Why some say Trump should overhaul Langston golf course, not East Potomac
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Langston Golf Course, by the Anacostia River. Photo: Linda Davidson/The Washington Post via Getty Images
President Trump may be obsessing over the wrong D.C. golf course.
Why it matters: Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum have designs on renovating East Potomac Park, hauling dirt to the links by the river and yanking its lease.
Context: Team Trump's working thought: Transform the kinda-basic muni fairways into a top-flight venue worthy of a Ryder Cup or PGA-sponsored tournament.
Yes, but: Golf aficionados say it's unlikely — the man-made island on which East Potomac sits is flat, bottlenecked, difficult for large crowds to access, and sinking into the Potomac River.
- "There's no way, it's an absolutely absurd idea," Garrett Morrison, head of architecture content at the Fried Egg Golf newsletter, said on the "Dream City Podcast," co-hosted by me and journalist Tom Sherwood. "You really could not accommodate a major championship buildout in any form."
So, some eyes are turning toward Langston Golf Course.
- Langston is among the three D.C. public golf courses on National Park Service grounds. (Quick ICYMI: Trump took over all three when he cancelled the National Links Trust's 50-year lease in late December, devastating the group and upending its renovation plans.)
- Away from the monuments, Langston abuts the idyllic National Arboretum and unfurls near the future Commanders stadium, at RFK. It's larger, much more topographically interesting, and home to more seasoned golfers than East Potomac.
"We can redevelop Langston into a gorgeous, 18-hole course," former council member (and no stranger to D.C.'s fairways) Bill Lightfoot said on the "Dream City" episode.
- The course's proximity to the new hotels, entertainment and neighborhood surrounding the forthcoming Commanders stadium has the potential to be the "bright and shiny" pop the president is after, Lightfoot said.
- The White House should consider "combining Langston as to some part of the RFK development."
Friction point: Langston is historic and a special place for the local Black community, beginning as a welcoming place for African Americans during segregation. The tight-knit community has long wanted upgrades at the site but would want any grand future plans to continue welcoming the public.
- It's named after John Mercer Langston, an abolitionist and founding dean of the Howard University School of Law.
What's ahead: The Trump administration has reportedly eyed upgrades at East Potomac with architect Tom Fazio, but a proposal is still TBA. It'll go through a public process with the National Capital Planning Commission.