Pennsylvania
Washington DC & Baltimore Golf Courses & Tee Times in Pennsylvania
Washington's public golf starts on federal land. The National Park Service owns three courses in the District, built between 1918 and 1939: East Potomac by the Potomac, Rock Creek in the park, and Langston on the Anacostia. National Links Trust took them over on a 50-year lease in 2020, and a May 2026 Interior agreement keeps all three open, with new long-term leases at Langston and Rock Creek. Out in Northern Virginia, most public golf belongs to the Fairfax County Park Authority and NOVA Parks. Up the road, Baltimore's five city courses have been run since 1985 by the Baltimore Municipal Golf Corporation, a nonprofit.
Can't get a tee time in Washington DC & Baltimore? Yoink watches 7 public courses, from Carroll Valley, Gettysburg, Stewartstown, Hanover and Abbottstown. Pick your courses, set the day and time you want, and get a notification when a tee time opens, cancellations included.
The longest layout here is The Links at Gettysburg at 7,031 yards.
Who runs public golf in Washington DC & Baltimore
In D.C., National Links Trust runs East Potomac, Rock Creek and Langston for the Park Service. Rock Creek is being rebuilt: nine restored William Flynn holes, a nine-hole par 3, a new clubhouse and range. The Fairfax County Park Authority runs seven facilities, including Laurel Hill in Lorton, Twin Lakes in Clifton (two 18s), Pinecrest, Greendale, Jefferson District, Burke Lake and Oakmont, all open year round, weather permitting. NOVA Parks runs Algonkian in Sterling, Brambleton in Ashburn and Pohick Bay in Lorton. In Prince George's County, Maryland, the parks department runs Enterprise in Mitchellville. Baltimore's "Classic Five" are Carroll Park, Clifton Park, Forest Park, Mount Pleasant and Pine Ridge in Lutherville. They have a Player Card with loyalty points and a monthly weekday afternoon pass.
Public courses worth knowing in Washington DC & Baltimore
- Langston Golf Course: Built in 1939 on the Anacostia to replace the country's oldest course built for African Americans. Lee Elder managed it from 1978 to 1981, and it went into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame in 2013.
- East Potomac Golf Links: Walter Travis drew the original 18 on the Potomac with the Old Course at St Andrews in mind. National Links Trust runs it while the Park Service works through deferred maintenance.
- Rock Creek Golf Course: D.C.'s second public course, a William Flynn design, now being rebuilt with nine restored holes and a nine-hole par 3.
- Mount Pleasant Golf Course: Gus Hook design from 1933, par 71. It hosted the first nine Eastern Opens, and Arnold Palmer won there in 1956.
- Clifton Park Golf Course: Baltimore's first public course, laid out on the grounds of Johns Hopkins' summer estate.
- Laurel Hill Golf Club: Fairfax County's Bill Love course in Lorton, built on land that once held the D.C. Department of Corrections facility.
- Algonkian Regional Park Golf Course: Ed Ault design from 1962 along the Potomac in Sterling, nearly 7,000 yards from the back. NOVA Parks has owned it since 1975.
- Enterprise Golf Course: Prince George's County's 18-hole, par-72 course in Mitchellville, opened in 1976 on the old Newton White Dairy Farm.
Booking tee times in Washington DC & Baltimore: the local rules
Fairfax County courses book seven days ahead, online or by calling the clubhouse, and GolfNow takes prepaid times on the same seven-day window. Cancel at least two hours out. The county pages read did not list a resident head start. NOVA Parks books online or in its course apps; Brambleton says tee times are encouraged but not required. Enterprise in Prince George's County opens eight days ahead online and seven by phone or in person. Baltimore's Classic Five take bookings around the clock at classic5golf.com.
Yoink
The window opens once. Cancellations happen all week.
Booking windows decide who gets first pick. After that, times come back one at a time as plans change. Yoink watches all 7 courses in Washington DC & Baltimore and tells you when a time that fits comes back, so you're not refreshing the page all week.
7 courses in Washington DC & Baltimore
Abbottstown
Carroll Valley
Gettysburg
Why tee times in Washington DC & Baltimore are hard to get
Golf in Washington DC & Baltimore follows the seasons: spring openers and fall weekends are the busiest stretches, and summer mornings fill before afternoons.
Most public courses open their tee sheet a set number of days ahead, often 7 to 14, and many municipal courses give residents or card holders an earlier window. The best weekend-morning times usually go the day they're released. Leagues and outings take blocks of the sheet before the public ever sees them.
When tee time cancellations happen
A full tee sheet rarely stays full. Many courses let you cancel without a fee up to 24 or 48 hours before your time, so spots tend to reappear in the last couple of days. A bad forecast shakes more loose, and a foursome that drops to three opens a single. None of it is announced. The time just shows up again on the booking page, and whoever looks first gets it.
How to get a tee time in Washington DC & Baltimore
Yoink
Every course in Washington DC & Baltimore on one watchlist: all 7 of them
Pick the courses you'd play and Yoink keeps an eye on all 7 courses in Washington DC & Baltimore. You see what's open in one place, and you hear about it the moment a time that fits your day, window and group turns up, cancellations included.
Doing it by hand? Here's what works.
- Know the booking window. Find out how many days ahead each course releases times, and whether residents get an earlier window. Be ready the morning it opens.
- Look again 24 to 48 hours out. That's when most cancellation deadlines pass and spots come back.
- Be flexible on group size. Singles and twosomes fit into gaps a foursome can't.
- Try twilight and weekday afternoons. They're the last to fill and often cheaper.
- Widen the map. If your first choice is full, check the next town over. Carroll Valley has 1 courses on Yoink and Gettysburg has 1.
Read the full guide to getting a tee time when everything's booked
Tee times in Washington DC & Baltimore: questions
How do I get notified when a tee time opens up in Washington DC & Baltimore?
Set a watch in Yoink for the courses you want, the days you can play, a time window and the number of players. Yoink checks those tee sheets every few minutes and sends a notification as soon as a matching time appears, cancellations included. You book it directly with the course.
When do tee time cancellations usually show up?
Mostly in the 24 to 48 hours before the tee time, as golfers cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline, and whenever the weather forecast changes. They appear without notice and tend to be rebooked quickly.
How far in advance can you book a tee time in Washington DC & Baltimore?
It depends on the course. Many public courses open bookings 7 to 14 days ahead, and town or county courses often give residents an earlier window. Each course's own booking page has its policy.
When is golf busiest in Washington DC & Baltimore?
Demand is highest on spring and fall weekends. Weekend mornings are always the hardest tee times to get.
Does Yoink book the tee time for me?
No. Yoink tells you when a time opens; you book it with the course on its own booking page, at the course's price, with no extra fee.
More golf in Pennsylvania
- Poconos & Lehigh Valley · 59 courses
- Philadelphia · 49 courses
- Pittsburgh · 44 courses
- Harrisburg & Central PA · 26 courses
- State College & Altoona · 20 courses
- Erie & Northwest PA · 12 courses
- North Central PA · 9 courses
- Upstate NY — Capital & Central · 1 courses
- Western NY — Buffalo & Rochester · 1 courses
Just across the state line
Markets with courses within 25 miles of a course here.
- Washington DC & Baltimore, MD · 52 courses
Sources
Facts on this page come from these pages, checked 2026-09-28. Rates and booking rules change, so confirm with the course.
- nps.gov · government
- nationallinkstrust.org · official
- nationallinkstrust.org · official
- fairfaxcounty.gov · government
- fairfaxcounty.gov · government
- fairfaxcounty.gov · government
- fairfaxcounty.gov · government
- novaparks.com · government
- novaparks.com · government
- novaparks.com · government
- novaparks.com · government
- baltimore.org · media
- i95business.com · media
- classic5golf.com · official
- baltimore.org · media
- en.wikipedia.org · media
- pgparks.com · government
Tee times in Washington DC & Baltimore, without the refreshing
Watch as many courses as you like. When a time opens that fits your day, window and group, Yoink tells you first.