photo by Ron Cohn
From National Links Trust:
“WASHINGTON, DC — October 29, 2026 — National Links Trust (NLT), a non-profit organization dedicated to positively impacting local communities and changing lives through affordable and accessible municipal golf, today announced the finalization of a new long-term lease with the Department of the Interior and National Park Service to manage, operate, and rehabilitate Langston Golf Course and Rock Creek Park Golf. NLT’s role at East Potomac Golf Links will end on or before November 15, 2026. The new lease for Rock Creek Park Golf and Langston Golf Course was signed on October 28, 2026 and will span 50 years.”
photo by Callan Swenson
“NLT will turn its full resources toward fulfilling its original mission at these two historic community treasures. At Rock Creek Park Golf, NLT is prepared to resume major capital improvements, including a new clubhouse, driving range, and course rehabilitation. This resumption will begin in the coming months and will consist of two overlapping phases: one focused on vertical construction and practice facilities, and a second on golf course renovation and restoration. Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner will remain as course architects, and both have agreed to perform their work pro bono. The project is projected to be completed in the spring of 2028, pending permitting.
At Langston Golf Course, NLT will deepen their work with community programs like the Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program. Administered since 2021, the Vardaman Program provides local high school students with a unique opportunity to learn critical workforce skills, gain real world experience applicable in and out of the golf industry, and further develop soft skills that enable future academic and career success through paid internship and junior caddie positions.
The program also creates pathways to life-changing scholarship opportunities, including the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholars Program, a full housing and tuition college grant. The program has produced three Evans Scholars. In total, NLT has invested more than $450,000 in this program and allowed students to earn more than $750,000 in college scholarships. As a result of their participation, 95% of students in the program report learning skills useful for future employment and 90% feel they are better prepared to attend college.
While continuing this important work, NLT is preparing for a full-scale rehabilitation of the facility in the near future. Guiding this facility toward a brighter future and serving as a steward for a key site at the intersection of civil rights and sports in our country is a deeply exciting opportunity, especially given its rich history and role in the local community. Carrying out this work alongside the District’s investments in the area surrounding the future Washington Commanders stadium makes this project even more compelling and important.
While undertaking these projects, both facilities will remain affordable and accessible, now and into the future.”