I’ve spent more mornings than I can count at East Potomac, sweeping dew on the White Course, grabbing nine before the family wakes up, enjoying countless post-round half-smokes, and in recent years introducing my oldest son to the game. It never crossed my mind that protecting the place would eventually mean putting my name on a lawsuit against the federal government. But what’s happened at East Potomac over the past few months has moved beyond the realm of golf debate and into something that warrants a legal response.
This past week, two law firms representing myself, the DC Preservation League, and fellow plaintiff Dave Roberts jointly filed suit against both the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service to protect East Potomac Golf Course from unlawful actions by the current administration.
While the administration has terminated leases at all three D.C. golf courses, our lawsuit focuses specifically on East Potomac. The administration has already taken unlawful actions here, dumping debris from the White House east wing project without proper environmental review, likely violating the National Environmental Policy Act. This debris included all manner of building material, with no verification that testing was done for pollutants or contaminants. Not only have they turned a treasured public park into a dumping ground, but the administration, along with Trump himself, has stated a vision for the course that puts its historical significance and founding purpose in jeopardy.
Perhaps the most concerning piece for the long-term health of these courses is the decision to terminate the lease and “bring them in government,” ignoring the very reason the National Park Service initiated a competitive bidding process for a long-term operator in the first place. For the first time in my lifetime, an operator was given a lease long enough to actually invest in these properties and make all three D.C. golf courses as good as they can possibly be. That kind of long-term commitment ensures the work gets done in a way that truly respects the local golf community and the city as a whole. Whether the termination has contractual merit is a separate matter.
By bringing these courses back into the government fold, it risks tying their survival to the political cycle. Nobody wants the fate of these courses to depend on whichever direction a new administration decides to take every four or eight years. That instability undermines the entire point of the original proposal. We’ve already seen how quickly this administration dismantled years of careful planning. What happens when the next administration takes over? Or the one after that? The courses and the community they serve deserve better than becoming political pawns.
The President’s stated goal is to turn East Potomac into a U.S. Open-quality course, which would likely require dedicating the entire island to a single 18-hole championship layout, eliminating both the Red Course and the White Course. The Red Course is perfect for teaching beginners, especially kids. My youngest hasn’t started playing yet, but I’ve planned to bring him out there in a couple of years, just as I did with my oldest. This proposal eliminates that opportunity, not just for my family, but for countless families across the region.
The National Park Service awarded the lease to the National Links Trust because their vision was consistent with the historical importance of the property. That is the future we support, one built on long-term stability, community access, and respect for what this place has always meant. East Potomac should remain a resource for the wide range of golfers who use it today and for generations to come.
Press release on the challenge
— Alex Dickson
