A project that goes by the name Trout National and involves Tiger Woods sounds like an Idaho resort that combines a golf course with a scenic, fish-filled stream.
Instead, it describes a golf course under construction in southern New Jersey that includes not just Woods, but Major League star and Garden State native and resident Mike Trout.
Trout National-The Reserve, is being built (at right) in the three-time American League MVP’s hometown of Vineland 40 miles south of Philadelphia. Designed by Woods' TGR Design golf course architecture firm, the course is scheduled to open in 2025.
Trout says he took up golf while in high school in New Jersey. He and wife Jessica, also a south Jersey native, have considered owning a course since just before the Covid pandemic.
"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 said in a news release. "I love south Jersey and I love golf, so creating Trout National-The Reserve is a dream come true. And then to add to that we'll have a golf course designed by Tiger? It's just incredible to think that this project has grown to where we're going to be working with someone many consider the greatest and most influential golfer of all time."
When Trout and partners on the project John and Lorie Ruga settled on a location, which happens to be the site of a former sand mine, the Los Angeles Angels star had only one designer in mind.
"I've always enjoyed watching Mike on the diamond so when the opportunity arose to work with him on Trout National-The Reserve, I couldn't pass it up," Woods said in a statement. "It's a great site for golf and our team's looking forward to creating a special course for Mike, Jessica, John and Lorie."