Trump takeover of D.C. courses begs for compromise

East Potomac Golf Links is the jewel among the facilities that have been operated by the National Links Trust. Matt McClain, The Washington Post

The Trump administration’s seizure of three public golf courses in Washington, D.C., should be a local story in the nation’s capital. However, because of the way the seizure is taking place, and given President Donald Trump’s outsized presence in the game, it is a story with reverberations throughout the global golf ecosystem.

On Dec. 30, Trump, through the office of the U.S. Department of the Interior, informed the National Links Trust that its 50-year lease to operate the three daily-fee golf courses in the District of Columbia had been terminated. In a letter to the non-profit NLT, the Interior Department said the decision was based on what it described as NLT’s failure to complete required capital improvements and to provide a satisfactory plan to cure alleged defaults under the lease.

“The National Links Trust is devastated by the Trump administration’s decision to terminate our 50-year lease with the National Park Service,” a statement posted at the NLT website said. “Since taking over stewardship of the Rock Creek, East Potomac and Langston courses five years ago, NLT has consistently complied with all lease obligations as we work to ensure the brightest possible future for public golf in D.C.

“We are fundamentally in disagreement with the administration’s characterization of NLT as being in default under the lease. We have always had a productive and cooperative working relationship with the National Park Service and have worked hand in hand on all aspects of our golf course operations and development projects.”

Reaction from the American golf community was swift and condemnatory. That response is best captured by a post on the Donald Ross Society President account on X: “National Links Trust assemblage of a global class team to deliver an ‘excellent public golf’ mission is unparalleled and should be actively supported and championed by every golfer. NLT’s ‘golf for the people’ mission is worthy of praise, replication, and defense.”

The three D.C. golf courses all sit on federal land, each occupying sections of three different national parks. During the first Trump administration, the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service concluded that the existing management structure of the facilities made it impossible to make significant, meaningful improvements to the crumbling infrastructure.

The National Links Trust was formed to tackle this challenge. It registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit with the idea that the substantial amounts of capital required to make these upgrades would be raised philanthropically, thereby sparing users the cost of the improvements in the form of higher green fees. Affordability and accessibility are at the core of NLT values.

More importantly, NLT worked hard to make a difference in the community. The Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program, which is run out of the Langston Golf Course, has introduced more than 100 young men and women from underserved communities to the business of golf and has taught them both job and life skills.

NLT submitted its proposal in February 2020 and signed a 50-year lease in October of that year. From that moment, NLT worked alongside the National Park Service to secure permitting to begin the first of the rehab projects at Rock Creek Park Golf Course. In the meantime, the organization made significant short-term improvements that resulted in record rounds and revenues while keeping green fees well below the market average for similarly positioned courses. In partnership with the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, NLT completed a major renovation of the historic miniature golf course at East Potomac Golf Links.

More importantly, NLT worked hard to make a difference in the community. The Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program, which is run out of the Langston Golf Course, has introduced more than 100 young men and women from underserved communities to the business of golf and has taught them both job and life skills. Alongside the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholars Foundation, NLT established a caddie program in which kids can work toward an Evans Scholarship, a grant that covers both tuition and room and board at universities across the country. In 2024, the caddie program graduated its first Evans Scholar. In 2025, more than 1,000 people from across the region participated in a program called Free Lesson Fridays, many of them touching a golf club for the first time.

Of the three courses, East Potomac Golf Links is the jewel. It is located on Hains Point Island, with the Potomac River on one side and the Washington Channel on the other. The course offers stunning views of both Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia. East Potomac consists of two nine-hole golf courses, a miniature golf experience, three practice holes, and a practice range. The centerpiece is an 18-hole layout designed by Walter Travis in the 1920s. It provides views of some of Washington’s greatest landmarks, most notably the Washington Monument, visible from most holes.

Langston Golf Course

Clearly, the NLT was doing good work on behalf of public golf in the District of Columbia. What it didn’t anticipate was what has transpired over the past year, according to multiple news accounts and principals within the organization, starting with Trump’s frequent helicopter rides from the White House to Joint Base Andrews to board Air Force One, a route that took his helicopter right over East Potomac and prompted him to begin asking around about it.

Last spring, the Trump administration approached the NLT proposing help with fund-raising and expediting the permitting process; NLT was naturally intrigued by the possibility. In retrospect, NLT walked into a well-set trap.

In August, NLT was briefed that the president had taken a keen interest in East Potomac. His interest included rebranding the historic golf course as Washington National Golf Course. It has been speculated that his family-owned golf operation would oversee East Potomac. Administration figures whispered about expensive green fees, although there was no business plan offered that suggests there is demand for that pricing. Hosting a PGA Tour event or even a Ryder Cup was hinted at as part of his vision.

When the White House needed somewhere to dispose of the fill generated from the controversial demolition of the East Wing of the White House in the fall, NLT was threatened with a notice of default if it didn’t house the debris at East Potomac. The NLT was still trying to find a solution to the larger issue of control of East Potomac, including a proposal that would create an oversight committee including Tiger Woods and other prominent individuals in American golf. The NLT felt powerless to refuse the debris and instead hoped accepting it would demonstrate its willingness to be a team player.

Rock Creek Golf Course

In late October, NLT was given a notice of default with the intent to terminate the final 45 years of the lease. At that time, the exact default issue and the expected cure period were not identified.

It’s hard to imagine how Trump’s reputation in golf benefits from this effort. Already a pariah in many of the circles he wishes to run in, harming daily-fee golf in D.C. will only serve to further damage that reputation. His lack of compliance with the rules of golf has been well documented – a book has been written about this topic – and his boastful claims about club championship victories is dubious at best.

There is a compromise here if Trump is interested. He could go back to the initial approach made to the NLT last spring. Why not join forces with the NLT to benefit public golf in Washington? Help it with fund-raising and ease the permitting to speed up the entire process. Sure, bring in Tom Fazio to handle the East Potomac piece of the equation, and turn it into something special in the nation’s capital while ensuring that it remains affordable. Chase a PGA Tour event or Ryder Cup if you like, even though the site is not nearly big enough to host either, but don’t lose sight of the local golf population. Enable the NLT to continue doing its good work, not just in D.C., but in other American cities with similar situations and opportunities.

Who could broker such a compromise? How about Tiger Woods, an occasional visitor to the White House? Perhaps Jay Clayton, a serious golfer and Trump pal who currently serves as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and who served as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the first Trump administration. Maybe Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, whom NLT suggested as an oversight board member.

There is a win-win opportunity here that could burnish Trump’s reputation in golf. Here’s hoping he realizes this and acts accordingly.

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