Heavy equipment has been busy working in corridors across what was once the West Course as well as across the front nine of the East Course for the past month at Joint Base Andrews. Clubhouse renovation is also in progress, with the patio and putting green currently being redone.
Detailed plans for the renovation are no longer being publicly disclosed, and the plans shared by the Department of the Air Force during the spring public comment period are no longer posted on the base’s website (they do remain available here on BeltwayGolfer.com).
According to an August 1 announcement posted to thecoursesatandrews.com, construction on the next phase of renovation began August 3, 2026, with clubhouse work starting through demolition of the upper and lower patios, which closed outdoor seating at Griff’s Place as of August 2. The exterior clubhouse renovation is expected to continue through spring 2027.
On the golf course, East Course Nos. 1 through 8 and South Course No. 18 closed August 3, and the East Course is now operating as a temporary nine-hole loop using South Course No. 1 followed by East Course Nos. 11 through 18. The South Course remains an 18-hole course under temporary routing, with a temporary first tee at the former East Course No. 9 and a temporary 18th hole at the former South Course No. 17. Walking is permitted on the East nine-hole loop, while on the South Course walking is not permitted on weekends and is limited to afternoon tee times on weekdays.
The announcement identifies the design firm as 1JN, founded by Jack Nicklaus, and states that Nicklaus has visited the property twice over the past year and is expected to return several more times as the project progresses. The full renovation is expected to proceed in phases through approximately the end of 2028, a timeline the announcement describes as tentative and subject to change, with the completed facility planned to include two fully renovated 18-hole courses and a new nine-hole short course, for a total of 45 holes.
In June, the Air Force told the Maryland Department of the Environment it planned to begin construction June 15, 2026, completing one course by July 2027 and the other by July 2028, according to a June 6, 2026, report by the Washington Examiner, published amid a dispute between President Trump and Governor Wes Moore in which Trump accused Moore of halting construction at Andrews. On June 26, 2026, a presidential determination exempted the Department of the Air Force’s rehabilitation and revitalization of the Andrews golf course from federal, state, interstate, and local water pollution control requirements for one year, through June 26, 2027, issued under Section 313 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2026. That exemption window closes just weeks before the Air Force’s own July target for completing the first course, which, based on that timeline, would put the first 18 holes opening for play around a rumored goal of the Fourth of July, 2027.
– Alex Dickson
