The Trump administration has shared an initial plan for the most polarizing golf course in America.
After months of uncertainty, courtroom debates and presidential posts on Truth Social, the government, on Friday, submitted a concept proposal for East Potomac Golf Links and the surrounding park to the National Capital Planning Commission.
A 55-page document was included as an exhibit in the ongoing litigation between the Department of the Interior, which is overseeing the project, and the DC Preservation League. The plan, for the first time, in a formal, public manner, breaks down how the government views East Potomac Park.
“The goal,” the proposal reads, “is to turn a dilapidated, unsafe course into a safe, world-class, affordable championship golf course, open to the public and on par with Torrey Pines, Bethpage Black, and Houston’s Memorial Park.”
The plan remains vague but serves as a much deeper proclamation than anything the government, or its lawyers, has presented to date. The pitch begins with a reinforced seawall that will cost $304.5 million and take between 2.5 and 3.5 years to complete.
The golf course plans now have an official North Star … or three: the aforementioned munis on Long Island, in San Diego and Houston. Each has hosted elite level professional tournaments, and as a result has brought economic benefit to those areas, all while offering deeply discounted green fees to area residents.
Therein lies an important element of the debate surrounding East Potomac, which hosts upward of 80,000 rounds annually with fees that max out at $48. The course objectively is in need of upkeep, but would a grand renovation make the course unaffordable for some locals (expected fees are not addressed in the plan) and displace more activities that surround the Blue Course? The plan calls for eliminating the other 18 holes on the property (a par-3 course and executive course) and potentially the historic miniature golf course. Critics are quick to point out the logistical quandary that would arise if, as the president has said he would like to see happen, an elite pro golf event would find the course suitable as a host venue.
The concept now sits with the planning commission, but other questions not addressed in the document still percolate. How long has the plan been in place? If President Trump walked the property with course designer Tom Fazio over the summer, did that constitute proof that Fazio’s design business has reached an official contract with the government?
These kinds of questions have increased the heat in the court hearings in recent months — covered extensively by GOLF.com — largely because of great local unrest about the plans, but also because of due process. Just last week, Judge Ana Reyes ordered an ethics inquiry into how the government has acted on this project in recent months.
Page 54 of the proposal serves as a reminder that the park itself, along with neighboring West Potomac Park, is a National Historic Place, and any federal project impacting such sites requires an official review and consideration of public views before proposals are finalized.
Critics of the plan vehemently disagree with the call to remove more trees and bring the new 18-hole course to the edge of the river, eliminating the space for non-golf activities, like the biking paths and walkways along the Potomac. But much of the proposal outlines how damaged various parts of the park have become after years of intermittent flooding.
“New biking, walking, and fishing opportunities will be accommodated nearby, such as at West Potomac Park and the Tidal Basin,” the plan says.
The case between the DOI and the DC Preservation League continues, with hearings expected in the coming weeks. President Trump has said the course will shut down for renovations on Nov. 15.
For a further breakdown of East Potomac Golf Links, what it means for the area and what it’s like in the courtroom, check out the GOLF.com explainer below.
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