Trump Bedminster
Transition staff and golf club managers await the arrival of President-elect Donald Trump's motorcade at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster on Friday night.
(Drew Angerer | Getty Images)
BEDMINSTER -- A typically quiet part of central New Jersey is suddenly the epicenter of American politics this weekend.
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to spend the next few days holding meetings with his transition team at his upscale private golf club in the bucolic hills of Somerset County.
Here are five things to know about Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster:
1. The property once belonged to another celebrity mogul.
Much of the course sits on the former estate of the late automaker John DeLorean, who bought the property in 1981 -- around the same he introduced the wing-doored car later made famous by "Back to the Future."
The land sold at a bankruptcy auction in 2000. Trump, who advanced his fame in the late 1980s and early 1990s as an Atlantic City casino owner, bought the Bedminster property -- located in the heart of New Jersey's horse-farm country -- for about $35 million in 2002.
The 535-acre club includes two 18-hole courses designed by renowned golf architect Tom Fazio. It opened on July 4th weekend in 2004.
The golf shop was DeLorean's garage. The clubhouse was his mansion.
2. It isn't Trump's only Jersey course -- but it's apparently special.
Trump opened two more private golf clubs in New Jersey, one in Colts Neck and the other in Pine Hill, just outside of Philadelphia. And in all, he owns 17 golf courses around the globe.
Trump's financial disclosure report from last July showed nine of those clubs are valued at $50 million each -- including Bedminster and Colts Neck.
But the Bedminster course is considered one of the crown jewels of Trump's golf portfolio. Mickie Gallagher, the club's director of golf, told NJ Advance Media last year that while Trump usually buys struggling courses and refurbishes them, Bedminster was built from scratch.
"This is a unique property," Gallagher said.
In 2005, Golf Magazine ranked it the No. 73 course in the U.S. And Golf Digest named it No. 84 in both 2005 and 2006.
"It's beautiful," Larry Hirsh, founder of the Society of Golf Appraisers, said last year. "It's magnificent."
3. Belonging to the club is expensive. And some celebrities golf there.
Membership at the club -- located about 45 minutes from Manhattan -- reportedly costs about $300,000.
And members are said to include a few celebrities: former Yankees manager Joe Torre, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (now a top Trump adviser) -- and, yes, former President Bill Clinton, the husband of the woman Trump beat for the presidency, Hillary Clinton.
Gallagher said most of the club's 425 members live in New Jersey.
Gov. Chris Christie's brother, Wall Street executive Todd Christie, is a member. And Gallagher said the governor -- a Trump friend and adviser -- has dined there.
4. Trump spends a lot of time at the club.
The real estate mogul has a cottage on site and spends many weekends at the facility during golf season, playing the courses and dining with members, Gallagher said.
During Trump's campaign, the club was also where he and his advisers spent time preparing for the debates against Hillary Clinton.
5. It's where Ivanka Trump held her wedding.
Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, married Jared Kushner, the New Jersey-bred developer and publishing magnate, at a lavish ceremony at the club in 2009. Gallagher said the couple also has a cottage on the property.
Meanwhile, Trump's youngest son, 10-year-olf Barron Trump, is learning to play golf there.
6. Trump once wanted to be buried on site.
Though he grew up in Queens and lives most of the time in Manhattan, Trump battled for years for approval to build a private family cemetery at the club -- one where he himself would spend eternity.
But a representative from Trump's company said in 2015 that Trump may wish to be buried in Florida instead. The rep noted the cemetery would still be built for club members and military veterans.
7. A pair of top tournaments are on the schedule.
The 12-year-old club is slated to host two major events in the coming years: the 2017 U.S. Women's Open next July and the 2022 PGA Championship.
In October, a group of Democratic U.S. senators asked Mike Davis, executive director of the United States Golf Association, to move the Women's Open out of Bedminster because they said Trump has shown a "pattern of degrading and dehumanizing women" over the years.
But the USGA, which is based in Bedminster, later said it is not considering relocating the event.
Brent Johnson may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.