Court Orders Potomac Golf Course Renovation Crews to Play Every Hole Before Breaking Ground

A federal judge on Friday appointed a special master with an unusual mandate: to play all eighteen holes of the East Potomac Park public course, then report whether officials of the Trump administration concealed their plans to renovate it. The appointee, Reyes, will take the course in person, starting at the first tee and finishing on the eighteenth green, before filing any finding with the court.

The order requires that the special master's round be conducted under the same conditions as those described in the government's filings, including the placement of ground-maintenance equipment and the staging areas that officials said would not be needed until next spring. Court staff said the judge had asked that the round be walked rather than driven, so that the distances between the markers could be measured against the administration's sworn descriptions.

Plaintiffs' lawyers welcomed the approach. One of them said the case had turned on whether the public could see what was coming, and that a person standing on the fifth tee would have a clearer view of the plans than any document could provide. Government counsel asked for a short delay to arrange a ball retrieval service for the court's use.

Golfers who regularly play the course said they had been told nothing about the schedule and expected the special master to arrive before the morning rush. Several said they would be glad to show the judge where the wind usually comes off the river.

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