East Potomac Golf Links has been open to the public for over a hundred years and holds a unique place among municipal courses. Designed by Walter Travis as a national example for public recreation, it has stayed open through two world wars, a desegregation fight, and years of delayed repairs. On Monday morning, a federal judge ensured the course would remain open for at least another day.

U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes did not grant the full emergency stay requested by the DC Preservation League and Democracy Forward, but she did set immediate procedural rules. Now, the Trump administration must get court approval before cutting more than 10 trees on the property and must give advance notice before taking steps to close the course. When asked whether a closure was planned, administration lawyers did not provide a clear answer, saying only that the decision was still being considered. Judge Reyes said she doubted the administration’s plans were still in the early stages and told the court she thought things had moved further than the government had revealed. She warned that moving forward without proper notice would have consequences.

The court confrontation was inevitable. On Friday, NOTUS reported that the administration would close East Potomac after Sunday’s final tee time and start maintenance and tree-clearing work by Monday. The National Links Trust, which has managed the three D.C. public courses since 2020 under a 50-year lease with the National Park Service, was not informed of the closure before the news broke.

The Interior Department ended the lease on December 31, 2025, after issuing a brief notice of default in November. The notice cited missed rent and unmet development targets, which the trust disputes. Since then, there has been no replacement operator, no approved renovation plan, and the course has continued under a temporary arrangement while Tom Fazio’s redesign waits for National Park Service approval.

The National Links Trust invested over $8.5 million into the three courses. At East Potomac, annual rounds doubled from under 60,000 in 2019 to more than 120,000 by 2025. Throughout, 18-hole rates ranged from $25 to $40.

The lease termination stopped the Rock Creek Park renovation and suspended workforce development programs at Langston Golf Course. Programming for youth and the community, in place since the trust began, ended immediately. The legal record built around this course on Monday is part of a pattern that stretches back more than a hundred years.

East Potomac Golf Links has faced this question before

Walter Travis finished the original reversible nine-hole layout in 1920. In its first full year, the course saw 65,345 rounds played, showing Washington’s intent to create the leading public golf facility. In 1941, African American golfers formally protested at the course, challenging restrictions that, despite changes in the law, stayed in place until 1953.

The course’s history has always centered on one issue: does a public course in the capital serve its community, or does it answer to the authority that controls the land?

The course faced closures during wartime, ongoing maintenance delays, and a series of short-term NPS management contracts that prevented any operator from investing in its long-term health. The administration still has the power to close East Potomac, and a court filing confirmed plans to start maintenance on May 4. Judge Reyes has now set procedural steps that must be followed before work can begin, and the case is still moving through the courts.