East Potomac Park Golf Club

The White Course at East Potomac Park Golf Club occupies a unique position in American golf as one of the few courses situated on federal parkland within a major city's core. Designed by Robert White and opened in the 1920s, it sits on a peninsula formed by the Washington Channel and the Potomac River, directly across from Reagan National Airport and within view of the capital's monuments. The course is part of a larger municipal golf complex that has served Washington's public golfers for nearly a century, making it one of the oldest continuously operating public facilities in the region. The routing follows relatively flat terrain characteristic of reclaimed tidal land, with the Potomac River providing both scenic backdrop and occasional playing consideration on holes along the water. The layout is straightforward and walkable, designed in an era when municipal golf prioritized accessibility and pace of play over dramatic earthmoving or strategic complexity. Mature trees line many fairways, and the course's modest length by modern standards reflects its origins in the hickory-shaft era. East Potomac Park has long served a diverse golfing population, from federal employees and military personnel to neighborhood residents, functioning as a democratic gathering place in a city often defined by exclusivity. The facility's location and history give it a distinctive character among American municipal courses—a working public layout where the game continues much as it has for generations, with the Capitol dome visible in the distance.