Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia
Designed by Tom Fazio
History
The ground in Pine Hill had been quietly waiting for its second act. What is now Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia began under a different name and a different vision, built as a private club in the sandy soil of South Jersey’s pine country — terrain long favored by golf architects for its natural drainage and rolling character. Tom Fazio, already established as one of the most sought-after designers in American golf, took on the project and shaped a course suited to the region’s sandy substrate, working within a landscape that had shown its worth to architects going back generations.
Fazio’s imprint here reflects the approach that built his reputation industry-wide: a preference for working with the land’s existing contours rather than reshaping them wholesale, and a commitment to variety across eighteen holes. The Pine Hill property gave him rolling elevation changes and stands of mature pine and hardwood to work into his routing, resources not every South Jersey site could offer.
The club’s ownership changed when the Trump Organization acquired the property, folding it into its portfolio of golf clubs and rebranding it under the Trump National banner alongside sister properties in other states. That transition brought the course under new management and a new name, though the Fazio design itself has remained the course’s defining feature through the change in ownership. It operates today as a private club, its membership drawn from the greater Philadelphia and South Jersey region.
Playing Notes
Bring extra balls and expect to use a cart — this South Jersey layout stretches long and asks for sustained ball-striking rather than a single knockout shot. The terrain shifts through wooded corridors and open, exposed stretches where wind becomes a real factor on club selection, especially on approach shots into elevated greens. Bunkering is aggressive around the greens, so short-game touch matters as much as distance off the tee; missing in the wrong spot can turn a routine par attempt into a scramble. Greens run quick and have subtle breaks that aren't always visible from the fairway, so take an extra beat to read them rather than trusting your first look. Players who hit the ball long but keep it under control will have an easier day than those relying purely on power, since the trouble here punishes second and third shots more than the drive itself.