Golf courses by state
Washington DC Golf Courses & Tee Times
Public golf in Washington is federal. The National Park Service owns the District's three courses, East Potomac, Rock Creek and Langston, and National Links Trust, a nonprofit, has run them since October 2020 under a 50-year lease. A May 2026 Interior Department agreement gave NLT new long-term leases at Langston and Rock Creek, and NLT keeps operating East Potomac while the Park Service handles deferred maintenance ahead of a historic restoration. East Potomac opened on March 15, 1921, and President Harding was among its first players.
Tee times in Washington DC are easier to get when you know when they open. Yoink watches 4 public golf courses here, grouped into 1 market: Washington DC & Baltimore. Choose a market to see every course, then get an alert when a tee time opens or someone cancels.
Washington DC golf markets
Who runs public golf in Washington DC
National Links Trust runs all three courses for the Park Service, and says they will stay open, accessible and affordable. East Potomac is the busy one, with an 18, two nines and a miniature course from the early 1930s that is the oldest continuously operating one in the country. Rock Creek, a William Flynn design, is under construction: nine restored Flynn holes, a new nine-hole par 3, a clubhouse and a range, with Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner as architects. Langston runs NLT's caddie and internship program and works with First Tee. Since 2023 NLT has held its own mid-amateur championship for public golfers on East Potomac's Blue Course.
Public courses worth knowing in Washington DC
- Langston Golf Course: Opened June 11, 1939, on the Anacostia, one of only 20 U.S. courses then open to Black golfers. Its first nine is on the National Register. Lee Elder managed it from 1978 to 1981.
- East Potomac Golf Links - Blue: Walter Travis drew the original 18 by the Potomac with the Old Course at St Andrews in mind. It hosts the National Links Trust Championship.
- Rock Creek Golf Course: D.C.'s second public course, a William Flynn design. The back nine closed in 2019, and NLT is rebuilding it as nine restored holes plus a nine-hole par 3.
Towns with the most courses
- Washington · 4
Getting a tee time in Washington DC
Golf in Washington DC 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.
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.
Yoink
Watch all 4 courses in Washington DC. Hear the moment one opens.
Yoink watches all 4 courses in Washington DC for you. The open tee times sit in one place instead of a dozen booking pages, and your phone buzzes the moment one fits your day, time window and group, cancellations included.
Tee times in Washington DC: questions
How do I get tee time cancellation alerts in Washington DC?
Pick your courses in Yoink (4 in Washington DC), set the days, time window and group size you want, and Yoink sends a notification when a matching time opens up. You book directly with the course.
When is golf season busiest in Washington DC?
Demand peaks on spring and fall weekends. Weekend mornings are the hardest tee times to get.
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 forecast turns.
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
- nationallinkstrust.org · official
- nationallinkstrust.org · official
- en.wikipedia.org · media
- en.wikipedia.org · media
- en.wikipedia.org · media
The best tee times in Washington DC open up at random
Cancellations don't get announced. Yoink watches the sheets around the clock and buzzes your phone when one fits.