Trump National Golf Club (Bedminster, New Jersey)

Trump National Golf Club is a private golf club located on Lamington Road in Bedminster, New Jersey. Approximately 40 miles (64 km) west of New York City in Somerset County, it is owned and operated by The Trump Organization.

Trump National Golf Club
Entrance with gatehouse, 2017
Club information
Coordinates40.653°N 74.696°W / 40.653; -74.696
LocationBedminster, New Jersey, U.S.
Elevation200 feet (60 m)
Established2004, 16 years ago
TypePrivate
Total holes36
GreensA-4 Bentgrass
FairwaysL-93 Bentgrass[1]
Websitetrumpnationalbedminster.com
Old Course
Designed byTom Fazio and Tom Fazio II
Par72
Length7,580 yards (6,931 m)
Course rating76.8
Slope rating151[2]
New Course
Designed byTom Fazio
Par72
Length7,511 yards (6,868 m)
Course rating76.6
Slope rating149[3]

History

Donald Trump bought the 520-acre property, which included the estate of automaker John Z. De Lorean, for less than $35 million in 2002.[4][5] It was previously known as Lamington Farm and the site of a foundering golf course construction project.[6][7] The 36-hole club was designed by golf course architects Tom Fazio and Tom Fazio II. The first course opened in 2004.

Membership in the club costs at the most $300,000[8][9] In 2005, Golf Magazine ranked it at #73 in the United States and #84 by Golf Digest for 2005 and 2006.[10]

For tax purposes, The Trump Organization secured a classification of the Bedminster course and the Trump course in Colts Neck as farmland. For that purpose, part of the acreage at Bedminster is used for growing hay and raising eight goats. The Wall Street Journal estimated that the use of the property tax exemption for farmland reduced the tax bill on the two golf courses from $80,000 to less than $1,000. The director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club said that Trump was "hiding behind a farmland assessment to get a massive tax break on a golf course."[11][12]

The club hosted the wedding of Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, in October 2009.[13][14]

Majors host

The golf club hosted the U.S. Women's Open from July 13–16, 2017.[15] The Professional Golfers' Association of America awarded the course the 2022 Men's PGA Championship.[16]

Year Major Winner Score Margin of

Victory

 Runner(s) Up Winner's Share ($)
2022 Men's (US) PGA Championship To Be Determined
2017 U.S. Women's Open Park Sung-hyun 277 (−11) 1 stroke Choi Hye-Jin (a) 900,000

Trump presidency

In November 2016, after Trump's presidential election, the property was used to host meetings for the Donald Trump presidential transition.[17] Representative Leonard Lance predicted that the resort could become "Camp David North".[18] In 2017 it became one of the three official presidential residencies, the other two being - at that time - Trump Tower in New York and Mar-a-Lago in Florida.[19]

In May 2017, Trump started to use the property for weekend retreats during the summer when Mar-a-Lago is closed for the season. Trump stated that staying at his property in Bedminster is less expensive and disruptive than going to Trump Tower in New York. This made the property the "Summer White House". It is usually used from May to September.[20]

In August 2017, the estate was used as a "working vacation" of the President for a duration of 17 days while the White House underwent renovations approved by the Obama administration and overseen by the Trump administration.[21][22]

In August 2018, the estate became again the site of the President's "working vacation" for close to two weeks.[23]

Trump went for another "working vacation" at his golf club also in August 2019[24] while the White House underwent some fix ups.[25]

White House staffers receive the same discounts (15–70%) as club members at the Club's pro shop, an arrangement that was flagged as "absolutely wrong" by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.[26]

Security issues

Due to security concerns, flight restrictions are imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration within a 30-mile radius during Trump's stays at his golf club.[27] Restrictions affect 19 airports in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, among them two airports that have to close down completely because they are within a 10 mile-radius, namely Solberg Airport in Readington, New Jersey and Somerset Airport in Bedminster, New Jersey.[27] Additionally, Academy of Model Aviation Clubs cannot fly model airplanes in this same 30-mile radius.

With the official designation as an official residence of Trump, Congress appropriated up to $41 million for its security costs in the time between inauguration and October 1, 2017.[19]

Trump Mausoleum

In 2015, Trump received the approval to build a family cemetery at the estate that would include a classical mausoleum. Trump indicated that he wants to be buried at the Bedminster golf course.[22]

See also

References
  1. "2017 U.S. Women's Open" (PDF). GCSAA. Tournament fact sheets. July 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  2. "Course Rating and Slope Database™: Trump National NJ – Old Course". USGA. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  3. "Course Rating and Slope Database™: Trump National NJ – New Course". USGA. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  4. "Postings: Part of Stalled Development in New Jersey; Trump Buys Golf Course". The New York Times. September 22, 2002. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  5. Partlow, Joshua; Miroff, Nick; Fahrenthold, David A. (February 8, 2019). "'My whole town practically lived there': From Costa Rica to New Jersey, a pipeline of illegal workers for Trump goes back years". Washington Post. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  6. "Trump buying Bedminster golf course". New Jersey Hills Media Group. September 12, 2002. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  7. "Mogul buying DeLorean land". Las Vegas Sun. (Nevada). September 17, 2002. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  8. Renshaw, Jarrett (January 30, 2012). "Donald Trump looks to spend eternity in N.J. as real estate mogul seeks private cemetery". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  9. Henry, Samantha (February 2, 2012). "Trump offers golden graves for silver-spoon set". Springfield News-Sun. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  10. McCarthy, Michael (January 26, 2007). "The Donald's empire wants golf in a major way with U.S. Open". USA Today. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  11. Johnson, Brent (April 22, 2016). "Have goats given Donald Trump a tax break in N.J.?". NJ.com. Advance Digital. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  12. Gustafson, Katherine (September 26, 2016), "Goat Herd! The Secret Tax Trick Of Trump And Hollywood A-Listers", Forbes, retrieved August 8, 2017
  13. "Ivanka Trump Says "I Do!"". Us Weekly. October 25, 2009. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  14. Craven, Laura (September 11, 2009). "Ivanka Trump to wed at Donald Trump's Bedminster golf club". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  15. "2017 Women's Open To Trump National". USGA. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  16. "Trump courses to host majors". ESPN. Associated Press. May 1, 2014.
  17. Michael S. Schmidt and Julie Hirschfeld (November 19, 2016). "Trump Meets with Romney as He Starts to Look Outside His Inner Circle". New York Times.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  18. Nir, Sarah Maslin (December 30, 2016). "Sleepy New Jersey Town Wakes to a New Identity: Trump's 'Camp David North'". The New York Times.
  19. NPR (July 19, 2017). "Trump's Third Home Away From Home To Cost Taxpayers Millions". WNYC. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  20. "Trump defends decision to spend weekend in Bedminster". Los Angeles Times. May 6, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  21. Betsy Klein (August 24, 2017). "White House shows off new West Wing renovations". CNN. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  22. Brad Tuttle (August 4, 2018). "See the Luxury Golf Resort Where Donald Trump Is Staying for the Next 17 Days". Time Magazine. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  23. Jonathan D. Salant (August 3, 2018). "Trump is back in Jersey. Looks like he'll be here for almost 2 weeks". NJ.com. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  24. Jonathan Lemire (August 9, 2019). "Trump Heads for Golf Club Holiday as Crises Loom". NBC. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  25. "Long Planned fix up of W.H." twitter.com. August 10, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  26. Karni, Annie; Johnson, Eliana (August 13, 2018). "Trump offers White House staffers a special perk at his golf club". Politico.
  27. Kathleen O'Brien (June 9, 2017). "For small airports in N.J., Trump's weekend visits cast a 30-mile-long shadow". NJ.com. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
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