In President Trump’s first extended comments about the Washington, D.C., golf course he wants to renovate, he gave a dim assessment of the property’s current condition.
On Sunday, after a tour of the century-old Blue Course at East Potomac Golf LinksTrump, in a social truth postdescribed the course as “dilapidated, worn and very dangerous,” citing falling tree limbs as a threat to golfers. “Furthermore, the sprinkler system is gone, there is no filtration and the remaining sprinklers are not able to do even 10% of what is needed,” the president continued. “The grass is mostly dead, the greens are virtually unplayable and the course is in very poor overall condition.”
Trump said he visited the site with a group that included Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose National Park Service is overseeing the project, and golf course architect Tom Fazio, who Trump was elected to redesign the course. “It was determined that on this fantastic site, with water and unparalleled views of the DC Landmarks, we will build one of the greatest golf courses anywhere in the world,” Trump wrote.
He said construction of the course will begin Sept. 1 and “will go quickly.”
Before any ground can be seriously broken (legally, anyway), the NPS will need the blessing of the courts. After wresting control of the beloved property from the National Links Trust late last year, the Trump administration unveiled plans for East Potomac that bore little resemblance to the existing Walter Travis design and also removed nine of the property’s other 18 holes.
The threat of a wholesale demolition and reimagining of East Potomac Park, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, prompted a lawsuit in February by the DC Preservation League and, in May, an emergency motion to stop the NPS from beginning any renovations. The federal judge who ruled on that motion told Justice Department lawyers that there would be “serious consequences” if the administration proceeded with any major work in progress without getting approval and notifying the court in advance.
The next hearing on that motion is set for July 2, Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League, said. said GOLF.com earlier this month.
Miller said he hopes the judge will issue an injunction that would prevent the NPS from proceeding with any construction until it has approval from all necessary parties. Miller said he would like to see a faithful restoration of Travis’ design. “Under Section 106 of the Preservation Act, that golf course is character-defining for the historic district,” Miller said. “So yes, it should be brought back. If changes are going to be made, those changes can be minimized so that they have less negative effect on the course.” She added, “A wholesale redesign would be inconsistent with conservation standards.”
On Monday, the DC Preservation League filed more court documents — this time, a “friend of the court” briefing with historical perspectives about the Blue Course from the Walter J. Travis Society.
“The Society is not asking the Court to decide who should redesign the East Potomac, or freeze the course as it was in 1920,” the briefing said. “Courses evolve; the Park Service says so itself. What the Park Service cannot do is change a historic course by treating the law as if it were not there.”
Later, the briefing says: “To the non-golfer, the short point is this: the historic value of East Potomac lies in the arrangement, the placement of features in the land, not in the dirt itself. Change the deal and change the historic resource.”
In his Social Truth post, Trump concluded that the course will be “designed to the highest standards of golf, but also in such a way that the general public will enjoy it.”
