David, I can understand your misgivings, and comment that commerce trumps all...
But, we haven't a scintilla of evidence yet (unless golf course design and construction plans have been publicly exhibited) that any of these projects will be the ruination of golf in Scotland. There seems to be no indication of who an architect might be on any of those projects, if any are even favored at this point.
Some folks here have expressed the notion of Trump's newer course in NY or PA is pretty good. I can't see anything anti-golf or contrary to tradition from the Kingsbarns efforts of Mark Parsinen. And Herb Kohler seems to have made a positive effort to remodel the Dukes course at St Andrews.
I'm the very last guy to give a bit of sympathy to Trump and all his extravagance and promotion of conspicuous consumption and extreme lavish lifestyle behavior. But, don't we at least have to review the plans before we ridicule these people?
I regret the emergence of CCFAD - expensive golf that is exclusionary to common folk just as a matter of unaffordability, no matter where it develops. Yet, it is a reality. It would be nice if these new projects were conceived in a more euro tradition of availability to most all who wish to enjoy the venues. But, in reality, even the prices at TOC and so many other historic and traditional courses has reached the realm of the unaffordable to most common folk.