Burgum touts new DC-area golf course design: Fazio's 'championship quality' but 'affordable'

Comments: by Max Rego - 05/14/26 2:22 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Max Rego - 05/14/26 2:22 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Thursday revealed a rendering of the renovated East Potomac Golf Links, located just outside of Washington, D.C. Burgum wrote on social platform X that he was excited to unveil the design of the renovated layout. Fazio Design, founded by golf course architect Tom Fazio, will work on the project, he added. Fazio has designed multiple courses owned by the Trump Organization. Like iconic public courses of Bethpage Black & Torrey Pines, East Potomac will offer locals—of the National Capital Region—championship-quality golf at affordable, highly discounted rates, the Interior Department chief concluded. The rendering features 18 holes that can play from 5,740 yards to 7,660 yards and a revamped driving range. It also includes the bike trail around the course. East Potomac, which opened in 1923 and is located on Hains Point peninsula near Reagan Washington National Airport, has 36 holes across three different courses available for play: the 18-hole Blue course, the nine-hole White course featuring only par threes and par fours and the nine-hole Red course featuring only par threes. It costs $17, $22 and $42 for members of the general public to play the Red, White and Blue courses, with cheaper rates available for juniors, senior and military service members. The National Links Trust (NLT) began operating East Potomac, along with Langston Golf Course and Rock Creek Park Golf in Washington, in 2020 under a 50-year lease agreement with the National Parks Service. Langston, which opened in 1939, is home to the oldest African American men s and women s golf clubs in the country, according to playDCgolf. But the Trump administration terminated that agreement in December, citing unpaid rent payments by the NLT and the trust s inability to complete renovation projects of the courses as stipulated by the lease agreement. The NLT disagreed with that determination, saying in December that it has consistently complied with all lease obligations as we work to ensure the brightest possible future for public golf in D.C. The administration s termination of the lease agreement with the NLT and planned renovation of East Potomac sparked a lawsuit from local golfers Dave Roberts and Alex Dickson. The initial suit, filed in February, specifically criticized the administration for dumping debris from the demolished East Wing of the White House on the course. The Interior Department announced last Friday that it reached a long-term lease agreement with the NLT for the trust to continue operating Langston and Rock Creek. Three days later, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed a notice of factual development arguing the latest news, makes clear that the forthcoming work at East Potomac is, as Plaintiffs have alleged, a massive overhaul, not merely restoration and required maintenance, indicating that they plan to continue pursuing the case. Mike McCartin and Will Smith, the co-founders of the trust, said Friday that they were pleased that the three courses will now remain open, accessible, and affordable for the residents and communities that depend on them. They added that the agreement clears the path for the NLT to resume the construction of a new clubhouse, driving range, practice facilities, maintenance facility and putting green — modeled after the Himalayas course in St. Andrews, Scotland — at Rock Creek. Under the project, noted golf course architect Gil Hanse will restore the nine-hole regulation golf course at the site and build a new nine-hole par three course. The project will also include the construction of a restaurant, new pollinator meadows and an ecological trail network. On Thursday, the NLT said it was excited by Burgum saying East Potomac will remain affordable for local golfers. The trust, echoing the Interior chief, cited Bethpage State Park in New York as a model, which has five courses on the property — including the Black course, which hosted the 2002 and 2009 men s U.S. Opens, the 2019 men s PGA Championship and last fall s Ryder Cup. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Department of the Interior and National Park Service, and we are eager to complete our rehabilitation projects at Rock Creek Park Golf and Langston Golf Course to complement this vision for East Potomac Golf Links, the NLT added. At Bethpage, 18-hole rounds for the New York state residents on the Green, Blue and Yellow courses cost $38 on weekdays and $43 on weekends, with weekday and weekend rounds on the Red course costing $43 and $48, respectively. As for the Black course, weekday 18-hole rounds cost $70 and weekend rounds cost $80, while lower rates are available at all five courses for twilight rounds, juniors and seniors. Prices for out-of-state golfers are higher at the Red and Black courses. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All right

Burgum touts new DC-area golf course design: Fazio's 'championship quality' but 'affordable'

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Burgum touts new DC-area golf course design: Fazio's 'championship quality' but 'affordable'

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