The federal government has ended the lease agreement for three public golf courses in Washington, DC, a move that offers President Trump an additional opportunity to put his stamp on another piece of the nation's capital. The National Links Trust, the nonprofit that has operated the three public courses on federal land for the past five years, said Wednesday that the Department of the Interior had terminated its 50-year lease agreement, the AP reports. The department said it was terminating the lease because the nonprofit had not implemented required capital improvements and failed to meet the terms of the lease.
While it was unclear what the Trump administration's plans are for the golf courses, the move gives Trump, whose private company has developed numerous golf courses in the US and abroad, the chance to remake links overlooking the Potomac River and in Rock Creek Park and a site that is part of Black golf history. Officials for the National Links Trust said in a statement that they were "devastated" by the decision and defended their management of the courses. They said $8.5 million had gone toward capital improvements at the courses and that rounds played and revenue had more than doubled in their tenure managing the courses. The nonprofit has agreed to keep managing the courses for the time being, but long-term renovations will stop.
"While this termination is a major setback, we remain stubbornly hopeful that a path forward can be found that preserves affordable and accessible public golf in the nation's capital for generations to come," the officials added. The trust had lined up famed architects Gil Hanse, Tom Doak, and Beau Welling to oversee the renovations at the East Potomac, Rock Creek Park, and Langston courses, per Golf Digest. All were working pro bono.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
