⛳ Mike & Tiger—Perfect Together Golf Course
Trout teams with Tiger Woods to Build a New South Jersey Golf Course. Read all about how it went down.
If you’re an area resident, you are probably well aware of the new golf course being constructed by Mike Trout designed by Tiger Woods. Major big news. It’s called Trout National – The Reserve, a World-class golf club.
Super star MLB player, Mike Trout, has already distinguished himself and headed for the Baseball Hall of Fame with three American League MVP and ten times playing in the Major League Baseball All-Stars. He and his wife, Jessica, are ardent golfers and play together often, and decided they’d like to build their own course if the opportunity arose.
Unexpectedly, that happened when the couple found an area which they believed would be ideal on land owned by a local businessman John Ruga, a developer and president of Northeast Precast in Vineland, and Ruga’s wife, Lorie.
In searching for a course designer, Trout had one name in mind: Tiger. He says he had never met Woods before he and Tyler contacted Woods’ golf course architecture firm, TGR Design. It seems Tiger was a big fan of Trout and was happy too do it.
In an interview in Sports Illustrated Trout said, “It’s pretty incredible having a chance to own your own golf course. 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.”
He also says, “My favorite golfer growing up obviously was Tiger. I thought it would be pretty cool to reach out. We reached out, got a positive vibe when we mentioned it and got his team down to the site. Once Tiger’s team came down to the site, they loved it. It’s surreal. I mean, it’s friggin’ Tiger!”
Even though he spends baseball season in California, Trout loves his home town and area, and loves giving back to the community. The course is “putting southern New Jersey on the map to people who don’t know much about it.”
According to a press release, Trout National – The Reserve will be highly strategic in nature as sprawling fairways will offer multiple routes from tee to green. Undulating green complexes with low-cut surrounds will further emphasize the challenging, yet fun-focused design where risk-reward opportunities will be presented throughout the round to create an ideal match play environment.
Along with the 18-hole championship golf course, will be a flexible, short course and expansive putting course along with world-class practice facilities and performance center. Other club highlights include a modern state-of-the-art clubhouse, five-star lodging, innovative amenities, a chapel and more.
Routed on an old, silica, sand mine and rambling farmland, Trout National appears to utilize sandy waste areas on most holes, including heroic carries over these hazards, plus water in play on five of the holes. Plans are for the private club to tip out at 7,455 yards as a traditional par 72 with four par 3s and four par 5s.
One signature hole will include and island green called “Mikes Choice.” Site construction is currently underway and the private membership course, located on South Lincoln Avenue, Vinelan is expected to open in 2025.
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