Golf

 

Rock Creek Park Golf Course

NPS / Claire Hassler

Rock Creek Park Golf Course

Located on the east side of Rock Creek Park, along 16th Street NW, north of Military Road NW in Washington, DC, the Rock Creek Park Golf Course consists of an 18-hole, parkland style golf course. The 103-acre course is located approximately six miles northwest of the United States Capitol and three miles south of Silver Spring, Maryland.

Play a 9-hole or 5-hole course, visit the pro shop and snack shop, or test your skills on the putting green! Book a tee time and get current information on rates and services at Play DC Golf.

History

Washington, DC's, public golf courses are all from the Golden Age of golf, a period of explosive growth of the sport's popularity in America in the early 20th century. Architect William S. Flynn designed the Rock Creek Park Golf Course, which was built between 1921 and 1926 under the direction of the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds. Flynn's design sought inspiration from and harmony with the existing landscape. The course's design incorporated the terrain and stands of mature trees to provide vistas and scenic routes along the course. The design also incorporated an existing farmhouse by converting it into a clubhouse. The original nine-hole course opened in May 1923, with President Warren G. Harding in attendance.

The immediate popularity of the course prompted a redesign to expand the course to a full eighteen holes, which opened in 1926. The expanded course featured a leveler, easier front nine in the southeastern half of the course and a more difficult back nine, known for a steep climb up "Cardiac Hill." Today, golfers play down this hill rather than up.

The rerouting and widening of Military Road in the late 1950s required the modification of several of the holes on the front nine, designed by architect William F. Gordon. Between 1963 and 1965 the National Park Service built a new clubhouse. After changes were made to several of the holes on the back nine in the early 1970s, the holes were brought back to their original configuration in the early 1980s. Rock Creek Park Golf Course was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing resource to the Rock Creek Park Historic District in 1991.

Bibliography

 

Resources, documentations and reports

Source: Data Store Collection 9402 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

 

Rehabilitation Project

 

Rendered image of the proposed putting green and clubhouse at Rock Creek Park Golf Course

Courtesy of National Links Trust

The National Park Service and National Links Trust will begin rehabilitation of the Rock Creek Park Golf Course in late 2024. 

Why rehabilitation of the Rock Creek Park Golf Course is needed
Everything has a lifespan, and the course is more than 100 years old. Rock Creek Park Golf Course suffers from poor course playability, deteriorated cart paths, erosion and poor irrigation systems, invasive / nuisance vegetation, and dead and dying trees. The small, worn clubhouse does not support golf course operations and is not accessible to persons with mobility disabilities.

Improvements for visitor access and affordability
The rehabilitated Rock Creek Park Golf Course will attract a wider range of golfers from beginners to experienced. As a public golf course managed by the nonprofit National Links Trust, the price to play is low and, in some cases, free. The large practice putting green, modeled after the Himalayas Putting Green at St. Andrews in Scotland, will be free to use and will serve those who wish to practice putting on their own or play a match with friends over the half-acre rolling green. A practice facility with a short-game area, driving range, and indoor hitting bays will also invite golfers of all levels.   

In addition to the golf improvements, there will be new trails, meadows, and a restaurant.  

Also, employees will have better working conditions and there will be an improved space to host the golfer development programs the non-profit National Links Trust manages.    

Improvements for the environment
From an ecological perspective, the golf course will be managed sustainably. The installation of cold tolerant Bermuda grass for fairways and tees along with the latest generation of bent grass for greens will minimize using water, fertilizer and plant protectants. Construction of the par 3 short course will allow the golf holes that are currently closed in the northwest portion of the property to be converted to pollinator meadows thereby increasing and improving habitat. 

 
Impacts and mitigations (update Sept. 6, 2024)

• Trees
  • We are committed to preserving the park's natural resources by minimizing tree removal and planting up to 2,175 new trees across 7.1 acres.
  • Removing dead trees is important for safety reasons because they are prone to falling and causing damage to people and property. Meanwhile invasive plants threaten native species by outcompeting them for sunlight, water and nutrients. Invasive trees have covered original stands of trees leaving a dense impenetrable border obscuring views and reducing playability.  
• Lighting
  • To reduce impacts, we've eliminated lighting from the short game area and pedestrian path. At the driving range a move sensitive ball tracking camera will allow us to cut light intensity by 70% or more.
• Water retention
  • Our improved water management plan includes expanding the cistern system and eliminating the need for an irrigation pond, preserving 77 trees in the process.
• Design of facilities
  • We've added bird-friendly windows to the clubhouse design that not only meet but exceed upcoming regulations.
  • We've optimized the placement of solar panels on the driving range to reduce costs while still achieving environmental goals.
    
    

Effects on endangered species (update Dec. 10, 2024)

The NPS consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under the Endangered Species Act to make sure the golf course project avoids harm to sensitive species, including:

Northern long-eared bat (endangered)

Hay’s Spring amphipod (endangered)

Tricolored bat (proposed endangered)

Monarch butterfly (candidate species)

USFWS Findings:

The project avoids habitats that bats prefer. The interior forest of Rock Creek Park is the habitat area that bats use rather than the golf course area.

There is no evidence of habitat for the Hay’s Spring amphipod or milkweed for monarch butterflies in the project area.

Light and noise impacts from the project are minimal.

NPS Commitments to Wildlife:

The project uses an adaptive management approach, ensuring environmental considerations guide every decision. This approach allows us to learn, adjust, and improve practices over time. For example, invasive plant removal, pruning, and addressing safety concerns help balance habitat health with community use. Less than half of the trees identified in the Environmental Assessment will be removed this winter, focusing on areas where trees that are dead, invasive, or harming the turf.

Goals of this project include improving turf health, tree health, and visitor safety. This requires the removal of invasive vegetation and trees that pose an unacceptable level of risk to the visitors of the golf course. This adaptive management approach of first removing invasive vegetation and unsafe trees will allow the NPS to see whether turf and tree health can be improved before proceeding with additional tree removals.

For every healthy, native tree removed, three trees will be planted as part of the project and will connect fragmented habitats to larger forest areas. Due to adaptive management approach we will not know what that final number is until later in the project, but it could be up to 2,100 trees over 7.1 acres. All removals and the condition of trees are being tracked with GIS.

12.3 acres of meadow will replace invasive species and provide habitat for the Monarch butterfly and other insects and pollinators.

The NPS and National Links Trust will use best practices for erosion, sediment control, and stormwater management.

These steps reflect the NPS’s dedication to conservation and responsible land management.

Learn more about the USFWS consultation at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/rockcreekgolfplan

 

Tree Canopy and Planting Zones

Left image
Existing tree canopy
Credit: NPS

Right image
Meadow and tree planting plan
Credit: NPS

The left image shows the existing tree canopy. The right image shows the meadow and tree planting plan.

 

   

These two dropdowns provide more detailed alt descriptions of the maps in the slider feature above.

Existing tree canopy

A map showing the existing tree canopy at the Rock Creek Park Golf Course.

Text above left of the map reads, Existing Tree Canopy. Text above right of the map reads, NPS National Capital Region Golf Courses Master Lease, Rock Creek Park Golf Course. A key below the map notes different colors and their meaning on the map. Green is the existing tree canopy and a red line is the lease boundary. 

This map also shows the proposed new configuration of the golf course in gray.

Meadow and tree planting plan

 
A map showing the meadow and tree planting plan for the Rock Creek Park Golf Course.

Text above left of the map reads, Meadow and Tree Planting Plan. Text above right of the map reads, NPS National Capital Region Golf Courses Master Lease, Rock Creek Park Golf Course. A key below the map notes different colors and their meaning on the map. Orange is riparian added, 0.4 acres; yellow is native grass meadow added, 3.8 acres; blue is mid successional native plan meadow added, 2.4 acres; pink is pollinator meadow added, 5.7 acres; green is proposed final tree canopy; purple is forest canopy; dark blue is parkland canopy; and a red line denotes the lease boundary. 
 
This map also shows the proposed new configuration of the golf course shown in gray.

 

Proposed timeline
Construction is tentatively planned to start in late 2024. It is expected to take two years to complete the rehabilitation of Rock Creek Park Golf Course. The first year will focus on the clubhouse area and the maintenance facility with the golf course work taking place in year two. 

Funding the project
National Links Trust (NLT), a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of historic golf courses while promoting accessibility, affordability, and engagement with the public, is paying for the $25 to $35 million project with loans, donations and revenue. 

Learn more about the project 
More information about the Rock Creek Park Golf Course rehabilitation project is available on the National Park Service's Planning, Environment & Public Comment website.

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