Tree Cutting Begins at Historic East Potomac Golf Links Amid Trump’s Redesign Plans

On a crisp Saturday morning in early October, crews in bright orange vests swung chainsaws along the perimeter of the East Potomac Golf Links, a public course that has watched the nation’s capital change for more than a century. The National Park Service announced it would take down more than 500 trees that, in its view, no longer serve the historic layout of the course.

In a filing with the district court, the agency clarified that none of the healthy, historically‑significant trees—like the iconic cherry trees that bloom each spring—would be touched. Instead, it’s the overgrown, non‑contributing specimens that are slated for removal, a total of 169 trees this week and another 90 in the weeks to follow.

The massive pruning comes as the Trump administration presses ahead with a sweeping redesign that envisions the modest municipal course becoming a world‑class venue capable of hosting the U.S. Open, the Ryder Cup or the PGA Championship. The president, an avid golfer, has already posted renderings and boasted that the revamped layout will draw the sport’s biggest names.

Local residents and longtime users of the course, however, aren’t exactly cheering. Many fear the transformation will usher in steep greens fees and effectively turn a democratic recreation space into an exclusive club, pushing out families who have played there for generations.

“The National Park Service is finally implementing a seven‑year‑old plan to address tree overgrowth at East Potomac Golf Course,” the Interior Department said in a statement Saturday. The department added that the work is meant to restore historic sightlines toward the Washington Monument, the Potomac River and the Washington Channel, while still preserving the park’s natural character.

Even as the NPS assures the public that the course will stay open—albeit with occasional hole closures for safety—the project has been tangled in a lawsuit since February. The DC Preservation League and other plaintiffs argue that the redesign violates the 1897 congressional act that created the park, and they have asked the court for an emergency stop‑work order.

Charles Birnbaum, president of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, weighed in, insisting the tree removal should trigger a Section 106 review under the National Historic Preservation Act. “The work is not routine maintenance, and therefore, for a designated property, they need to undertake Section 106,” he said.

Trump has taken to social media, tweeting that once completed, the course will have the “ability to host Major Golf Tournaments, including The U.S. Open, The Ryder Cup, The PGA Championship, and other top PGA Tour events.” Yet experts note that major tournament sites are chosen years in advance, so the timeline remains uncertain.

For now, golfers can still tee off at East Potomac, watching in the background as historic branches fall and a new chapter for the course begins—one that will likely be debated in courts, in town halls, and on the fairways for years to come.