Has a municipal golf course ever won more titles than East Potomac Golf Links?
President Trump has done so, with his wishes to turn the beloved park in DC’s answer to Bethpage Black. We can’t blame a New York native wanting to create something as grand as Long Island’s public golf spectacle—the rare gem of a community capable of hosting major championships and a Ryder Cup. But the organization and investigation over property has reached unsustainable levels, In and out of the federal courts.
Rather than add to that ongoing debate (and no one is almost settled), I would like to present another piece of evidence for those who follow these headlines. Consider an amicus brief – the story of a city to which the administration could and should pay close attention: Jackson Park.
JP, as it is known here in Chicago, is very similar to East Po. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been a crucial asset for accessibility since its founding in 1899, when patrons could play… free. On Tuesday afternoon — a blissful 70-degree November day — when voting lines snaked down sidewalks and around corners, you could snag JP for just $25.
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Jackson Park also once housed dreams like Trump, through which a major renovation will attract and challenge elite players and, by extension, the eyes of the world. Remember 2016? When Tiger Woods stopped to drive a redevelopment of the property, connecting Jackson Park to a nearby par-3 par-3?
That plan, like the East Po proposal recently presented by the Department of the Interior, eliminated holes rather than adding them, with the goal of creating an 18-hole. championship course that will stretch over 7,000 yards and court the discerning eye of the PGA Tour events team.
The Obama Foundation has been linked to the project; the former president himself recruited Woods and his design team. As exciting as the concept was, however, it was, like East Po, met with fierce local opposition. Environmentalists criticized what the construction would do to local wetlands, and community golfers questioned whether the course could maintain accessibility if it tried to attract even, say, the BMW Championship.
Before long, the Obama Foundation moved away from the course and instead focused its efforts on finishing the nearby presidential library. Woods’ design team never broke ground on Jackson Park and, in later years, Troon stepped in to manage the property.
Instead of getting a full-on facelift, Jackson Park just got a little nip and tuck that cost just $2.8 million. The city added a short game area next to the clubhouse. The teeing grounds have been redesigned and – cleverly – combined and lengthened to provide a more complicated test. The course’s bunker range has been resized and repositioned to challenge modern players, while at least 10 bunkers have been removed and grassed over, making life easier for weekend pirates who like their golf in the $30 range. In all, the workers removed more than 50% of the sand on the course, but what remains is good sand, the kind that drains best when it rains.
Jackson Park serves as a reminder that not all good things in golf are meant to be big. Munis often work best in moderation.
3 things I think:
1. Old habits (schedules) die hard: I spent some time with Sam Burns recently, and was so curious about how he plans his offseason game schedule. Burns told me that the new Tour schedule, which really doesn’t start until late January, makes it difficult to stay strong in November, December and early January. Three weeks ago, he didn’t think Tiger Woods’ event in the Bahamas made much sense to him. It felt like a one-off between vacations. But then I saw his name (and many other main names) on the field list and I knew why: These guys don’t want to be away from the competition for so long.
2. A new no. 1? We have been conditioned to see two names at the top of the world rankings: Scheffler and Korda. But that’s why everyone should be paying attention to DataGolf, the industry’s leading analytics platform. Because while Scheffler remains the top dog in the men’s game, a new player has taken that spot for women: Miyu Yamashita. Across three different tours, the Japanese star has won five of his last 12 tournaments. I’d like to think it will inspire some fire in the Korda camp as we head towards 2027.
3. The next great golf content? If you’re anything like me, the mega-popular Internet Invitational is all my golf buddies want to talk about. One problem: The reality-TV-ification of golf is not my kind of content. Fortunately, my kind of content has announced its next release: on November 24, at 9 pm, the official film of the Masters 2026 will debut on the Golf Channel. The most famous golf tournament in the world has become so serious about its first content that it has decided to also give a premiere date. No red carpet, unfortunately, but a red circle on the calendar for me.
