Three DC-Area Courses May Be Gone Sooner Than Expected

It’s no secret the uncertainty Washington, DC’s three public courses face once the Trump Administration announced on December 31 that the 50-year lease of the National Links Trust with the National Park Service to manage, operate, and renovate the three courses would be terminated immediately.

The National Links Trust (NLT) have agreed to stay in place for the “time being,” their official statement reads “as operators so that the DC courses can remain open. This will allow uninterrupted access to golf in the District and our hundreds of dedicated employees to stay in place.”

However the morale is understandably low for these employees at places like East Potomac Golf Links, the primary property that the Trump Administration has in mind for a new championship golf course. Employees are speculating in this time of uncertainty and hearing there’s a possibility that courses could close for good even as early as the end of this week.

When asked by Skratch on Wednesday to give some clarity on their understanding of the timeline for the length of their role as course operators, NLT said that’s a topic they won’t expound on.

Clearly there’s a lot at stake now, whatever is decided with NLT’s role or lack of one in the future of D.C. municipal golf with East Potomac Golf Links, Langston Golf Course, and Rock Creek Golf Course. Those who play East Potomac on a regular basis have a lot to say on the matter.

“I just ran out here from work, and this place is my respite to escape and just enjoy this wonderful property,” Washington, D.C. public school teacher Kip Dow said on a sunny Wednesday afternoon by East Potomac’s double-decker driving range. “It's a home for me. I think it's sick that someone decides that they can take this nice, comfortable community muni away from people here who have relied on it and view it as home and have formed so many friendships here.”

Dow is a native New Yorker who played for many years at Bethpage Black until moving to Washington, D.C. nine years ago.

“When I go back to Bethpage, I’ve got to pay anywhere from 80 to 200 dollars,” Dow said. “And I have never payed more than 50 dollars to play at this course. So it really is affordability and what’s available to you right here in Washington, D.C.”

And the affordability theme is also true at nearby Langston Golf Course, especially for local golfer John Archibald who picked up the game there in his late thirties during the pandemic.

“I learned to play golf there at Langston and have been out there one to two times a week since 2020,” Archibald said on Wednesday. “I’ve gone from shooting in the 110s at first to consistently in the 80s. The reality is that I would not have been able to do that anywhere in the area for $40 a round.”

The location of these D.C. courses is also ideal for people who work in the city and just want to hit a bucket of balls during a lunch break.

K.C. Hoffman works on Capitol Hill about a ten-minute drive from East Potomac and has made his way to the course’s range numerous times and always enjoys the laid-back feel of the property when he’s there.

“In a city where space and time are at a premium, East Potomac makes golf feel accessible rather than intimidating, and easy access to low-pressure practice facilities goes a long way for beginners,” Hoffmann said on Wednesday.

To paint a picture, East Potomac Golf Links has an 18-hole course and two nine hole courses. The Blue Course is a Par 72 (6,599 yards), the Par 3 Red course (1,148 yards), and the White course (Par 33, 2,420 yards).

The courses spread out over a peninsula called Hains Point which has the Potomac River on one side with DCA Reagan National Airport and its planes landing in nearby Arlington, Virginia across the river, which you hear and view seemingly every five minutes. On the peninsula’s other side sits the Washington Channel where you’ll catch a glimpse of water taxis through much of the year and you’re also afforded scenic views of D.C.’s waterfront and its many restaurants and even one of it’s revered music venues like The Anthem.

The Jefferson Memorial sits on Hains Point’s north end, and the Washington Monument is a little further north and can be seen on virtually every hole on the property.

Everything about the setting at East Potomac screams public access. One of the endearing traits of the Old Course at St. Andrews is its accessibility for the general public and those seeking exercise around it.

East Potomac provides that same dedication to the public and non-golfers around the property with picnic tables and a walking and biking paved path around the entire peninsula, separating them from golfers only by a short, three-foot fence.

There’s no strict dress code at East Potomac either, so you’ll often see sweatpants, jeans, joggers, shorts, t-shirts and straight-up happy and relaxed customers coming out to play the courses and the various amenities there. There are bike racks by the clubhouse at the three public D.C. courses and at East Potomac there’s even three practice holes ranging from 80-140 yards.

The vibe on property is best described as chill, at all times.

Tom Starnes has been playing at East Potomac since 1984 and wants to see the public course continue under the supervision of the NLT.

“I think the work the National Links Trust has been doing has been commendable, but for this to turn into some kind of Trump course just doesn’t feel right,” Starnes said on Wednesday at East Potomac’s driving range.

“There’s plenty of famous clubs around like Congressional up the road. That’s a wonderful course and they’re already going to have a Ryder Cup there. But I just think DC needs its accessible, public courses, especially for kids. They need to have a place they can go in town that’s welcoming.”

There are a number of youth programs that East Potomac is involved with supporting that are at stake in all of this as well not to mention that 45 local high schools also use the three DC municipal course properties for various purposes each school year. Langston hosts the Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program which helps kids and teens in the DC area develop job skills and provides paid opportunities to caddie and intern.

There’s also the Free Lesson Friday program at East Potomac and Langston which is a monthly program offered to interested beginners of any age who want to get started. NLT provided 300 lessons in its first year in 2024.

This is only a snapshot of the programs the NLT offers, but the point here stands that if the courses eventually close to the public, there’s effectively no way to replace them around Washington, D.C. because the real estate is just not there to build within the city.

There’s also a sentimental side to this discussion.

Family moments.

East Potomac opened in 1920, so understandably those who’ve played golf in the D.C. area throughout the past century will have fond moments to recollect.

For Patrick Hanna, who started playing golf at age eight at East Potomac, and who now lives across the Potomac in Arlington, there are certain memories that he’ll always cherish from this property.

“I love all my golf moments out here, playing as a kid, but one of the more meaningful moments in my life was when my wife met my parents for the first time, it was right here outside the clubhouse on the picnic benches, and we had a half-smoke (hot dog) from the grill,” Hanna recalled with a smile from outside the clubhouse on Wednesday.

Even one of the most popular figures working in Washington, D.C., SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt, has often recalled first learning the game at East Potomac and spending some unforgettable twilight rounds chasing the sun with his late father Sam.

With all the sentiment, comes a natural sense of urgency from regulars to get in as much golf as they can at East Potomac, or to at least hold on to the palpable reminders of its fraying existence.

“My playing partners and I were talking about the scorecard today and I told everyone to keep that, because that will be a collectors item one day,” Mike Rados told Skratch on Wednesday as he left the clubhouse.

“I think we all love this place for what it is, we know it’s a muni and we accept it for what it is.

I think you just can't beat it. The airport is so cool nearby, and you're right on the river. It's just really enjoyable to get out and soak in this place.”

Rados lives across the Potomac in Arlington as well and he also feels the uncertainty ahead for East Potomac and the other two D.C. munis.

“I guess everybody's now just waiting to see what's really going to happen with the changes ahead. Is it a done deal? Even if it goes through major renovations, is it still going to be here in some form?”

When asked if there’s an urgency to play East Potomac more lately due to its uncertain future, Dow said yes. The D.C. resident then described playing five times in the last two weeks including both Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas.

Take local course chatter for what you will, but some of the regulars on property are hearing that the plan for a new championship course would include using every bit of property on the peninsula in order to stretch a future course out to 7,800 yards for the aim of hosting championship caliber events.

As a result, the current bike path that surrounds the course would be removed to have the course play right to the water’s edge on all sides.

In the end, East Potomac is just a piece of property, with national landmarks as neighbors and over a century of public golf history, but Dow sees the people he plays this course with as the strongest bond to this whole narrative.

“I see the woman up there on the upper level of the range every day I come out here, I see my friends,” Dow said Wednesday with a relaxed-looking green Merrell pullover that complimented his hang loose demeanor, a can of a local IPA in his right hand. “I have two regular foursomes that I’m a part of. It’s just a great community out here.”

And to many regulars, the course and its accompanying vibe just feels disarming.

“There’s a golf culture that can feel intimidating to duffers like me,” Starnes said. “I play all three of these DC public courses and they’re all really affordable, accessible and I would say un-intimidating.

“And that’s what matters most.”

And lastly, the diversity of people you’ll see at East Potomac is another strength of the property.

“I think the biggest thing is that you see every walk of life here,” Hanna said. “Every different social status, race, and class from super fancy and classy cars all the way down to people riding bicycles down here. And why? Well, because they just love golf.”