Golf Course Set to Shut for 15 Months as Renovation Plans Move Forward

The Justice Department filed a notice Wednesday night confirming that the East Potomac Golf Course will close on November 15 for a 15 month renovation. The filing clarified that the National Park Service will submit a design by Tom Fazio to the National Capital Planning Commission on October 30. The new course is described as championship level and capable of hosting major events such as the U.S. Open.

The closure marks the end of a ten day period of legal uncertainty. President Donald Trump announced the renovation and closure dates in a social media post on October 18. The announcement contradicted testimony from officials in the National Park Service, Interior Department, and Justice Department. Those officials previously told the court they had no knowledge of the plans. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction on October 26 to pause changes to the site.

The court order temporarily stops the government from removing or damaging additional trees at the course. The administration must provide ten days of written notice before making any irreversible changes to the course features while the lawsuit is active. The planning commission will review the golf course design at its December 3 meeting.

The Justice Department explained that the National Park Service signed a new lease with the National Links Trust. The trust will stop operating the East Potomac course by the end of business on November 15. It will continue to operate two other public golf courses. The filing resolved a question Judge Reyes raised on Tuesday regarding whether a specific plan existed for the closure date.

Judge Reyes ordered Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. and a representative from the Department of the Interior to appear in court on Friday. She also scheduled a status hearing for that day. The judge previously criticized the administration for announcing plans that its own officials denied knowing about. Trump responded to the legal challenges in a Wednesday post on Truth Social, calling the course highly dangerous and dilapidated.

The golf course project is part of a wider push by the administration to alter Washington’s historic landscape. Other plans include a White House ballroom, a memorial arch, and a National Garden of American Heroes. A separate lawsuit challenging the construction of the arch is also active. Judge Tanya Chutkan will hold a hearing Friday on a motion to halt work on that project. The administration plans to begin arch construction as early as November 5.

Critics argue the golf course renovation will make play unaffordable for the public and damage the site’s historical character. The DC Preservation League and two golfers filed the current lawsuit challenging the project. The administration has faced multiple injunctions in recent months as it seeks to begin work on various projects despite pending legal reviews.