Of all the things Donald J Trump does in his life, chances are charging £1,000 for 18 holes of golf on the Ailsa course at his Turnberry resort, won’t create the most concern around the world – but it’s certainly caused ripples within the golfing community. For the past few decades, golf and its many constituent organisations and associations have worked tirelessly to shed the sport of its elitist reputation, and, while there is still work to be done to remove entirely that perception, things have certainly changed for the better.

Those efforts won’t be helped by the introduction of a four-figure green fee, albeit if the justification for it is that it will affect only non-hotel residents in peak season who wish to tee-off before 1.30pm. It is believed to be the highest green fee currently on offer in the UK.

Bunkered, Scotland’s national golf magazine, quoted Trump Turnberry’s general manager, Nic Oldham, as saying: “Staying in the hotel and playing the Ailsa will come in some way under £1,000, so it’s better value to do it that way. That’s better for the golfer, because they’re getting a full five-star experience, but it’s also better for Turnberry.”

Of course, it’s better for Turnberry as the resort gets the best of both worlds. But not everybody is able to inflate their net worth – legally or illegally – in order to stump up a grand to play 18 holes of golf… whether at Trump Turnberry or anywhere else, for that matter.

Let’s be honest, though; it’s hardly likely to reduce the number of rounds played on the course. Whichever course ranking you hold dear, they all have the Ailsa in the top echelons, and such plaudits guarantee there will always be a market to play it, even if the price goes up to £2,000.

There are people out there – one or two may even read this publication – for whom such money is mere chicken feed. And that’s the demographic Trump Turnberry appears to be going for. Anything is only worth what somebody is prepared to pay for it, and I have no doubt there will be plenty of takers for this, as there will be day visitors prepared to pay the post 1pm fee of £545.

Whether or not those visitors come away saying they’ve had ‘value for money’, however, remains to be seen. The levels of service at that price-point will need to be among the highest anywhere – some might say ‘world class’ – and I wouldn’t put it past Turnberry to achieve those levels. What it will do, though, is strengthen the argument from the non-golfing fraternity that the sport is elitist and we, in golf, will have to increase our efforts to reinforce the exact opposite.

We may just have to concede, however, there is, now, an elite element within the non-elitist sport – a higher tier of which even hardened club golfers and lowly magazine publishers can only dream.

It remains to be seen whether other high-end resorts follow Trump Turnberry’s lead. But, in a world where the gap between the haves and the have-nots seems to be widening exponentially it wouldn’t surprise me at all.