'Trash Island' or DC landmark? How a golf course landed Trump in a messy legal dispute
Trump said he has plans to turn a 106-year-old public golf course in Washington DC into a tournament-capable golf course for pros, but local golfers are not happy.
‘Trash Island’ or a DC landmark? How a golf course drew Trump into a tangled legal fight
For Jourdain Yardan, playing golf at East Potomac Golf Links on Washington DC’s waterfront is a twice-weekly habit.
“Anyone from any walk of life, whether they're starting to play golf or whether they're a ... seasoned golfer, they can come out here and play golf at a pretty reasonable rate,” the 35-year-old told the BBC while putting on the course on Monday.
But President Donald Trump does not appear persuaded by its appeal, describing the 106-year-old course as “Trash Island” on Truth Social Monday evening.
He now plans to close it for renovations to build a space that “will be open to the Public while, at the same time, designed to the Highest Level of Golf and able to hold World Class Tournaments”.
The renovation is part of the president’s wide-ranging and controversial push to reshape the US capital, which also includes a new White House ballroom, a 250-foot-tall arch and other alterations to long-established landmarks. The golf course is a smaller undertaking, but one that is deeply personal to many city residents.
Jourdain Yardan worries regular people will not be able to golf at the course if it is renovated as Trump suggested
Yardan said a possible closure, even a temporary one, would be a “huge dent” in DC culture and could alter the heart of the space.
Trump, an avid golfer and owner of more than a dozen courses, says his plan for the course will make it “one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World”.
But before Trump can carry out his plans, the courts will have to settle the dispute between the White House and the community.
The historic course, located 2 miles (3km) south of the White House, is one of three public courses operated by the National Park Service in the nation’s capital. A lawsuit filed by the DC Preservation League and two golfers from the course asks the court to block Trump’s planned renovation.
“Our litigation is intended to protect this community jewel for the people and communities it serves,” Democracy Forward, the group representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement on social media.
The legal battle escalated this month after the government began removing large numbers of trees on the course without notifying the court or the plaintiffs.
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to halt its redevelopment plans until at least 26 October.
Even with the work paused, Trump posted on social media on Sunday that the course will be closed for 15-months starting in November to make way for the renovations. He also posted a rendering of the redesigned course.
“The current Course is old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect. It is in very poor condition, with falling, dangerous, and disease-infested trees and, importantly, a collapsing and hazardous seawall,” Trump wrote in his Sunday post.
While golfer Thomas Snow, who is not part of the lawsuit, agreed the course could use a “facelift”, he said the president’s description of it is a “gross overstatement”.
Thomas Snow has been golfing at East Potomac for 15 years
At present, East Potomac does not provide the polished experience one might expect at the luxury private golf courses the president is known for developing. The public course is open to everyone and does not require membership.
The DC course’s facilities are more modest, with food court-style dining instead of features like white tablecloth restaurants and upscale locker rooms.
Golfers such as Snow and Yardan, who regularly play at East Potomac, told the BBC that it offers a rare mix of affordability and closeness to the city.
“You start to clear everything out and it just starts to become an empty plot of land that you just hit golf balls on; I think it gets rid of the culture of the golf course,” Yardan said.
As a 70-year-old golfer, Snow pays $29 (£21.65) for 18 holes when he goes to East Potomac.
“There’s no place in the whole DMV (the metropolitan region including DC and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs) that you can play a nice 18 holes for that price point,” he said.
Snow fears that if Trump’s proposal goes ahead, people will be priced out.
Yardan, the twice-weekly golfer, shared those concerns.
“Anytime you hear about big league, big golfers, that also includes big prices,” he said. “The biggest thing that I like about this golf course .. is that it's affordable,” he said.
East Potomac Golf Links is one of three public golf courses in Washington DC.