Tag: Mike Trout

When MLB star Mike Trout’s golf course purchase fell through he teamed with Tiger Woods

The original plan was for Trout to purchase an existing course, but after COVID hit in 2020 he said things “fell through.”

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Major League Baseball star Mike Trout has risen to fame with the Los Angeles Angels, but the superstar hails from New Jersey and that’s where he’s building a golf resort with Tiger Woods’ architectural firm.

In a recent episode of Bleacher Report’s “On Base With Mookie Betts,” Trout talked at length about his love for the game and what led him to build his course, Trout National — The Reserve.

The original plan for the 11-time All-Star and three-time American League Most Valuable Player was to purchase an existing course that was for sale, but after COVID hit in 2020, he said things “fell through.”

According to a story by Kaitlyn McCormick of the Cherry Hill Courier-Post (which is part of the USA Today Network), Trout then realized an even better plan was to work with the Tiger Woods and his designed team on a 27-hole resort.

“He’s the reason I started to golf,” Trout said.

Trout also said that his own experience with golf, which he’s been playing seriously since he was 16, allowed him to figure out just what sort of course he wanted to bring to South Jersey.

During the off-season from his time wowing the crowd as an Angel, Trout says he’s involved a lot with the project and the meetings that are necessary, but it was harder to schedule when he was back out killing it in center field.

Recently, the city’s Planning board OK’d a construction application for more than 27,000 square feet of buildings and facilities, including an administration building, an outpost building and an equipment building.Woods and his architecture firm, TGR Design, is also creating a new short course as part of Cobbs Creek Golf Club in Philadelphia.

The course complex will also have a practice range, short-game area, clubhouse, restaurant, five-star lodging, a wedding chapel and more.

Golf fanatics can look forward to the luxury-style private course’s 2025 opening date.

Tiger Woods, Mike Trout golf course construction expected to start in 2024

One planning hurdle for the approval was the massive use of walls in an area where traditional fencing is the rule.

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VINELAND, N.J. — A complete development plan for Trout National – The Reserve is expected to arrive at City Hall in about six months, and developers of the championship-style golf course are forecasting construction work starting in 2024.

The project design for local government review and approval purposes is happening in two parts. The public now is able to look over the relatively simple details for creating the outlying features of the course, which is going into an approximately 280-acre corner of East Vineland.

At its July 12 meeting, the Planning Board heard from representatives of the project team working for landowner NEP Real Estate of Vineland NJ Urban Renewal LLC. The goal at present is to have the course in use in 2025.

Trout National will be hidden by miles of walls, landscaping

Board members unanimously approved the design for a four-building maintenance area and about 4.5 miles of perimeter walls. The walls, mostly textured concrete panels, and extensive landscaping are promised to seal off the course from view and to a great extent from sound.

“We anticipate being back before the board in about six months or so with the overall site plan for the entirety of the project,” project attorney Michael Fralinger said at the hearing Wednesday night. “You can imagine, with 281 acres, with the perimeter fencing and the walls that are being constructed, it’s going to take a while.”

The 280 acres approximately are off Hance Bridge and Mays Landing roads, sections mostly zoned for agricultural uses and woodlands. One small area is designated a redevelopment area.

The Vineland Planning Board on Wednesday night reviewed and approved a first phase site plan for Trout National _ The Reserve, a golf course proposed for East Vineland. Project attorney Michael Fralinger (left) and engineer Tim Ruga testified on features of a maintenance facility and the extensive perimeter wall system. The exhibit next to them is the site plan map. The next plan to be submitted will be for the golf course proper in about six months. Photo: Joseph P. Smith/Courier Post/USA Today Network)

The property does have an industrial past as a sand mine and an industrial present as home to Northeast Precast and its related private business park. The property is near Route 55, and beyond that Millville.

“We have about 99.8 percent of what we need for the overall site plan,” Fralinger said. “But it’s just being properly positioned. We have some of the best experts — I’m just going to say it — in the world who are working on this project.”

TGR Design, a company owned by golfer Tiger Woods, is designing the course. Architectural work is by Marsh & Associates Inc., a specialist firm. The project was disclosed in March.

One planning hurdle for the approval was the massive use of walls in an area where traditional fencing is the rule.

Chain link fencing is to be used inside some wooded sections to avoid large scale removal of trees. Stamped concrete walls varying in height from 6 feet to 8 feet to 14 feet will range most of the perimeter, however.

Security guarantee for golfers, entourages a design priority

Engineer Steven Filippone is consulting on the design. His background includes designing golf courses in the state. The use of walls provides security as well as aesthetics and is not really an option, he said.

“When we talk about world-class golfers coming to a location like this, it’s not just the golfers,” Filippone said. “They need to be safe and secure. It’s not just the golfers who come. It’s their family. It’s their trainer. It’s their sports management team.

“These are world-class people,” the engineer said. “If you turn on the Golf Channel or turn on any golf tournament, they have an entire contingent that come along with them. They won’t come to this site if it’s not safe and secure.”

Filippone said the walls, made to look as if assembled by stacking slate, will have landscaping weaving along both sides on a scale rarely seen on any other kind of development.

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

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Tiger Woods to build golf course in New Jersey for baseball star Mike Trout

Tiger Woods, Mike Trout partner up to build upscale private course in New Jersey.

Baseball star Mike Trout has partnered with Tiger Woods to build a private golf course in Vineland, New Jersey. Named Trout National – The Reserve, the 18-hole layout will be about 45 minutes south of Philadelphia and is slated to open in 2025.

“I’m so excited to finally officially announce that we’re doing this project, and doing it in a community that means so much to me,” Trout, a three-time American League Most Valuable Player who plays for the Los Angeles Angels, said in a press release. “I was born in Vineland and raised in Millville. I met my wife, Jessica, in Millville, and my parents and siblings and in-laws still live in the area. I could put down roots anywhere in the country, but Jessica and I make South Jersey our offseason home and always cherish the time we get to spend there.”

Construction on Trout National – The Reserve will begin this year.

The club, which is being developed with John and Lorie Ruga, owners of Northeast Precast of Vineland, is being constructed between Sheridan Avenue and Route 55.

“I love South Jersey and I love golf, so creating Trout National – The Reserve is a dream come true,” Trout said. “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.”

Woods and his archeticture firm, TGR Design, is also creating a new short course as part of Cobbs Creek Golf Club in Philadelphia.

“I’ve always watched Mike on the diamond, so when an opportunity arose to work with him on Trout National – The Reserve, I couldn’t pass it up,” Woods said in the press release. “It’s a great site for golf, and our team’s looking forward to creating a special course for Mike, Jessica, John and Lorie (Ruga).”

The will also have a “cutting-edge” practice range, short-game area, clubhouse, restaurant, “five-star” lodging, a wedding chapel and more.

“We’re going to be doing some really cool things from a service and offering standpoint,” Trout said. “Although plans aren’t finalized quite yet, I’ll put it to you this way – this will not be your grandparents’ country club.”

The release said the course will leverage the site’s topography, including deciduous and evergreen forest in places and rolling farmland in others. The sandy site was once home to a silica sand mine, so drainage and turf conditions should be excellent, according to the release. As TGR Design becomes more immersed in the project, additional details will be released.

“Mike’s a great guy and we both care deeply about our community,” John Ruga said in the release. “Like Mike, I always dreamed about the possibility of opening a truly one-of-a-kind golf club. When we met and started talking about our individual visions, it became clear that we were on the same page. Trout National – The Reserve is going to be the place where members gather to enjoy an unforgettable club experience. Equally as important, we’re focused on making the club a catalyst for job creation and economic development in our area, while also exploring ways for non-members to enjoy it.”

TGR Design, with Beau Welling and Scott Benson as senior design consultants, has constructed several full-size courses and short courses around North America. The firm’s Bluejack National ranks No. 3 in Texas on Golfweek’s Best list of private courses and No. 62 on Golfweek’s Best list of modern courses in the United States. Payne’s Valley at Big Cedar Lodge ranks No. 4 in Missouri on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access layouts, and El Cardonal at Diamante Cabo San Lucas ranks No. 26 on Golfweek’s Best list of courses in Mexico, the Caribbean, the Atlantic islands and Central America.

– Golfweek’s Jason Lusk contributed to this report.

Tiger Woods and Mike Trout announce new Trout National golf course with epic video

Nothing better than two GOATs teaming up

Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout is opening up a new golf course in his hometown of Vineland, New Jersey and he’s hired one of the most famous golfers in the world to design it.

Trout National – The Reserve is already under construction with Tiger Woods leading the project, and from the promo video they dropped on Monday, it looks like it’ll be a popular spot for many golf trips after it opens in 2025.

Is that an island green we spy? We’re in.

Here’s how TGR Design describes the project:

Set among gentle rolling hills, the course will seamlessly weave between two distinct settings that include a former quarry and rambling farmland. The sandy site was once home to a silica sand mine which will be evident throughout the round with ample playable sandy waste areas strategically found throughout the routing, giving a distinct character.

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. The unique nature of the course will promote creative shot making and optionality, qualities will be underscored with a striking par three match hole inspired by the club co-founder and MLB All-Star, Mike Trout, featuring multiple tee and green options.

The 18-hole championship level course will also feature a short course and practice facility — along with a wedding chapel — in case it wasn’t clear that Trout and Woods see their venture as a future destination trip location.

Woods’ design group has a pretty strong track record of stellar courses with the likes of Payne’s Valley in Missouri and El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas. It would be surprising if Trout National doesn’t live up to those standards.

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One wild stat showed just how special Shohei Ohtani’s strikeout of Mike Trout truly was

An absolutely mind-blowing stat.

Tuesday’s final of the World Baseball Classic came down to a matchup that was straight out of a movie script. It was a one-run game with two outs, and two of the greatest talents to ever play baseball — who also happen to be MLB teammates — were facing each other with a championship on the line.

Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout. How could it get any better than that?

Well, Ohtani found a way.

We’ve heard plenty about Trout’s legendary career, especially written here at For The Win. Despite playing for the lowly Angels, Trout is statistically one of the best players in baseball history. But Ohtani is a true generational unicorn — an elite two-way player not seen since the Babe Ruth era — and he managed to strike out his Angels teammate in a way that few pitchers have ever managed to pull off.

Ohtani struck out Trout in an at-bat that had three swinging strikes. In Trout’s entire big-league career, he’s only had 24 such at-bats (a strikeout with three swinging strikes in the plate appearance) out of 6,174 plate appearances. And Ohtani managed to do that in the first time they had ever faced each other.

That’s just an incredible stat that speaks to Ohtani’s greatness — along with Trout’s.

MLB fans were justifiably impressed by that fact.

The Angels should be embarrassed after Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani’s epic showdown in the WBC final

The Angels’ failures with two generational players were on display for all the world to see.

The baseball world was abuzz Wednesday morning with talk of an incredible World Baseball Classic final between the United States and Japan that ended with the most storybook finish possible.

Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, teammates and arguably the two best players in the world, went head-to-head with two outs in the ninth inning of a one-score game.

When Nas said “It was Written,” this is what he meant.

Ohtani won round one, as Trout put it, striking out his buddy to seal the victory and title for Japan. Baseball as a whole also won, all thanks to those two players and that moment.

Curiously enough, the one loser in all of this is the ballclub that employees both Trout and Ohtani. The franchise in Anaheim that can’t figure out how to squeeze some winning of its own out of those two. The Los Angeles Angels, a team that should be absolutely embarrassed after seeing the theater its stars provided for everyone else on Tuesday.

At one point during the broadcast, play-by-play man Joe Davis mentioned how fans were finally getting a glimpse of Trout in a big game. And he was right.

In 12 big-league seasons, Trout has exactly one playoff appearance and three playoff games to his name. We’d literally never seen one of the sport’s all-time great players in a game with stakes that high.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that the Angels were wasting his career by not building a good enough team around him, they landed another all-time great player in Ohtani. A player literally changing how the sport is played with his ability to hit and pitch and do both at MVP levels. And all the Angels have done in five seasons with those two players who just created one of the best moments in baseball history is compile a losing record every year.

Their 40-1 title odds for this upcoming MLB season are tied for 14th. They only have the third-best odds to win their own division.

It’s been said before, but it’s especially true now, the Angels should be ashamed. What we witnessed Tuesday – those players in those high-leverage moments – is something they owe to their fanbase. If the Angels can’t figure out how to win with Trout and Ohtani soon, I promise you another team will come with a big bag of money for Ohtani to show them how it’s done.

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Pedro Martinez showered Shohei Ohtani with so much praise in a classy moment

This was just such a touching moment between Pedro Martinez and Shohei Ohtani

There are some other names you could throw into the ring at this point, but it certainly feels like Shohei Ohtani is the best player in baseball. And he proved that once again on Tuesday night in the World Baseball Classic.

Ohtani gave us an absolute classic of an ending to the WBC by striking out his buddy and teammate, Mike Trout, who some would also argue is the best player in the world. Yet, still, he struck out swinging with Ohtani up at the plate for Japan.

It was an incredible performance from the Angels pitcher that had all of us in awe.

That’s what was just so impressive about it. If there was ever a moment that so clearly demonstrated Ohtani’s dominance, this was it. What’s so crazy about it is that this just isn’t something that happens — not to Mike Trout. He’s almost never left swinging at the plate. Until Ohtani.

 

So after the game, of course, Ohtani does postgame media with the MLB Network crew. But what happened next felt so special.

He goes over to the crew’s table and gets ready to take questions. And Pedro Martinez just begins showering the superstar with love and praise for everything that he’s done for baseball. It’s an amazing moment.

“Shohei, I want to say…on behalf of baseball…we want to thank you for the effort, for the discipline, for everything that you have done for baseball and what you represent for baseball. I just want to personally thank him for all you do. All you do. We are really proud and thankful and grateful for what you do. You are a special human being. So we want to thank you and recognize it.” 

That’s such a cool moment, man. On so many different levels.

Sure, you could look at this as a player getting praise for what was a masterful performance in the WBC. But this is so much more than that. This is an absolute star of a previous generation in Pedro Martinez showering the star of the current generation in Ohtani with love.

That’s something you don’t often see in sports. There are times when older players can feel a bit jaded about the current era. It happens for a dumber of different reasons. It can be money, rule changes, or whatever. We’ve seen it across a number of sports.

So it’s just extremely nice to see Ohtani get this sort of love. As fans, we absolutely love to see it.

This WBC image of Shohei Ohtani pitching vs. Mike Trout would be the coolest movie poster

Ohtani vs. Trout: Coming this March to a theatre near you.

The 2023 World Baseball Classic would always come down to Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, wouldn’t it?

In a matchup baseball fans had only previously dreamed of, Ohtani struck out Trout with two outs and no one on to win the WBC title for his native Japan. It was an epic moment Trout implied was only the beginning between the pair. (By the way: Yes, from any angle, Ohtani is so hard to get a hit against.)

Not that this glorious superstar battle needed any more hype, but a fan on Twitter (Kara Fagan/@karafagan) captured a ridiculously cool still frame of Ohtani vs. Trout. If you didn’t have the context, you’d think it was a movie poster for an incredible WBC final:

Can’t you see it now? A trailer with a deep voice telling us to be prepared for a dramatic baseball battle for the ages.

“Ohtani. Trout. The baseball world better be ready for these two worlds to COLLIDE.”

Okay, yeah. Where do I buy these tickets, and how?

Nets’ Yuta Watanabe perfectly described the love Japanese fans have for Shohei Ohtani

Saying Ohtani is a king in Japan would probably be an understatement.

Shohei Ohtani is the unquestioned king of the baseball world.

What other reasonable conclusion could there be after the mega-star led Japan to the 2023 World Baseball Classic title? He even struck out fellow mega-star and his Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout to reach the top of the WBC summit!

If anyone deserved $1 billion for being the face of baseball, it’d be Ohtani.

But if you think Ohtani is beyond popular stateside, he’s unquestionably royalty in his native Japan. After Ohtani helped close out the WBC title, the Brooklyn Nets’ Yuta Watanabe summed up how beloved the baseball titan is in Japan.

And honestly: It’s very easy to believe him.

If Ohtani is “like God” in Japan after winning the WBC, what happens when he wins a World Series? Because following some intriguing postgame comments from Trout on Tuesday, it certainly seems like that reality will also be possible very soon.

Mike Trout’s ‘He won Round 1’ quote about Shohei Ohtani had MLB fans pondering free agency

The next WBC isn’t until 2026. What does Trout know?

In the aftermath of an epic World Baseball Classic final, it can be hard to process all the pieces of the aftermath.

The star of the show was undoubtedly Shohei Ohtani, who not only delivered a rousing speech to his Japan teammates but also struck out his Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout to beat the USA and win the WBC title. The latter happening has MLB fans buzzing about the possibilities of the near future.

After the game, Trout was asked about his climactic matchup with Ohtani on the mound. The superstar kept it concise and seemed to interestingly tease what might be in store for both:

Ohtani won Round 1? Does Trout know the next World Baseball Classic won’t be until 2026? Because that’s … a ways off. No, no, this comment seems to be a lot more about Ohtani’s future, who is set to be a free agent in 2024.

At least, that’s how MLB fans read into Trout’s telling quote.