AUGUST 6, 2025 | ERIK MATUSZEWSKI | COURTESY OF FORBES.COM
Major League Baseball superstar Mike Trout is creating something virtually unheard of in today’s golf landscape: a brand new, ultra-exclusive private club in the densely populated Northeast – in his home state of New Jersey, to be precise.
With a championship course designed by Tiger Woods, a national membership of pro athletes and business titans, and casual luxury approach coupled with a “no rules” philosophy, Trout National – The Reserve is set to stand out even among the new breed of destination golf club. Consider this, there have been more perfect games in the majors over the past 15 years than brand new private clubs in New Jersey built from the ground up.
Built on an old silica sand mine and former farm fields outside Trout’s hometown of Millville in Southern Jersey, Trout Reserve might be the Northeast’s answer to Michael Jordan’s Grove XXIII in South Florida – a relaxed, private golf oasis with an exclusive membership that spans every major sport, including PGA Tour professionals. One rendering of the main clubhouse even has Trout’s jersey number, 27, in Roman numerals above the front entrance.
The 18-hole championship course and 9-hole reversible short course are set to open to limited member play this fall ahead of the club’s official April 2026 grand opening.
“We call it an epic golf experience at a very casual level,” said Tyler Trout, who’s been overseeing the ambitious project for the past several years for his brother and local businessman John Ruga.
In other words, it’s likely to have quite a different vibe than many of the more traditional clubs in a state that’s loaded with them – from Pine Valley in the South (widely recognized as the nation’s No. 1 course) to old school bastions such as Baltusrol, Somerset Hills, Plainfield, and Ridgewood.
Construction on both courses was completed last October by NJ-based Labar Golf, so this year has seen the anticipation build during the grow-in process.
The championship course, a par 72 that can stretch to a meaty 7,455 yards, offers risk-reward opportunities throughout as it weaves through 280 acres of former quarries and sandy waste areas. The short course, The Bullpen, is a reversible Par 3 which will be lighted for nighttime play and has holes that play between 90 and 150 yards.
Trout National is positioned as a true destination club – providing a base for national members to stay on property, while offering relative proximity to other high-end clubs in the Philadelphia and New York markets.
Between the Philadelphia area, Northern New Jersey, Long Island and the Westchester area in New York, there are 18 private clubs in GOLF magazine’s Top 100 U.S. courses, with names like Pine Valley, Merion, Philadelphia Cricket Club, Winged Foot, Friar’s Head, Shinnecock, National Golf Links, Quaker Ridge, and many more.
“You have a lot of traditional clubs that are top tier from the Philly metro area all the way up to New York and out on Long Island — the best of the best,” said Tyler Trout. “Our hope, our goal and where I think we’re going to land, is that we’re going to be another top-tier golf club, and the club that they’re going to want to come and stay in. We can send you to the other clubs, but ultimately, they are coming back to Trout as their home base.”
Read the full article on Mike Trout’s course designed by Tiger Woods at Forbes.com.