hard into the wind, because this creates more backspin.”

Part II on Donald Trump’s plans for developing a Timeshare and Golf Resort in Scotland.

(Part I to this blog post appeared on June 11, 2007)

Donald Trump’s plans sound fabulous for the construction of new golf courses, a hotel and a timeshare resort that would mean a substantial boost to the local economy and job market near Aberdeen, Scotland. But Scotland’s Daily Record quoted Robin Payne, the Grampian area manager, as saying, “SSSIs (sites of special scientific interest) are established to protect the most important 10 to 12 percent of Scotland’s natural heritage and our duty is to have regard for that on behalf of all of Scotland’s people.”

As global consciousness for protecting our environment heightens, we must all come to terms with the fact that we can’t keep negatively impacting our planet and expect it to continue to sustain our growing population. Yet with a potential 6,000 jobs in the offering, it is increasing difficult to know where and when to draw the line.

Ironically, the Trump Organization and many environmental groups have found themselves united on one front—both groups have objected to an offshore wind farm proposed by Aberdeen Renewable Energy Corporation. Trump’s opposition to the wind farm is that the turbines would spoil the ocean views from parts of the golf courses and timeshare villas. Environmental groups object to the wind farm because they view its offshore location as seriously detrimental to aquatic life. The Scottsman.com quoted conservation organization spokesperson, James Reynolds, as saying, “The cold shallow seas off the Aberdeenshire coast play host to hundreds of thousands of seabirds, ducks and divers…the complete coastal strip is like a motorway of birds, streaming from nesting areas to offshore feeding grounds…In the sea, pods of bottle-nosed and white-beaked dolphins follow the shoals.”

How paradoxical that the resort developer and the conservationists both find themselves objecting to plans for an “environmentally positive source of renewable energy.”

As with other developing topics related to timesharing, I promise to keep you informed as more information is available. In the meantime, there are fabulous opportunities for a timeshare vacation in Scotland at timeshare resorts including:

• Scandinavian Village
• Loch Rannoch Highland Club
• Moness Country Club
• Edinburgh Residence
• Hitlon International Grand Vacations at Hilton Coylumbridge and Hilton Craigendarroch
• Great Glen Water Park Club
• Sunterra Resort Kenmore Club
• And Cameron House

Donald Trump’s planned golf courses and timeshare resort have attracted attention from environmentalists and economists alike.

When Donald Trump announced plans to build Trump International Golf Links in Scotland, the Scots were supportive of the idea—at least in theory. In Scotland, the birthplace of golf, people are always up for another great golf course, and with Trump’s reputation for building championship facilities, enthusiasm for the project was high. That is, until some area residents and environmentalists found out just how big Trump’s plans are.

Trump, whose heritage is half Scots, describes his mother as, “seriously Scotch.” Trump’s vision for the proposed, Trump International Golf Links in Scotland, can only be described as, “seriously Trump-like.” Project designs for the approximate-1000 acres, call for two championship golf courses to be co-designed by Donald J. Trump Signature Designs and golf course architect, Tom Fazio II. Additionally, the resort would have a clubhouse, a 450-room luxury hotel, between 500 and 1000 timeshare villas or vacation residences, a golf academy, and a turf grass research center. Work was scheduled to begin on the golf resort and timeshare villas project in September 2006, with a target opening date planned for early 2008. Reports indicate that the project is now at least one year behind schedule.

As with any situation, there are two sides to it. Here’s a look at some of the key issues of the proposed development:

• AGAINST: An article by Craig Better of GolfVacationInsider.com says, “Trump’s plans call for stabilizing a network of sand dunes so they don’t encroach on his golf courses.” The sand dunes in question are part of a chain of dunes that runs along the North Sea; it is the largest dune system in Scotland. According to Scotland’s Daily Record, “Scottish Natural Heritage said it (the planned development) would ‘seriously damage’ an important nature conservation area. They also warned (that) the proposal would destroy a third of a crucial site of special scientific interest just north of Aberdeen.”
• AGAINST: Scottish Natural Heritage warns that the golf course and timeshare resort construction plans could wipe out crucial habitats because of the loss of rare plants.
• FOR: Scottish Natural Heritage says they are not opposed to the construction of one championship golf course; their objections are to the scope of the project.
• FOR: The Trump Organization was quoted by TheScottish-Enterprise as saying, “Our goal is to create the greatest links golf courses in Scotland as part of a golf development that will become the finest in Europe, if not the world.”
• FOR: The geographical location of Trump International Golf Links would position it so that golf enthusiasts could plan a holiday at the resort with side trips to other renowned courses including Cruden Bay, Murcar, and Royal Aberdeen. Trump International Golf Links could even be home base for golfing excursions that include the legendary courses of St. Andrews, Carnoustie, Prestwick, Turnberry, Royal Troon, Nairn, and Royal Dornoch.
• FOR: BBC News says the project could, “…generate tens of millions of pounds for the local economy and secure hundreds of jobs.” In the same report, BBC News went on to say that the project could, “create 6,000 jobs”.

Because this topic is so very complex, I am going to continue with more on the issues in tomorrow’s blog, looking at still other aspects of the “pros” and “cons” of building the Trump International Golf Links, timeshare resort and hotel in Aberdeen, Scotland.

According to the BBC, you can now make your kids go to school while on timeshare vacation. Strange, but apparently true.

Club Las Calas in Lanzarote, part of Spain’s Canary Islands, now offers free schooling arranged directly with your children’s teachers. The resort is providing this service to draw in off-season traffic. And who could use an off-season price break more than families with children?!

While on the one hand this could just be glorified babysitting (what kid wants to Go To School!!?!? during vacation), maybe the kids could consider it a semi-vacation. Teachers are, of course, horrified. But maybe the disruption of traditional education is offset by the opportunity to study a dormant volcano in person and learn Spanish from native speakers.

Check and see what innovative activities your timeshare resort offers!