Writer: Joshua Andino
2 min read March 2023— Vineland’s getting its own Mike Trout-approved, Tiger Woods-designed golf course and country club.
The South Jersey native and three-time American League MVP announced the plan to create Trout National – The Reserve on Monday via Twitter. Trout is partnering with Tiger Woods’ TGR Design for the project.
“I’m so excited to finally officially announce that we’re doing this project, and doing it in a community that means so much to me,” Trout said Monday in a release. “I was born in Vineland and raised in Millville. I met my wife, Jessica, in Millville, and my parents and siblings and in-laws still live in the area. I could put down roots anywhere in the country, but Jessica and I make south Jersey our off-season home and always cherish the time we get to spend there.”
Trout National – The Reserve will be located in Vineland and feature an 18-hole course, cutting-edge practice range and short-game area designed by Woods and his architecture firm. The development will also feature a clubhouse, providing five-star lodging and innovative amenities alongside a wedding chapel and other offerings, according to the press release.
Woods stated in the release: “I’ve always watched Mike on the diamond, so when an opportunity arose to work with him on Trout National – The Reserve, I couldn’t pass it up.” He added, “It’s a great site for golf and our team’s looking forward to creating a special course for Mike, Jessica, John and Lorie.”
Trout told Sports Illustrated, “It’s pretty incredible having a chance to own your own golf course” while adding that “getting Tiger to design it is crazy. If you had told me before that this would happen one day, I would have said you are crazy. It’s more than I ever thought possible.”
The project will be located at the site of an old silica sand mine in the region. Trout explained in his conversation with SI that he was working on owning his own course just prior to the onset of COVID, but the deal fell through. A while later, he would be meeting with Millville’s John Ruga, local developer and president of Northeast Precast, a precast concrete manufacturer.
“Mike’s a great guy and we both care deeply about our community,” Ruga said. “Like Mike, I always dreamed about the possibility of opening a truly one-of-a-kind golf club. When we met and started talking about our individual visions, it became clear that we were on the same page. Trout National The Reserve is going to be the place where members gather to enjoy an unforgettable club experience. Equally as important, we’re focused on making the club a catalyst for job creation and economic development in our area, while also exploring ways for non-members to enjoy it.”
Located 45 minutes south of Philadelphia, the course will break ground in 2023 with an anticipated opening in 2025. “I feel like when you go into this golf course, when you pull into the front gate, you want to be excited about just enjoying your day,” said Trout. He added, “It’s an escape.”
The Garden State is home to some of the finest golf courses in the world, including Camden County’s Pine Valley Golf Club, which was described as “Disneyland for golfers,” according to Golf Digest. New Jersey is also slated to host four highly anticipated golf tournaments in 2023 for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the PGA of America (PGA). A 2019 report published by The Rutgers Center for Turfgrass Science and Office of Research Analytics said New Jersey golf courses generated $1.4 billion of economic activity for the state.
