News & Events

Muni Golf In the News Coast-To-Coast

Dec 18, 2025by - San Francisco Public Golf Alliance

Love Letter To SF and NORCAL Munis

Fried Egg Golf offers a fun holiday gift to Bay Area golfers with a focus on San Francisco's historic munis. Their recent podcast features star turns by Golf Channel’s Kira Dixon, Gleneagles operator Tom Hsieh, architect Jay Blasi (Golden Gate, Poppy Ridge), and eye candy views of Lincoln, Northwood, Harding, Gleneagles, Sharp Park, Pacific Grove, and places in-between. (Say What? No Presidio?)

The Fried Egg on "Taking a Golf Trip to San Francisco":

Josh Sens in Golf Magazine reminds us of the importance of preserving and protecting our affordable, accessible, historic municipal gems with his take on Sharp Park - "Why the survival of this Alister MacKenzie muni means so much to golf":

Women teeing off on Sharp Parks 14th tee

"Sharp Park Golf Course, just south of San Francisco, has a unique claim to fame. It’s the only seaside municipal course in the United States designed by Alister MacKenzie. It is also something of a cause célèbre. Golfers have long been rallying around it... But while a handful of original holes have been lost, much of MacKenzie’s work remains. His imprint is clear in the deceptive hazards and artful doglegs, and the humps and bumps of the greens and fairways. With Pacific waves crashing in the backdrop and wind-coiffed cypress trees framing the grounds, the property has a mystic feel about it. The rustic clubhouse complements the atmosphere and reflects the price point."

Meanwhile, In the Nation's Capitol . . .

The nonprofit National Links Trust, which has since 2020 been working under a 50-year lease with the US Department of the Interior to restore a trio of dilapidated municipal golf courses in Washington, DC, has come under fire from the Interior Department, which (i) in October ordered that White House East Wing demolition waste be dumped onto one of courses; and (ii) on Dec. 12 filed a formal Notice of Default against National Links Trust, telling the Wall Street Journal that President Trump wants to build a new high-end course on the East Potomac site, designed to host professional tournaments. National Links Trust on Dec. 18 announced it “disagree[s] with the characterization that we are in default,” and called for golfers to help fight for its vision of “affordable and accessible municipal golf”.

Meredith McGraw has the story in the Wall Street Journal, Dec. 13, 2025 -
"Trump’s Next Renovation Target: DC’s Golf Courses.":

"The National Links Trust has a 50-year lease to restore and operate Washington’s three public golf courses: East Potomac, Rock Creek Park Golf and Langston Golf Course, a historically significant course for Black golfers.Core to the group’s mission is making the elite sport more accessible to people who can’t afford hefty fees and membership dues. Green fees at East Potomac range from $9 for junior golfers to $47. The nonprofit, which is five years into its lease, was selected during Trump’s first term by the National Park Service to overhaul the aging courses. All three are on the National Register ofHistoric Places."

The Fried Egg's Andy Johnson summarizes what's at stake -
"Trump, the National Links Trust, and D.C. Golf":

"If East Potomac still sat in the same condition and trajectory in which the NLT found it, Trump’s vision would be more understandable. But after an organization put in so much legwork—winning a National Park Service bid for the lease, assembling an all-star team, and successfully operating the courses for half a decade—it leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many who, as kids would say, “know ball.” These are two different visions, one rooted in accessibility and history, and another on a high-end facility geared towards elite competition and fashioned in the architectural trends of yesteryear. What’s really at stake is the caretaking of one of America’s most valuable green spaces, and what happens to it over the next 100 years, long after President Trump's second term ends."

Geoff Shackleford weighs in on the D.C. developments in The Quadrilateral -
"A Travis-ty In the Making":

"As dramatic as the architectural details of East Potomac were —explained in beautiful detail by McCartin in a brilliant thesis that formed the basis of the project— the Trump-and-friends story is all a distraction from the bigger-picture consequences if the National Links Trust gets booted. The foundation laid by the rejuvenated Bethpages and Torrey Pines’ of the world gave a country rich in neglected public works a chance to go back and to revitalize both golf courses and communities around them. The National Links Trust effort has been driven by a desire to bring back architectural gems for the masses without needing the design compromises that come with building courses for the professional game and 340-yard drives... Through NLT’s efforts both in Washington D.C. and elsewhere in helping municipalities understand how to fix classic gems, they are doing a thankless job that no other golf organization dared to take on: raising the awareness and the funds to do what government has been unable to accomplish. The NLT is building something extraordinary that will leave the game in a better place and inspire new efforts across the country."

The San Francisco Public Golf Alliance shares the NLT's belief in the civic value of -- and the mission of defending and preserving -- affordable, accessible public golf and golf courses. You can help by joining our organization and/or contributing to the Cause.