A nonprofit launched to take over three public golf courses owned by the National Park Service in the nation’s capital announced plans Tuesday to redevelop a historic golf course on the West Coast.
The move comes after the Trump administration backed out of a deal with the National Links Trust to renovate the Washington, D.C., courses, with President Donald Trump suggesting he would like to get more directly involved in the projects.
National Links Trust has entered a deal with the Friends of the Port Townsend Golf Park to develop the Camas Prairie Park — a more than 100-year-old, community-focused, golf course 56 miles northwest of Seattle. The move expands the nonprofit beyond its roots in Washington, D.C., amid uncertainty over its role in the region’s public golf courses.
The nonprofit continues to manage the Rock Creek Park Golf Course, Langston Golf Course and Driving Range, and East Potomac Golf Links properties in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the NPS. But its sweeping development plans, which had drawn millions of dollars and pro bono work from famous golf architects, were terminated late last year when the Interior Department ended the 50-year lease agreement.
