National Links Trust

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National Links Trust is a non-profit organization dedicated to positively impacting our community and changing lives through affordable and accessible municipal golf.

08/27/2026

New event alert! 🚨🏈

Join National Links Trust for a special event to kickoff the football season. To celebrate the beginning of the Washington Commanders season, we are hosting a special outdoor watch party event featuring a big screen, tailgate food, and plenty of drinks. The party starts at 3:30 PM ahead of a 4:25 kickoff.

Buy Tickets Here: nationallinkstrust.org/commanders-watch-party

08/20/2026

Throughout the summer, interns from the Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program spent time at the Armed Forces Retirement Home. In an initial visit interns connected with veterans, ran a social event, and toured President Lincoln’s historic cottage on property.

“I made a new friend, Miss Linda,” one intern said. “She gave me a whole different perspective on things I hadn't really thought about before. She was a nurse in the military and shared some stories from her service."

Later in the summer, interns returned to the site and played golf alongside several residents. The group spent time at the driving range before playing a few holes alongside the veterans. The opportunity for our interns to spend time with veterans was incredibly impactful experience. Thank you to the Armed Forces Retirement Home for their partnership!

07/22/2026

The sixth annual Langston’s Axe presented by the Washington Commanders will be held on Sunday, September 13 and registration is now live!��The Axe is our annual fundraising golf tournament celebrating the historic Langston Golf Course and its community. In addition to supporting the future of Langston and the Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program, by playing in the event you receive:

- 18 holes with cart
- Breakfast, lunch, and post-round reception
- Open bar throughout the event
- Titleist Vokey wedge (with custom fitting!) and other tee gifts
- On-course contests and giveaways from Holderness & Bourne, Taylormade, Hyperice, B. Draddy, and more...

Register Here: nationallinkstrust.org/langstons-axe

07/15/2026

Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program Update:

Last week, our interns focused on teamwork and career building while also assisting with operations at historic Langston Golf Course. In addition to classroom exercises that included a resume-building session, they also learned from NLT leadership and program supporters about different functions of our organization and where they can play a part in our work.

NLT Director of Sustainability Andrew Szunyog shared insights on our environmental initiatives, volunteer opportunities, and the history connecting Kingman Island Lake to Langston Golf Course. Interns also dove into event-planning fundamentals with NLT Chief Operating Officer Katy Cannon Pearce, Fundraising Operations Manager Chris Burns, and Board Member Hillary Baltimore, who walked them through sponsorship strategies to secure support for the upcoming Langston's Axe Tournament.

Lastly, Evans Scholar and veteran Vardaman intern Faris Smith shared college tips to help prepare current high school interns for their futures. Between these opportunities and our ongoing junior caddie program looping daily at the course, it was an incredibly productive week. Thank you to everyone in our community who generously shares their time and wisdom to help make the Vardaman Program possible!

07/01/2026

Through our work at Rock Creek Park Golf, NLT is proud to partner with the Smithsonian's National Zoo and its animal nutrition program. As our sustainability team rehabilitates native habitat throughout Rock Creek Park Golf, they set aside vegetation that has been removed. Instead of chipping this material, the Zoo picks it up and uses it for "woody browse."

"Woody browse" refers to the fresh leaves, twigs, bark, and branches of woody plants that are essential diets for elephants, giraffes, primates, and beavers. Thanks to our continued work, our team has been preparing pick-ups of this material every two weeks since late 2025, feeding hundreds of animals in the process.

Last week, our team toured the Zoo to see how their animal nutrition program works and how the material from Rock Creek Park Golf is put to use. While touring the 33,000-square-foot commissary, they even recognized material that had been picked up the day before, as it was waiting to feed the elephants in the Elephant House.

“As we continue our stewardship of Rock Creek Park Golf, our goal is to create tangible benefits for the broader community,” says Mike McCartin, co-founder of National Links Trust. “Partnering with the National Zoo allows us to extend the positive impact of the property beyond golf, which is something of which we are incredibly proud.”

06/26/2026

The Axe is back!

The sixth annual Langston’s Axe Presented golf tournament will be held on Sunday, September 13th at the historic Langston Golf Course in Washington, DC. The Axe is our annual fundraising golf tournament and celebration of the historic golf course and its community.

More event and registration details will be released soon…stay tuned.

06/25/2026

Through our partnership with the Western Golf Association, junior caddies from the Washington, DC chapter of the WGA’s Caddie Academy are available starting tomorrow, June 26th, at East Potomac Golf Links. This is in addition to junior caddies available at Langston Golf Course who are part of our Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program.

With school out for the year, caddies are available at both facilities seven days a week for the duration of the summer. Thanks to the WGA, caddie fees are already covered, but tipping is highly encouraged ($40/bag).

You can request caddies for your next round at either facility through the link below.

Caddie Request Link: nationallinkstrust.org/caddies

06/03/2026

We are excited to announce that our Free Lesson Friday program will be expanding outside of the Washington, DC area this summer and fall.

In partnership with The Outpost Foundation, events will be held in North Chesterfield, Virginia at the Tattersall Youth Development Center at the First Tee Chesterfield on July 10th, Brookline, Massachusetts at Brookline Golf Course on July 17th, and Greensboro, North Carolina at Gillespie Golf Course on September 18th, in addition to monthly events in Washington, DC.

The expansion of this program is instrumental to continuing to pursue our vision of being the national leader in municipal golf and how facilities can best impact their local communities. Having already hosted thousands of individuals at our events in Washington, DC, we are thrilled to introduce even more people to the game and municipal facilities through this program. Thank you to our friends at The Outpost Foundation for their partnership and to our community for their continued support of all of our work.

Learn more here: nationallinkstrust.org/free-lesson-friday

05/27/2026

Our first Free Lesson Friday of 2026 is this week!

Join us this Friday, May 29th from 5-7 PM at historic Langston Golf Course. This event will provide kids and adults with free introductory putting, chipping, and full swing instruction. Events like this ensure our facilities are welcoming and accessible, and we are excited to bring them to our community over the coming months. Thank you to everyone who made this possible.

Register here: nationallinkstrust.org/free-lesson-friday

05/19/2026

A Note From Our Co-Founders:

When we began National Links Trust seven years ago, we could never have imagined where we would be today. Our community has propelled us to this point. While the last several months have been challenging, we are fortunate to be entering this next chapter. The coming months and years will define municipal golf in our nation’s capital, and we are excited for what lies ahead.

Today and every day, we remain committed to doing right by our community. That means being responsible stewards, keeping greens fees low, facilities accessible, and continuing to invest in improvement projects and community programs. In the coming weeks, the Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program and Free Lesson Friday programs will resume. Through initiatives like these, we can continue to use golf to positively impact our community and change lives. We are also looking forward to resuming our rehabilitation project at Rock Creek Park Golf, where the future, with the help of Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, is as bright as ever. To do all of this, and more, we need you.

National Links Trust is now, and has only ever been, as strong as the community behind us. We still have a long way to go to accomplish our goals, but we are confident we can get there if we stay together.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

- Mike McCartin & Will Smith

Address

Washington D.C., DC
20002

Telephone

+17208413215

Website

https://www.nationallinkstrust.com/

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