What I'll Remember about 2010: A phone call with Donald Trump

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Donald Trump saw something special in Jim Herman, who won on the Nationwide Tour in 2010.

PGATOUR.COM asked its staffers and freelancers what they will remember about the 2010 season. For the archived list of essays, click here.

There it was on the caller ID: "Trump International."

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That's when it hit me that maybe Donald Trump is calling me back.

I wanted to write about Jim Herman, who had just won for the first time on the Nationwide Tour in early February. Herman, a likeable guy in his mid-30s, had finally hit the big time but there was somebody who helped him along the way financially, and it was Trump.

The two had gotten to know each other when Herman worked as an assistant pro at Trump National Golf Club in the New York suburb of Bedminster, N.J., in 2006. Trump realized how good a player Herman was and decided to help the determined pro out.

I could have just talked to Herman about the help he received from billionaire developer. But I decided to try and get to "The Donald" myself and it was an interesting challenge.

First, I placed a call to one of his many secretaries, then came a barrage of e-mails. In the beginning, I thought somebody was playing a joke on me. One of the e-mails said "Mr. Trump would call me in the morning." Yeah, sure he will.

The morning he was supposed to call was also the day that Tiger Woods had his press conference and basically tried to apologize to everybody he knew. It was the blue background press conference that looked straight out of a Saturday Night Live skit.

Turns out, Trump didn't call when he was supposed to -- but when he did later that afternoon he couldn't stop talking about Herman's victory. Trump went on to say that he's been approached by plenty of aspiring pro golfers -- that happens when you are worth several billion -- and the only guy he's helped has been Herman.

Now Herman, who went on to finish 19th on the Nationwide Tour money list, will be a rookie on the PGA TOUR in 2011. As so often has been the case, Trump's hunch has paid off.

As for Trump's call that afternoon, it went a little longer than I had told his secretary, but it wasn't my fault. Trump had also watched Woods' press conference, and he wanted to know what I thought about it.

All the while I'm thinking doesn't Mr. Trump have somebody he needs to fire instead of talking to me about Tiger Woods?

It was fascinating to hear Trump talk about golf and the passion he has for the sport. He knows the game, and from what I've been told he is a single-digit handicapper who doesn't mind a little wager while he's playing.

Trump and Herman have played many times together and the one question I asked Jim was had he ever lost money to Trump on the golf course.

"I'd rather not say," Herman said.

Great answer.