WASHINGTON (7News) — Three D.C. golf courses will remain open to the public a week after a judge halted the closure of East Potomac Park and months of uncertainty after the Trump administration cancelled a 50-year contract with the group that oversaw the parks.
The National Links Trust will continue operating the East Potomac, Langston, and Rock Creek Park golf courses for now after an agreement was reached with the Department of the Interior, both agencies wrote in statements released Friday evening.
In exchange, the Interior Department said it will oversee several NLT renovations, including new facilities and renovations at the Rock Creek Park Golf Course and the Langston Golf Course, according to a statement. Additionally, the Washington Commanders are working to create a potential partnership at Langston, federal officials said.
“We look forward to continuing providing our expertise in operating and managing these beloved and historic courses and to making D.C. proud,” NLT Co-Founders Mike McCartin and Will Smith wrote in a statement.
On May 4, a judge blocked the government from closing East Potomac Golf Links for a massive overhaul, siding with preservationists who said the alterations could have been harmful and that certain reviews had been skipped.
Dirt taken from the demolished East Wing of the White House to East Potomac was found to have high levels of toxic metals, PCBs, and pesticides, according to an interim report requested by the National Park Service and published in late April.
The judge said federal officials needed to provide a reasonable amount of warning before any changes to the park could be made.
The Interior Department said East Potomac will undergo necessary major infrastructure projects, which would “incorporate themes of the original Walter J. Travis design.” It would also include an 18-hole golf course “capable of hosting pre-eminent tournament golf and offering players-of all abilities.”
At Rock Creek Golf Course, officials plan to continue building a new clubhouse, driving range, practice facilities, and maintenance facility. Work would also be done to restore the nine-hole William Flynn-designed golf course, build a new nine-hold course, and develop a restaurant and ecological trail, among other changes, according to the National Links Trust.
Plans at Langston Golf Course include building a learning facility and continuing the caddie program with the Western Golf Association, officials said.