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Mike Trout stands for the national anthem prior to the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark on April 09, 2021.<\/p>\n
Few professional athletes ever step off their main stage and into a completely new arena<\/a> with as much ambition as Mike Trout<\/a>. Known around the world for his breathtaking play in Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Angels<\/a> stalwart has turned his lifelong passion for golf into something far bigger than hobbies or weekend rounds.<\/p>\n He is the co-founder and driving force behind Trout National \u2013 The Reserve<\/a>, his own private golf course and destination club nestled in South Jersey.<\/p>\n Trout National is a private 18-hole championship golf club designed by none other than Tiger Woods<\/a> through his firm TGR Design<\/a>. The club also includes a reversible short course, state-of-the-art practice facilities, lodging options, and world-class amenities; all set to open fully in spring 2026 after a preview period for members.<\/p>\n From MVP Swings to Scratch Golf Ambitions<\/p>\n For more than a decade, Trout has been synonymous with baseball excellence. But away from packed stadiums and highlight-reel catches, the Angels superstar has quietly poured just as much competitive energy into golf.<\/p>\n Trout doesn\u2019t pretend golf comes easily, either.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a humbling sport,\u201d Trout says. \u201cYou go out and shoot 73, 74 and then the next round, you shoot an 85\u2026 it\u2019s a hard game and the ball isn\u2019t even moving.\u201d<\/p>\n That humility hasn\u2019t stopped him from grinding. Trout revealed his current handicap index sits at a 2, down from a 4 after rolling in some strong rounds on his home turf. During the pandemic, he leaned fully into improvement mode.<\/p>\n \u201cI played like 36 holes a day,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter [I\u2019d be] done training and hitting baseballs in the morning, [I\u2019d] go out there and play 36 holes and try to get better at golf.\u201d<\/p>\n Much like baseball, Trout treats golf as a craft. If something went wrong during a round, he\u2019d head straight to the range afterward to fix it. That same obsessive attention to detail now fuels his life on the fairways.<\/p>\n His brother Tyler Trout, who serves as project lead, summed it up best:<\/p>\n \u201cAny sport you could possibly imagine, he\u2019s just good at it. His ability to turn on and really get focused and dialed when it matters\u2026 I\u2019ve never seen anybody else like him.\u201d<\/p>\n How a Random Text Turned Into a World-Class Golf Vision<\/p>\n The origin story of Trout National is almost cinematic.<\/p>\n After an earlier attempt to purchase a course fell apart during COVID, Trout was preparing for a game when he received a text from an unknown number. Tt was drone footage of a few raw holes carved into South Jersey land.<\/p>\n \u201cIt caught my eye,\u201d Trout recalled. \u201cI texted my brother and said, \u2018aye, find out about this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n That footage led them to developer and future business partner John Ruga, who had been building a short course for personal use. What started as a modest nine-hole idea quickly snowballed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt literally went from nine holes to 18 holes to public to private,\u201d Trout said. \u201cThen it was like, you know what, let\u2019s just have fun with it and put everything that we want into a golf course. Now we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n Ruga immediately sensed the property\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore we cleared it, walking back here, you knew it had the potential to be something special,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a privilege to be able to take a piece of land and do this.\u201d<\/p>\n The Trout family knew they weren\u2019t golf-industry veterans, so they leaned on elite expertise \u2013 starting with legendary designer\u00a0Woods.<\/p>\n Inside Trout National\u2019s $100 Million Playground<\/p>\n Although the course was technically ready<\/a> more than a year ago, the club allowed the turf to mature through a full growing season to ensure pristine playing conditions from day one. Once members pass through the 14-foot perimeter walls, they\u2019re immersed in what the club calls \u201ccurated luxury,\u201d with underground tunnels guiding cars beneath fairways so sightlines and the resort-like atmosphere remain uninterrupted.<\/p>\n Built in Millville near the edge of the Pine Barrens, the course sits on reclaimed silica sand mines, creating natural elevation changes and sandy soil ideal for golf. When Woods and his design partner Beau Welling first walked the property, they were struck by how closely it resembled North Carolina\u2019s famed Sandhills terrain.\u00a0Landing Woods as the course architect was a surreal moment for Trout.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s one of the reasons I got into golf,\u201d Trout said. \u201cWatching him at the Masters, watching him destroy fields \u2013 that\u2019s what made me enjoy golf more.\u201d<\/p>\n Tyler echoed that sentiment, describing Woods as shockingly approachable.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just the most down-to-earth, relatable, approachable guy you\u2019ll ever meet. It\u2019s wild to think Tiger Woods is like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Amenities elevate the experience<\/a> even further. There\u2019s The Dugout,\u00a0a baseball-inspired comfort station behind the 14th and 16th tees with stadium seating and scoreboards, plus a 7,600-square-foot performance center, a fully lit six-hole short course called The Bullpen, and a luxury clubhouse featuring a wine cellar, spa, barbershop, bowling alley, and simulator lounge. The championship course stretches to 7,519 yards but uses expansive ribbon tees to stay playable for all skill levels.<\/p>\n Membership is capped at just 227, a nod to Mike Trout\u2019s No. 27, and includes elite athletes, owners, and tour players.\u00a0The $100-plus million project has since become South Jersey\u2019s largest development since Atlantic City\u2019s boom years.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people come up to me, just out and about, [saying] how appreciative they are with what we\u2019re bringing to South Jersey, and building relationships is huge,\u201d Trout said. \u201cThat\u2019s what it\u2019s all about. The first couple weekends have been great with the members. \u2026 building those relationships and friendships, you know, that\u2019s what South Jersey is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n Aaron\u2019s Loop and the Heart of Trout National<\/p>\n Trout National carries a deeper emotional core for\u00a0the Trout\u00a0family.<\/p>\n One of the most meaningful stretches on the property is Aaron\u2019s Loop, named in honor of Trout\u2019s childhood friend and brother-in-law, Aaron Cox, who tragically passed away by suicide<\/a> in 2018. The tribute transforms part of the course into something far more personal than scorecards and yardages.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was there for my first hole-in-one,\u201d Trout shared. \u201cWe know every time we play that loop, he\u2019s over us watching us.\u201d<\/p>\n Tyler\u00a0described Cox as someone who naturally drew people in.<\/p>\n \u201cHe just had that gravitational pull to him. Like you just wanted to be around him,\u201d Tyler said. \u201cSo what we\u2019re learning from the little bit we\u2019ve been out here is this building has that pull. People are just wanting to come out here and be here. It\u2019s very emblematic of Aaron.\u201d<\/p>\n For Mike, honoring Aaron also means using his platform for something bigger than sports. He and his wife Jessica have been intentional about raising awareness around mental health, hoping the visibility of the course, and his own voice, can help spark conversations that matter.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never know what someone is dealing with or what people are going through,\u201d Trout said. \u201cIf it can spark just a little bit of conversation to speak up and talk to people and get help, it\u2019s worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n