2017 Senior PGA Championship to be played at Trump National D.C., The new simulators at the Schaumburg Golf Club, see schaumburggolf.com (847)-885-9000.       _____________________________________________________________________

THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Editor and Director of Content. Follow Rory on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter @GogBlogGuy. With former U..S and British Open Champion Johnny Miller at the WGA Black Tie dinner.

When Donald Trump won the United States Presidential election to become the 45th president of the United States, golf and politics ended up on the same path and bridge together.

BY: RORY SPEARS

I can not prove it has never happened before, but it’s believed when Donald Trump takes the oath of President on Jan. 20th, 2017, he will become the first golf course owner to also be our president.

A very interesting concept. It’s said that if you really want to get to know somebody, spend four hours with them on a golf course. Mr. President, got a spare four hours anytime soon, let’s go play. Meet you in Miami at Trump National Doral, I always enjoy a day on the Blue Monster (picture below).

Hitting it Long and Far on the Blue Monster’s 18th hole.

In recent years as businessman Donald Trump bought up more golf courses, the sport of golf and Trump have been joined at the hip.

Trump has wasted little time improving the golf properties he has acquired. That being said, he has improved the green fees to rates that many golfers don’t appreciate. Big clubhouses, flashy bunkers and waterfalls behind greens. Some of this is not really needed

Those rates are not ones that keep golfers coming back, over and over again. It would be nice to think that in honor of his election win, that his courses could have a day where green fees are only $20.16. Maybe one day next year in honor of the year he takes office, there could be a green fee day of just $20.17 per round.

My experience on the Blue Monster at Doral was good, Trump picked a great architect in Gil Hanse to redo the course, and Trump added a caddie program for those who wanted to walk the monster, and to create jobs at his resort.

While at Doral I learned Trump has been on the property that day before, the day before that I saw him at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando. I wish he would talk again this year, but it appears he will be a little busy that week. At Doral the day before I arrived he was busy checking out the renovations that were on-going. Running around looking at the new villa’s, restaurant, pool and clubhouse. He had an investment there and he was paying strong attention to detail. I’ll hope that continues.

Trump courses had been scheduled to host three major tournaments in 2017. Now it’s two. First up the PGA Tour should be embarrassed for taking a tournament out of the USA and moving it to Mexico, that should never happen regardless of what the sponsor in this case Cadillac does. The car company now has some egg on it’s face, as it’s most popular demographic turned out in force for the president elect. Now the Blue Monster at Doral will not have a PGA Tour event next March for the first time in decades. That is sad.

Better news is on tap for the PGA of America and the Unites States Golf Association (USGA). Neither organization bowed to some misguided pressure to move tournaments away from Trump courses.

Those events will now be among the biggest on the calendar in 2017, with fans and players wondering if the president himself will show up. The Sr. PGA Championship will be played at Trump National DC in May, and the USGA U.S. Women’s Open at Trump National at Bedminster in New Jersey come July.

Trumps courses and other businesses will be run by his children according to those close to him, while he serves as president.

What remains to be seen is, can Trump use golf and his courses to help bring a divided country together, can he help grow the game. Can he bring the sport to minorities and others who don’t play or have a history of playing. Can the golf industry benefit from him being in office. Will he play as frequently as President Barack Obama does while in office, will he spend time at his courses or other courses with foreign leaders. I’d love to see him run a junior clinic with kids and another with women, not so sure the secret service will go for that.

All of this remains to be seen. But for all of us who love golf, we hope that as Trump tries to heal the country, he tries to do some of it through the great sport of golf. RS