Tree management (superintendent/golf course architect code for tree removal) can be an important component of any golf course restoration project. Tree-management plans can be controversial, however, stirring emotions from those who envision an open layout and the agronomic benefits of air movement and sunlight on one side, to those so invested in legacy plantings that they cannot see the forest for the trees.
And while such projects typically are limited to in-club disagreements, a pending renovation of a government-owned golf course in Washington, D.C., has captured the attention of a federal judge, who has — for the time being — shut down the project.
On Oct. 26, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes extended an order blocking further work on restoration of East Potomac Golf Course, a 1921 Walter Travis design owned by the National Park Service.
President Donald Trump announced in June plans to renovate East Potomac Golf Course, a 1921 Walter Travis design owned by the National Park Trust. As part of that restoration effort an estimated 450 to 529 trees have been removed from the golf course. That prompted Reyes to issue a stay on the project on Oct. 13.
Three days later, the president stated on social media plans to close the course for 15 months beginning Nov. 15.
Reyes extended the block on Oct. 26 in a 70-page ruling that temporarily bars the removal or damaging of any additional trees on the golf course. According to the order, the administration must give 10 days’ notice in writing before making any “irreparable modification” to any “forms or features” of the course while the lawsuit is active.
East Potomac, which was the beneficiary of a National Golf Day service project in 2025, had been managed by the National Links Trust. That agreement between the trust and the park service is set to dissolve by Nov. 15, according to published reports.
The president is known to be an avid golfer who owns courses at 15 properties throughout the United States and abroad, with another six courses set to open soon throughout Asia.
