Staff at historic DC muni in the dark about Trump’s reported renovation plan

or REPORT that President Trump’s administration will begin renovations at the historic Washington, DC, East Potomac Golf Linksjust Monday came as a surprise to the people in charge of taking care of the golf course.

“I woke up last night and looked at the story and that’s all we had heard,” said Lorenza Robinson, the course’s operations manager. GOLF.com in a phone interview Saturday morning.

According to that storywhich was released Friday evening by a DC-based nonprofit news outlet knownThe National Park Service will begin landscaping and tree clearing work on the site next week in preparation for a major renovation by renowned course designer Tom Fazio.

The report is the latest twist in what has been a strange and stressful period of limbo for East Potomac and two other D.C. munis — Langston and Rock Creek — which until recently were operated by the National Links Trust. In December, the government ended controversially lease to NLT to manage, operate and renovate all three courses, effectively taking control of the properties.

The NLT was also caught off guard by Friday’s report. “A complete surprise to us,” the organization said in a statement. known also reported that the government offered NLT a renewed lease for Rock Creek, which NLT disputes. “We have not received any offers for a lease at Rock Creek Park Golf (or any indication of what the future holds for Langston Golf Course),” NLT’s statement said. “As of the time of this posting, we have had no interaction with anyone from the Department of the Interior or the National Park Service regarding these matters.”

The Department of the Interior did not immediately comment known‘ report. When asked by GOLF.com If work on East Potomac were to begin next week, a DOI spokesman responded with a statement that read in part: “DOI and NPS are committed to continuing the relationships we have built with local golf communities to ensure these courses are safe, beautiful, open, affordable, enjoyable, accessible and world-class for people who live in and visit the greatest capital city in the world, made President Trump the greatest city in the world. Administration, and this project will be no exception.”

Talk to East Potomac regulars and they’ll tell you the uncertainty about the property’s future is troubling. The same goes for people who continue the 106-year course. Will the course lose its populist appeal? Will green fees go up? Will the staff be replaced?

“It’s been tough, man, because you don’t really know what’s going on,” Robinson, the operations manager, told GOLF.com. “But you’re still a professional when you come to work every day and do everything the right way. Smile the same way, come with the same joy, regardless.” He added, “The same way we came in, this is the way we’re going out: the right way.”

East Potomac, which sits on a strip of land between the Potomac River and the Washington Canal and offers views of the Washington Monument, is home to two nine-hole courses and the main attraction: an 18-hole layout designed by Walter Travis. In 1923, it was the site of the second game of the US Public Links Championship. In the 1940s, it was central to efforts to desegregate the city’s public golf courses, and to this day it attracts golfers from a wide range of backgrounds and demographics. The course made national headlines in October when it was made place of disposal about the rubble from President Trump’s East Wing renovation project; with each passing month, that pile has continued to grow.

Since the Trump administration terminated the NLT lease, three munis have continued to operate, but with reduced staff. In East Potomac, golfers are greeted with NLT signage that reads in part: “You may experience an impact to operations, staffing and hours. We appreciate your patience.”

“It hurts a lot,” Robinson said.

Robinson, who is 43 and goes by the nickname “Country,” has worked in East Potomac for 16 years. When he started, he cleaned the carts and took out the trash. “I leaned, I learned, I learned,” he said. “I continued to work on my own.”

When Robinson was asked what East Potomac, where 18-hole fees start at $29, means to D.C. muni players, he said, “It’s like a world away from the world, man. It’s a peace and a sanctuary here. When you’re on this golf course and you’re in this area, you don’t see that this is a beautiful place.”

Robinson said golfers are buzzing about it known report to the course on Saturday morning, with some asking questions about what they had read and heard – questions, for now, that have no answers. Of the regulars, Robinson said, “The first thing they say is, ‘Until they close the door, I’m still coming to support. Anything I can do, I can support. Our golfers are great, man.”

Robinson feels the same way about his contributions. Until he is told otherwise, he will continue to show up for work and return to the course that has given him so much. “I don’t expect what’s supposed to happen,” he said. “I know what the news says, what the report says. I’m just saying my prayers, man, and hopefully the golf course will be open on Sunday.”