“It’s rare to see a golf course do something and change it for the better, but obviously Mr. Trump is going to put some money behind it and he’s going to make it the best he possibly can,” Watson said. “He loves the game of golf, so I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t take all the effort to make it the best golf course we play.”

Watson, a fan favorite mindful of growing golf’s fan base, suggested more room for spectators. That’s in Trump’s plans.

“We are creating tremendous mounding because we’re taking six inches of dirt out of every fairway in order to put in pure, good soil,” Trump said. “We’re using that to create mounding so when people come, they’ll go to a really great tournament course.

“People will be able to stand up on these hills and see what’s going on in the fairway.”

Just as it’s more practical to knock the aforementioned office buildings down and rebuild rather than upgrade them to fit modern business needs, what began as a renovation has turned into a remodeling.

“We are really doing massive changes,” Trump said.

Among those changes:

No. 1: “The first hole is 100 yards longer, and it’s got a lake to the right of the green.”

No. 15: “The 15th hole becomes a water hole. It’s right now a very plan par-3, and it’s going to be an island green, essentially

Nos. 9 and 10: “No. 9, the green is being moved all the way over to the right along the water, and the tee is going to be right at the eighth hole on the island. The eighth, the green basically sits where it is now other than it’s going to be a little bit to the left. You’ll have tremendous room back there and it’s going to be an incredible hole. What it does is it creates an incredible amphitheater for No. 18, No. 9 and even the tee shot on the 10th hole, which is now over water. You’ll be going directly over water on the tee shot, which is going to be tremendous for fans and viewing.”

It will be if the New Monster turns out as attractive to fans as the field has been, whether 1962 or 2013.