Baseball star Mike Trout and golfer Tiger Woods managed to polarize fans this week. Remarkably, the debate has nothing to do with whether Trout should be traded by the Angels, or if Woods should give up driving.
Rather, when Trout announced the long-awaited opening of the golf course he and Woods designed near his hometown, fan reaction was polarized.
“Having Trout National open is a true full circle moment,” Trout wrote April 23 on X. “What started as a hometown vision is now a reality, built alongside an incredible group of family, friends, and partners who believed in it from the start. Grateful for all of you. Thank you!”
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Trout, the three-time American League MVP, and the 15-time major champion Woods have been acquainted for years. They ultimately partnered on a golf course project in Southern New Jersey, near Trout’s home town of Millville. (TGR Design is the design firm of record for Trout National, with heavy input from the baseball star along the way.)
Initial estimates pegged Opening Day for sometime in 2025, so for Trout this week was a long time coming. The public wasn’t unanimously enthused about the debut of the private course.
“You were always a hometown down to earth blue collar guy . Everyone in SJ was excited about the course until found out it’s private and invitation only . Talk about forgetting your roots ..”
“Good for you to build a course you and your friends can enjoy. But I could care less cause I will never be allowed here you know us common folk,” wrote another user.
“So Mike, you created the most exclusive and expensive (invite only and $100k+) golf course in the area for your hometown that is low to middle class on average( At most, your hometown folks could work at the course, never play it. I wish I was wrong,” wrote another user.
“What’s the point of building a golf course that no one can play? Only your friends can play is a joke and i hope it fails,” wrote one X user.
Golf Digest reported in November 2025 that Trout National is a “playground for the elite” with 227 members comprised of “athletes from every professional sports league, team owners, plus tour players who will undoubtedly enjoy the next-level practice facilities.”
Whether the golf course brings enough tax revenue, tourism benefits, and employment opportunities to the region to offset the exorbitant cost of maintenance is a matter for Trout and Woods’ accountants. Fans seemed to care more about the optics, and whether the sight of a beautiful 18-hole course is enough to offset the fact that so few people can play it.