Trump National Golf Club is a private

golf club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety o ...

located on Lamington Road in

Bedminster, New Jersey Bedminster is a Township (New Jersey), township in Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 8,272, an increase of 107 (+1.3%) from the 201 ...

, United States. Approximately west of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in Somerset County, it is owned and operated by

The Trump Organization The Trump Organization, Inc. is an American Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Privately owned by Donald Trump, it serves as the holding company for most of Business career of Donald Trump, Trump's business ventures and investments, with ar ...

History

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

bought the property, which included the estate of automaker

John DeLorean John Zachary DeLorean ( ; January 6, 1925 – March 19, 2005) was an American engineer, inventor, and executive in the U.S. automobile industry. He is widely known as founder of the DeLorean Motor Company, as well as for his work at General Motor ...

, for less than million in 2002. It was previously known as Lamington Farm and the site of a floundering golf course construction project. The 36-hole club was designed by golf course architects

Tom Fazio Thomas Fazio (born February 10, 1945) is an American golf course architect. Fazio graduated in 1962 from Lansdale Catholic High School and was inducted into its hall of fame in 2007. He began his career in golf course design with his family's f ...

and Tom Fazio II. The first course opened in 2004. The course was ranked 73rd in the United States in 2005 by ''

Golf Magazine ''Golf Magazine'' is a monthly golf magazine. One of the first "special interest" magazines of its kind, it was started in April 1959 by Arnold Abramson and Robert Abramson, the owners of Universal Publishing and Distributing Corporation, who sol ...

'' was ranked 84th by ''

Golf Digest ''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its TNT Sports unit. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. The magazine started by John F. ...

'' for 2005 and 2006. The club hosted the wedding of Trump's daughter,

Ivanka Trump Ivana Marie "Ivanka" Trump (; born October 30, 1981) is an American businesswoman. She is the second child of Donald Trump, the president of the United States, and his first wife, Ivana. Trump was a senior advisor in her father's first admi ...

, in October 2009. As reported in 2012, membership in the golf club cost then at the most $300,000. The golf club hosted the third event in 2022 of the

LIV Golf Invitational Series LIV Golf ( ) is a professional men's golf tour. The name "LIV" refers to the Roman numerals for 54, the number of holes played at LIV events. The first LIV Golf Invitational Series event started on 9 June 2022, at the Centurion Club near St Alban ...

Majors host

The golf club hosted the

U.S. Women's Open The U.S. Women's Open is one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, ...

from July 13 to 16, 2017. In 2014, the

Professional Golfers' Association of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of professional golfer, golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to est ...

awarded the course as the host of the

2022 PGA Championship The 2022 PGA Championship was a professional golf tournament, held May 19–22 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was the 104th PGA Championship. This was the fifth PGA Championship at Southern Hills and its eighth major champ ...

. On January 10, 2021, the PGA of America stripped the course of the PGA Championship in 2022. The decision was taken because it was felt that hosting the tournament at the course would be "detrimental to the PGA of America brand". The decision was taken several days after Trump was accused of encouraging the storming of the United States Capitol.

Trump presidency

Donald Trump uses a small cottage next to the communal swimming pool as his private residence, with a matching cottage used by Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner. In November 2016, after Trump won the

2016 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor, Indiana governor Mike P ...

, the clubhouse was used to host meetings for his presidential transition. Representative

Leonard Lance Leonard John Lance (born June 25, 1952) is an American politician and attorney who served as the U.S. representative for , from 2009 to 2019. He ran for re-election in 2018, but was defeated by Democrat Tom Malinowski. He is a member of the R ...

predicted that the resort could become "

Camp David Camp David is a country retreat for the president of the United States. It lies in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont, Maryland, Thurmont and Emmitsburg, Maryland, Emmitsburg, a ...

North". In 2017 it became one of the three official presidential residences, the other two being – at that time –

Trump Tower Trump Tower is a 58-story, mixed-use condominium skyscraper at 721–725 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, between East 56th and 57th Streets. The building contains the headquarters for the Trump Organiza ...

in New York and

Mar-a-Lago Mar-a-Lago ( , ) is a resort and National Historic Landmark on a barrier island in Palm Beach, Florida, United States. It spans 126 rooms and built on of land. Since 1985, it has been owned by Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of t ...

in Florida. White House staffers receive the same discounts (15–70%) as club members at the Club's

pro shop A pro shop is a sporting-goods retail outlet found at a sports facility, most commonly a golf course, where it is typically located in the country club building. Pro shops can also be found at bowling alleys, pool and snooker halls, tennis and ...

, an arrangement that was flagged as "absolutely wrong" by

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), is a progressive nonprofit 501(c)(3) watchdog organization devoted to U.S. government ethics and accountability.''Washington Information Directory 2017-2018''; CQ Press; 2017; Pg. 327 ...

. 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 Listed below are the private residences of the various presidents of the United States. Except for George Washington, all of them also lived at the White House (Executive Residence). For a list of official residences, see President of the Unit ...

". It is usually used from May to September. In August 2017, the estate was used as a "working vacation" of the president for a duration of 17 days while the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

underwent renovations approved by the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

and overseen by the

Trump administration Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...

. In August 2018, the estate became again the site of the President's "working vacation" for close to two weeks. Trump went for another "working vacation" at his golf club also in August 2019 while the White House underwent some fix ups. In 2020, Trump stayed at the golf club on a number of occasions. On October 1, he held a fundraising event at the mansion. Several hours later, after he was back in Washington, it was announced that his COVID-19 test was positive. On early July 14, 2024, the day after his assassination attempt, Donald Trump went to the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster where he rested and was reportedly seen playing a round of golf.

Security issues

Due to security concerns, temporary flight restrictions are imposed by the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

within a radius during Trump's stays at his golf club. 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–Hunterdon Airport Solberg–Hunterdon Airport , also known as Solberg Airport, is located in Readington Township, New Jersey, Readington Township, New Jersey, United States. History Founded in 1941 by Norwegian-born and -raised aviation pioneer Thor Solberg, Solb ...

in Readington Township and Somerset Airport in Bedminster. 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.

Tax status

As much of the estate is used for agriculture, mainly growing

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

and raising a small herd of

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

s, for tax purposes part of the Bedminster course and the Trump course in Colts Neck Township qualify as farmland. ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' 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 The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

said that Trump was "hiding behind a farmland assessment to get a massive tax break on a golf course."

Trump family cemetery

In 2015, Trump received the approval to build a family cemetery at the estate that would include a classical

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

Ivana Trump Ivana Marie Trump (; February 20, 1949 – July 14, 2022) was a businesswoman, socialite, and model. She lived in Canada in the 1970s, before relocating to the United States and marrying Donald Trump in 1977. She held key managerial positions ...

, Trump's ex-wife and mother to

Donald Jr. Donald John Trump Jr. (born December 31, 1977), often nicknamed Don Jr., is an American businessman and political activist. He is the eldest child of U.S. president Donald Trump and his first wife Ivana. Trump serves as a trustee and exec ...

, Ivanka, and

Eric Trump Eric Frederick Trump (born January 6, 1984) is an American businessman, activist, and former reality television presenter. He is the third child and second son of U.S. President Donald Trump and his first wife, Ivana Trump. Trump is a truste ...

, was buried in the Trump family cemetery on July 20, 2022.

References

External links

* {{portal bar, Architecture, New Jersey, Sports, Politics, United States 2004 establishments in New Jersey Assets owned by the Trump Organization Bedminster, New Jersey Buildings and structures in Somerset County, New Jersey Golf clubs and courses in New Jersey John DeLorean Organizations with year of establishment missing Presidential homes in the United States Sports in Somerset County, New Jersey Sports venues completed in 2004