ended the lease of National Links Trust<\/a>, the nonprofit that has been running East Potomac, as well as the Rock Creek and Langston courses.<\/p>\nWhile ruling against the emergency request to prevent the closure of East Potomac Park for renovations Monday, Reyes said the plaintiff should be given enough time to challenge any potential plans to close. Griess told the judge any closure would require public notice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there are plans to close, plaintiff should have enough time to challenge the closure,\u201d Reyes said. \u201cI do not want a situation where something happened where it\u2019s too late to do anything about it, given some issues around the District recently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robertson told the judge any closure is under consideration.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems un-imminent to me, but pretending to the follow the rules and then asking for forgiveness isn\u2019t going to work for me,\u201d Reyes said.<\/p>\n
The termination of NLT\u2019s lease is a move that has sparked questions about what changes could be ahead.<\/p>\n
Mike McCartin, CEO of National Links Trust, said the organization was caught off guard by the lease\u2019s termination.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we received a notice of default in November of 2025, the notice was two sentences long,\u201d McCartin said.<\/p>\n
He also said the government claims improvements were taking too long, something he disputes.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically, the reason that they\u2019re giving to terminate us is that we\u2019re taking too long, when in fact, the timeline was driven by the Park Service,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said the group had already been working to improve conditions at the courses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve spent about $11 million on those improvements, and I think people can see a huge difference,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Other reporting has suggested the default may also involve unpaid rent. McCartin disputes that, saying investments made under the lease were intended to offset those costs.<\/p>\n
He added that the group also paid more than $600,000 in rent for what he described as a total of $11.6 million in payments and offsets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe $11 million spent on improvements can offset rent per our lease,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
NOTUS reviewed documents that showed a proposal tied to America\u2019s 250th anniversary would turn East Potomac into what would be called Washington National Golf Course, backed by at least $50 million in fundraising.<\/p>\n
For now, McCartin said the nonprofit is continuing to operate the course with the hope that the government reconsiders the end of the lease.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to do that until we\u2019re told that we can\u2019t do it anymore,\u201d McCartin said.<\/p>\n
The Department of the Interior said in a statement to WTOP that affordability will remain a focus as plans move forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Donald Trump has made affordability a cornerstone of this administration, and this project will be no exception,\u201d it stated.<\/p>\n
On the course itself, a large mound of dirt from the White House East Wing excavation now sits in plain view and could factor into future improvements. McCartin said it reflects the broader uncertainty surrounding what the course\u2019s next chapter will look like.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it represents the big question mark that\u2019s hanging over this place about what comes next,\u201d McCartin said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Only place I could golf\u2019<\/p>\n
Golfers say they are paying close attention to what happens next.<\/p>\n
Justin, who plays regularly at East Potomac, said affordability is what has long made the course stand out.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you raise the prices 50%, a whole bunch of people who could afford this won\u2019t be able to afford it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said for many players, it remains one of the few accessible places to golf in the region. He recalls the course being the only option when he moved to D.C.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the only place I could golf,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Jonathan Davis of Arlington said he has been playing there for decades and wants to see improvements, but not at the cost of access.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where I learned how to play. And I\u2019ve been playing here for 40 years, and I hate to see something happen to it,\u201d said Davis. \u201cIf he keeps prices the same and improves the course, I\u2019m all for it. If he improves the course, it makes it so people can\u2019t play it, then that\u2019s totally different story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others like Lincoln Lawrence of Alexandria said they are willing to wait and see what is planned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m open to it only until I understand what the design is,\u201d Lawrence said.<\/p>\n
And some golfers argue a major overhaul may not be necessary at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t need a new golf course. We just need this one,\u201d said Mark Ellmore of Alexandria.<\/p>\n
Ellmore said the course should remain what it has always been, which is a public space for all and should not be turned into a high-end course.<\/p>\n
\u201cDonald Trump is far too smart to blow up a public park and try and turn it into Bethpage,\u201d Ellmore said.<\/p>\n
As plans are discussed and legal challenges move forward, what the future holds for East Potomac and what changes may come remains unclear.<\/p>\n
WTOP\u2019s Jessica Kronzer and Grace Newton contributed to this story.<\/p>\n
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u00a9 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Trump administration had planned to close the East Potomac Golf Course as early as Sunday, with construction…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[14902,7492,14903,14904,8,14905,14906,9,854,7,1461],"class_list":{"0":"post-24365","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-d-c-preservation-league","9":"tag-department-of-the-interior","10":"tag-east-potomac-golf-course","11":"tag-golf-course-dc","12":"tag-headlines","13":"tag-mike-mccartin","14":"tag-national-links-trust","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-president-donald-trump","17":"tag-top-stories","18":"tag-washington-dc"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/116517147940558138","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}