Michael Bamberger (best last name ever?) starts his travelogue, “My assignment…was to play Trump's courses and write up the tour, and my goal at first was to avoid the owner… I wanted to see the courses myself, and not through the prism of Trump.” After visiting five resorts and a contentious property on the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland, he concludes, “for a while there, he was calling me often. A joke in our house became, ‘It's Donald again.’ But I like him. I can see why others don't, but I do.”

Like Bamberger, I found myself getting sucked into the aura that is Trump, though I was observing him via my keyboard and computer screen. Trump is a force that will ultimately get whatever he wants—at least that’s what he’d have you believe—and right now he wants to build the “greatest golf course in the world” on rugged cliffs and dunes in his mother’s homeland on a piece of land that also happens to be a “site of special scientific interest”.

That’s not the only property in Trump’s empire ripe with controversy. At Jones Beach State Park on Long Island he’s building a $300-a-plate ocean-top restaurant, an extravagance some call a “raping of the beach.” He’s going LEED, but still had to “bend” building codes and environmental regulations. And there’s the kerfuffle over how large his name will appear on the building.

He’s a “50-50”partner on a housing development atop a former landfill in New Jersey. Turning once-forsaken land into homes is an act of reclamation, but it comes with potential health hazards. Trump also donated 436 acres to the state of New York to become the Donald J. Trump State Park, but that was after he attempted to build a golf course there and decided it wasn’t worth the battle.

He is, however, determined to fight and win the battle in Aberdeenshire. The local government in rejected Trump’s plans—which included some 1000 condos, 500 villas, and a clubhouse that will rival a royal palace—but he’s now wooing the Scottish cabinet with promises of electric Smart Cars and “environmentally friendly” landscaping (an oxymoron to some). So while thousands of new buildings may have a negative environmental impact—Smart Car in the driveway or no—Trump is invested in this area; if the only way possible for him to develop it is to turn it into a wildlife sanctuary (albeit one with mansions hidden in the underbrush), that can’t be all bad. When Trump bought the land, it wasn’t being protected, simply worthy of protection.

Now, it’s backed by someone with a net worth of several billion dollars.

Oh Clint, even at 78, most women (heck, men too) would cut off a toe or five to spend some time alone with you on your estate and private golf course in Carmel, California: “Tehama, which means ‘abundance of nature’ and represents Clint Eastwood’s commitment to the game of golf, preservation of nature and his passion to create unforgettable images.”

A few miles away from Tehama is Pebble Beach, a cluster of four world class golf courses and three hotels. Andrew Gumbel writes in the Independent/UK, “The pines thrive on the steepening landscape, the fertile soil, and the atmospheric coastal fogs … But the sensation of untouched beauty is no more than an illusion. For more than half a century, the Monterey peninsula has been famous not for its natural landscapes but for the Pebble Beach golf resort that spreads among the trees.” Eastwood, along with a group that includes former pro-golfer Arnold Palmer, is a co-owner of the Pebble Beach resorts.

Although Pebble Beach is recognized by Audubon International—an organization that certifies golf courses on an environmental basis—as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, Eastwood and his partners recently got blasted for their plans to develop yet another golf course that would clear 17,000 trees. After years of wrangling for local permission, not even Eastwood’s chiseled countenance was enough to keep the project from being vetoed in 2007. (He was, however, powerful enough to become mayor of Carmel in 1986.)

Eastwood is a vegan who opposes animal cruelty. Governor Schwarzenegger recently decided not to reappoint him to the California Park and Recreation Commission due to his opposition to building a toll road through San Onofre State Beach.

Back at Tehama, Eastwood has plans to develop the land surrounding the course into a series of custom mansions. The website claims, “The way Tehama is right now is the way it will always be, with no further development -- a legacy for your lifetime and the lives of your heirs. It is the perfect place to build your custom home.” If you are confused as to how something can be simultaneously stay the way it is right now and be a perfect spot to build, so am I.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that, “Elements that contribute to sustainable architecture and site integration are strongly encouraged and can include utilizing renewable energy systems … native and local materials, sustainable construction materials, consideration of porous paving materials, and incorporation of existing site features … into the overall design.” Well, encouragement is a start…

Justin builds community out of a childhood memory on a Memphis golf course

Justin Timberlake has been bucking the status quo ever since he made the successful transition from boy band star to edgy pop idol, and his next move may be to develop a golf course that doesn’t wrap itself in a green carpet of elitism. The Timberlakes recently bought a Memphis golf course that was going to be turned into a subdivision. And because Justin likes his buildings and his albums to go platinum, they announced plans to construct LEED certified buildings, use renewable energy sources, and educate visitors about renewable energy.

Ok, so anyone can make an relatively environmentally conscious golf course these days, but what is impressive about the Timberlake course (which, if Justin gets his way, won’t bear the Timberlake name, despite the fact that it already sounds like a golf course) is that the vision is for it to become a community center, a “facility fully accessible to the public for golf or public meetings such as PTA meetings [and] neighborhood association meetings.” Not much information is available on the project, which was announced this April, it’s unclear what type of neighborhood it is in, but that’s still a departure from Trump’s member’s only clubs and Eastwood’s private course.

Timberlake fused charity and golf by agreeing to host the PGA’s Shriners Hospital for Children Open. Playing a round of golf with a pro and then hosting a tournament may not exactly be getting in the trenches, but you’ve still got to give him some credit. JT is a vegetarian and once had plans to live on a farm with ex Cameron Diaz. He also purchased carbon offsets for his European tour last summer, though he has been getting grief about his fleet of personal vehicles.