Trump taps Jack Nicklaus to help revamp ‘president’s golf course’ – raising questions about who will pay and how much
President Donald Trump said he is tapping legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus to spruce up the courses at Joint Base Andrews — adding a site long known as “the President’s Golf Course” to his long and growing list of construction projects.
The president took an aerial tour of Andrews’ yards aboard Marine One on Saturday and promised, “We’re going to get some work done” there, as well as other parts of the base.
“We’re repairing the base, which it needs. We’re going to try to restore the golf courses. I’m meeting with the greatest Jack Nicklaus,” Trump told reporters outside the White House before boarding Marine One to travel to Andrews. “He’s involved in restoring their recreational facilities.”
Located in Maryland, approximately 15 miles from the White House, Andrews is home to Air Force One. Gerald R. Ford was the first president to play golf there in 1974, but the facility was more recently a favorite of Barack Obama.
An asset of the 11th Force Support Squadron, the facilities include three 18-hole golf courses, three practice putting greens, two private practice areas and a driving range, according to the Andrews website. Trump said at least two of the courses could use a renovation.
Trump has rarely played golf at Andrews, but prefers to spend most weekends playing at or near one of his own properties. These are Bedminster in New Jersey or Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. On the weekends he stays at the White House, Trump often plays golf at his course in Sterling, Virginia, near Dulles International Airport.
Nicklaus has won 18 professional majors and 73 times on the PGA Tour. The Nicklaus Design Company has a team that has completed over 425 courses in 40 states and over 45 countries.
Trump said Saturday that the Andrews base “was a great place that was destroyed over the years through lack of maintenance.”
“So we’re going to arrange this, and Jack will be the architect and he’ll design it,” the president said.
He also referred to “two existing courses that are in very poor condition,” adding: “we can – for very little money – repair them.” »
“And we’re looking at other things at Andrews,” Trump added.
Trump’s comments immediately raised questions about who pays Nicklaus and how much those design services might cost. Additionally, because Andrews is military property, it was also unclear who would pay for improvements to its golf courses or other parts of its land. Andrews referred questions about the matter to the White House, which did not respond to a request for more details.
Andrews’ potential overhaul follows construction crews already demolishing the East Wing of the White House to make way for a $300 million ballroom commissioned by Trump. He promised that the project would be funded by himself and private donors, including 37 individuals, businesses and charities who have publicly revealed their contributions to the project.
The work on the ballroom follows Trump’s replacement of the Rose Garden lawn with a patio reminiscent of Mar-a-Lago and the redecoration of the Lincoln Bathroom and Palm Room inside the White House. The president also installed a Walk of Fame featuring portraits of past presidents along the Colonnade, massive flagpoles on the North and South Lawns and significantly overhauled the Oval Office with the addition of gold flourishes, cherubs and other flashy items.
The work at Andrews could potentially dovetail with another non-White House site project Trump has publicly announced: his plan to erect a Parisian-style arch just west of the Lincoln Memorial.
