Donald Trump is a certified golf lover, especially during the summer. President Trump trades Mar-a-Lago for Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey — a sprawling, 500-acre estate that functions as his unofficial “Summer White House” from June through September every year.
Yet, since his return to power in January 2025, Donald Trump, 78, has been spending his weekends and much of the summer at Bedminster Golf Club, a retreat he purchased in 2002. His team members describe the place as his true sanctuary, something he loves more than Mar-a-Lago. Insider sources said that Bedminster is “his happy place.”
🔴 Forget Mar-a-Lago, from June til September the president prefers Trump National Bedminster – where he lands his helicopter next to the pool
Read the full story 👇https://t.co/6J33Ld9UMk
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) June 5, 2025
According to The Times, The Bedminster Golf Club has luxury indulgences, including tennis courts, a helipad, a spa, and two world-class golf courses. Trump stays in a private cottage near the pool with other family members, including daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, in nearby cottages.
Reportedly, Trump’s connection to the Bedminster Golf Club is that his late ex-wife, Ivana Trump, is buried there, and Trump himself has expressed a wish to be “buried there” as well. “It’s his refuge,” says biographer David Cay Johnston. After winning the 2016 election, Trump told members at Bedminster, “This is my real group. These are the people that came here in the beginning, when nobody knew what this monster was gonna turn out to be.”
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He thanked his longtime allies at Bedminster who backed him before he became president. It shows how much he values the club as a personal and loyal place, unlike the drama of Washington, D.C.
In addition, Donald Trump has used the venue to host business leaders, political allies, and Cabinet picks and to assemble his first administration. According to former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Trump likes the environment at the Bedminster Golf Club for interviews. Besides aesthetics and luxury, the Bedminster Golf Club generates good yearly revenue.
With initiation fees around $350,000, the club can only welcome elite members of the country, such as top-level politicians, diplomats, and others. In addition, Trump, as a businessman, has been smart enough to take advantage of agricultural tax breaks by keeping hayfields and goats on the massive property.
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Members say politicians who actively engage at Bedminster, like Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, earn Donald Trump’s favor, while others, like Jeff Sessions, fall out of it. Consequently, the president’s presence has been a good branding opportunity and has increased the club’s visibility.
A video of him golfing with Bryson DeChambeau racked up over 15 million views online. Another viral (though fake) clip showed Trump hitting Bruce Springsteen with a golf ball, which went viral on X (formerly Twitter). Interestingly, Donald Trump was earlier accused of cheating in his preferred games with an unhinged desire to win. But longtime friends dismiss allegations that he cheats at golf.
Though celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson and Alice Cooper have suggested otherwise, Trump’s supporters insist he’s a courteous and honest player. After the January 6 Capitol riot in 2021, the PGA (The Professional Golfers’ Association) of America moved the 2022 PGA Championship away from Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, as the brand felt it would cause harm to its reputation after a lot of controversy swirled around Donald Trump.
Since then, the Trump family, major golf enthusiasts, has been trying to establish better connections with big golf societies. Although Bedminster lost the PGA event, it hosted two tournaments for LIV Golf, a new, Saudi-funded league. That kept the club in the spotlight, and some believe it could still host major affairs if associations improve.
