“That’s quite all right, Boss,” replied Wiren. “It’s a pleasure just seeing a club of this rarity in such wonderful condition.” Suddenly the lovely young girl from St. Andrews interrupted the two men. “Excuse me, gentlemen,” the girl exclaimed. “May I please have a word with you, Mr. Trump, sir?” “Why certainly young lady,” said Trump. “What can I do for you?” The girl replied, “My name is Alexandria. I am here on behalf of my grandfather. He wanted to attend the auction himself, but he is 90 years old and doesn’t get out much. I spoke to him on the cell phone just now, and he told me to show you this.”

Alexandria handed the case to Gary Wiren, who laid it gently on one of the display tables in the auction-house showroom. He opened the case and said, “What have we here?” He reached for his glasses as he carefully took an old golf club from the case for closer inspection.

As his eyes focused through his bifocals, Wiren’s jaw dropped. He could not believe his eyes. He immediately recognized the antique golf club as being the work of the legendary clubmaker, known to collectors and museum curators as the Ringmaker. Trying his best to appear calm, Wiren asked, “Where did you get this golfclub, young lady?"

“It belongs to my grandfather,” she explained. “How much do you want for it,” asked Wiren? The beautiful young girl looked Wiren squarely in the eyes and replied, “Oh, it’s not for sale, Dr. Wiren. It’s a family heirloom.” Just then, the auctioneer walked up to them holding a phone and whispered a few words to Dr. Wiren. Wiren then turned to Trump and the young girl and said, “Will you folks please excuse me, it’s imperative that I take this call.”

After Wiren walked away, Trump said to the young girl, “So, Alexandria,” she interrupted him, saying, “Please call me Alex.” “Ok Alex,” continued Trump. “If that club is a family heirloom, how long has it been in your family’s possession?” “150 years,” answered Alex. “Grandfather has a set of four clubs made by his great, great grandfather. He thought you might appreciate seeing them and learning the true story of the mysterious Ringmaker.”

Handing a piece of paper to Trump, she said, “Here’s the address in St. Andrews where Grandfather will be tomorrow at noon. He asked me to tell you to please feel free to stop by and visit him.” Then, just as quickly as Alex had appeared, she packed up the ancient golf club and was gone.

When Wiren came back, he was disappointed to see that the young girl as well as the antique club was gone. Still in a bit of a daze, and hardly believing what had just taken place, Wiren could think of nothing else but learning the identity of the legendary Ringmaker. Oblivious to what was going on around the auction house showroom, Wiren just stood there looking at Trump, who was still holding in his hand the scrap of paper that could lead him to the great, great grandson of the Ringmaker.

Trump put the scrap of paper in his pocket and said, “What’s the deal, Gary? Was that another authentic Ringmaker club or not?” “I’m not sure what the proverbial deal is, sir,” replied Wiren, “but I can assure you that was definitely a genuine Ringmaker club.”

“She invited me to visit her grandfather in St. Andrews tomorrow at noon to see three additional Ringmaker clubs,” said Trump. “What affect will this have on the value of the $40,000 club that I just bought?” “I’m not yet sure of what consequence this will have on the value of your golf club, sir,” answered Wiren. “If that young person’s story is accurate, then there are four more Ringmaker clubs than previously known.” He then added, “I can assure you, though, that I had no prior knowledge of these additional four specimens, and if you’d like, I’m certainly willing to accompany you to St. Andrews tomorrow to see if the young lady’s story checks out.” “I’d love to, Gary,” replied Trump, “but tomorrow morning is my only chance to play golf before I fly back to New York tomorrow evening.”

Wiren then said to Trump, “If these other Ringmaker clubs are authentic, perhaps you may wish to purchase them from her grandfather in order to protect your £20,000 investment.”

“I’m too busy to spend a day, or even a half-day worrying about it,” Trump replied. “I collect golf artifacts because I enjoy doing it. I don’t really think of this as much of an investment. Besides, the girl said her grandfather’s clubs were not for sale at any price.” With a smirk, Wiren replied, “Sir, it has been my experience in matters such as these that everything has a price. Also, I’m sure you’re aware that the more complete your collection is the more overall value your collection will accrue.”

Trump didn’t hesitate. He replied, “Very well, I’ll have my driver pick you up at your hotel at nine a.m. tomorrow morning and we’ll go to St. Andrews together.” He then handed Wiren a business card and said, “Call the office and tell my assistant if you’re going to be any later than nine.” “Yes, sir, Boss, I certainly will,” replied Wiren.

Later that evening in his hotel room, Wiren came up with a long list of questions that he should have asked Alexandria before she had darted off – like what was the Ringmaker’s real name and where was he from? Dr. Wiren could not help but fear that it might be a hoax, and had a long night of tossing and turning.

The next day, at 8:45 a.m., Trump’s limousine was waiting outside the front door of Wiren’s hotel. Wiren walked out carrying a suitcase. Assisted by the doorman, he was escorted to the long black sedan. After getting into the limousine, the driver said to him. “Hello, Dr. Wiren, my name is Charles. If you are ready, I will take you to pick up Mr. Trump now.”

Wiren replied to the driver, “I’m afraid there has been a change of plan, Charles. I received a phone call early this morning informing me of a family emergency and I must catch a plane to Florida in an hour and 45 minutes. I need you to please take me to the airport immediately. Mr. Trump will have to go to St. Andrews today without me. Please express my sincerest apologies to him, but it is absolutely imperative that I catch my flight home this morning.” “Yes, sir,” replied the respectful driver, as they sped off to the airport without delay.

Later that morning, the same limousine drove to St. Andrews, Scotland, without Dr. Wiren. It arrived at the address a little before noon. It was the same quaint little cottage overlooking the Old Course that Alexandria had come from at the start of her trek to Edinburgh the day before. The cottage was backed by a small terraced garden and a century’s worth of lush vegetation. As the real estate mogul got out of the limousine, his first thoughts were of the ideal location of this tiny golfer’s hideaway overlooking the historic Old Course.

When Trump knocked on the door, a spry old Scotsman answered, “Hello, may I help you?” Trump showed the elderly gentleman the handwritten piece of paper the young girl had given him the night before and replied, “Hello, my name is Donald Trump. I got your name and address from Alexandria.” “Of course you did,” the little man exclaimed. “I’ve been expecting you.” At that moment he opened his screen door and reached out and shook Trump’s hand saying, “I’m very happy to meet you, sir, my name is Amos. Alexandria is my granddaughter. We call her Alex. She called me from the auction in Edinburgh yesterday and told me that you had purchased the Ringmaker iron.”

As Trump listened, 90-year-old Amos went on, saying, “I’ve got some things that I’m certain you will enjoy seeing, but I must first ask you to be discreet about the details of all you are about to see. For you must understand, sir, this is my ancestral home, and what you might call memorabilia, are my family’s heirlooms. My grandfather made me swear to protect them with my life, and I fear if word about my extensive collection ever got out, I would most assuredly be robbed. Therefore, before you enter the inner sanctum of this cottage, you must give me your word that you will tell no one of this location.” After Trump assured the frail little man that he would tell no one of the whereabouts of his family heirlooms, he was cordially invited to enter the little cottage.

Amos then proudly gave his esteemed guest a grand tour, starting with a collection of extremely old photographs that hung on the walls of the tiny foyer, just inside the front door. Very much like a museum, rare old photos were displayed on every wall of the little house, including photos of a few of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club’s earliest members.

Amos’ eyes lit up as he recited with great fervor what he knew of the history of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club, and though Trump had heard much of the same information before in countless museum tours, he still kept quiet and politely listened as the old Scotsman proudly spoke of the birthplace of golf. He said, “The Society of St. Andrews Golfers, as the club was originally known, began in 1754, when 22 noblemen and gentlemen of Fife all pitched in to purchase a silver club to be played for annually, right out there on the Old Course. The winner hence became Captain of the club for the year. The club soon evolved from this competition, meeting regularly to take part in what they called the ‘healthful exercise of golf,’ usually followed by dinner and comradeship.

Photographed here: The 18th fairway at Saint Andrews' Old Course, very much as it looked in 1854.

Amos then showed Trump an extremely rare photograph of the Royal and Ancient clubhouse and said, “This portrait was made not long after the clubhouse was first erected. As you can see, it was a much smaller building than is viewed from the links today. That was 80 years before the clubhouse first started to be expanded upon, in order to meet the growing number of members.”

“That is an amazing photograph, Amos,” commented Trump. “May I please take a picture of it with the camera in my cell phone?” “Of course you can, my friend” answered Amos. “Now that you’re a trusted member of my inner circle, you can take as many photos as you like.”