The Break: Golf in the nation's capital

D.C. public golf is already in good hands

Public golf in the nation’s capital — my backyard — had been in need of some serious love and care. The three public courses in the District had fallen into disrepair and in desperate need of upgrading into the 21st century without displacing the thousands of golfers who call the courses home.

That’s where National Links Trust, headed by D.C.-area native Mike McCartin and Will Smith, came to the rescue. Back in 2020, at the end of the first Trump Administration, NLT was awarded a 50-year lease of the three public courses by the National Park Service. Their charge was clear: manage each of the courses while simultaneously restoring and renovating these facilities to their prior luster. The path forward would be difficult, requiring NLT to raise untold millions to fund the development work and then making their case to the public as to why their vision would be better for the broader community than what’s been there for the last several decades.

So far, NLT has done a more-than-admirable job. They earned permitting to renovate Rock Creek Golf Course, a William Flynn original, by working with Gil Hanse (pro bono) to create a community golf facility with a nine-hole regulation course, a nine-hole par-3 course, a great practice facility and trails for walking and hiking. That two-phase project is underway.

NLT ultimately looks to also renovate Langston Golf Course (with Beau Welling), an historic home of African-American golf in the city, and East Potomac Golf Links’ Blue Course (with Tom Doak), a Walter Travis original reversible course with remarkable views of the Potomac River and the Washington Monument. The mini-golf course at East Potomac, which was the first public course in D.C. and a model for the rest of the country, has already been resurrected to new life. The plans call for modernization of East Potomac’s other two courses, the Red and White, as par-3 and executive courses.

Last week, the Trump Administration notified NLT that they are considered in default of the lease, which could lead to its termination. The letter, according to the Washington Post, did not address specific issues with NLT or how those issues could be remedied.

Just a few weeks prior, the Administration told NLT that it would be found in default of the lease if it did not accept delivery of a large pile of rubble and dirt to East Potomac following the demolition of the White House East Wing.

President Trump reportedly wants to take control of the future of D.C. public golf, meeting with Tom Fazio and his firm about potential renovation — perhaps an overhaul, not a proper restoration of a unique course — to East Potomac. Trump wants to, according to the Wall Street Journal, “just build something different, and build them in government.”

Trump’s vision of golf is drastically different than the NLT ethos, which looks to keep golf affordable for the public. East Potomac can be played every day of the week for under $50, which is a tremendous value in the region. Even after the Blue Course is restored, NLT intends to keep the green fees accessible. Trump’s publicly accessible properties have not historically been at a price point reasonable for most public golfers.

No doubt, NLT would appreciate federal funding to help them in their quest. If Trump wants to be a benefactor of their plans to transform and modernize D.C. public golf, that would be a political win. However, threatening NLT with pulling their lease in an attempt to commandeer a long-term project already bearing fruit would be a big mistake and might wind up setting public golf back in a big way.

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The Links

Five players earned PGA Tour cards through Q-School, with Dylan Wu, who has dealt with so many off-course issues this year, earning the last spot in the first hole of a playoff against Ben Silverman.

Lauren Coughlin and Andrew Novak won the Grant Thornton Invitational to close out their years, with Novak winning his second team event of the year after taking the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic with Ben Griffin.

Jayden Schaper won the Alfred Dunhill Championship on the DP World Tour, making an incredible eagle 3 on the first playoff hole to beat Shaun Norris. He got up-and-down from a fairway bunker from more than 220 yards to earn that win. He headlines this week’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

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Keeping it in the family

The PGA Tour Champions has their family event this weekend, with the PNC Championship played once again in Orlando at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. There are 20 family duos taking part in the competition, which is reserved for players who have won a PGA Tour- or LPGA Tour-sanctioned major, or The Players Championship.

It’s a two-day affair, with the duos playing a 36-hole scramble from four sets of tees, depending on age, gender and skill.

This is the kind of event that feels like it could be on the chopping block in a world where the PGA Tour wants to make their product feel more scarce. However, this is exactly the kind of event we should be seeing this time of year. There’s no need for 72-hole, medal-play professional golf in December. There’s just way too much going on in life for anyone to have time to focus on that.

But I can absolutely have fun watching scramble golf played with legendary golfers and major winners over a weekend. I love getting opportunities to play golf with my son. I didn’t start playing golf until I was 12 years old, and he’s just about that age now. He does so many things other than golf, and I’m in no rush to thrust golf upon him. So when he wants to play, we get out there and have a blast. (My daughter isn’t quite there yet with golf. But maybe someday!)

I know that I don’t need a golf tournament on TV to think about spending time on the golf course with my family, but it’s a nice way to frame the important things this time of year.