WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump spent much of his two-week vacation golfing in Florida. But when he returned to the White House, he was considering a major construction project on a military golf course he had never played.
Andrews Golf Course has long been a favored getaway for presidents seeking an escape from the pressures of the free world. Located within the secure confines of Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the White House, Andrews Golf Course is known as the “Presidential Golf Course.” Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Joe Biden all spent time here, while Barack Obama played it more times than any president, about 110 times in eight years.
Trump has always preferred golf courses owned by his family — spending about one day every four days during his second term at one of them. But he has now hired golf champion Jack Nicklaus as architect to overhaul the Andrews course.
“It’s amazing that a person can have a few hours away from the crises of the world. They’re human beings like everyone else,” said Michael Thomas, the course’s former general manager, who has played golf with several presidents who have visited Andrews over the years.
Andrews, best known as the home of Air Force One, has two 18-hole courses and a 9-hole course. Its facilities have been renovated in the past, including in 2018, when Congress approved funding to replace the aging presidential plane and build new hangars and support facilities. The project was close enough to the course that changes had to be made at that time as well.
Before Thanksgiving, Trump visited the base by helicopter with Nicklaus, who designs top courses around the world. The president called Andrews “a great place that has been ruined over the years by a lack of maintenance.”
However, other golfers said the course at Andrews was in good condition, despite some dry spots. Online reviews praise the course for its mature trees, tricky rough, and ponds and streams that serve as water hazards. The course is mostly flat but offers views of the surrounding bases.
“They all love driving”
Ford was the first president to play golf at Andrews in 1974. Thomas started working there a few years later and served as general manager from 1981 until his retirement in 2019.
He said the Secret Service has used as many as 28 golf carts over the years, as well as the president’s usual fleet of 30 vehicles, to ensure perimeter security.
“It’s Cecil B. DeMille every time,” Thomas said. Thomas had the opportunity to communicate multiple times with four different presidents and spoke with Biden when he was vice president.
He said the commanders-in-chief generally enjoyed their time on the field in their own unique way, but “they all enjoyed driving the big cars because they never had the opportunity to drive.”
“It’s like getting your driver’s license back,” Thomas said with a laugh.
Trump plays golf most weekends and, as of Jan. 1, had played golf for about 92 days in his second term, according to an Associated Press analysis of his schedule.
That tally includes days when Trump played at a course owned by his family in Virginia, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the White House and near his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he is spending the winter vacation. It also included 10 days at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where his schedule allowed him to play several rounds of golf.
Trump has visited Andrews in the past, but the White House and base have no record of him playing.
Another Trump construction project
Andrews’ military history dates back to the Civil War, when Union troops used a church near Camp Springs, Maryland, as quarters. Its golf course opened in 1960.
The White House says the renovation will be the most significant in Andrews’ history. It is said the pitch and clubhouse require improvements due to age and wear, and discussions are underway to include a multi-purpose events center as part of the project.
“President Trump is a championship-level golfer with an extraordinary eye for detail and design,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. “His vision to renovate and beautify the golf course at Joint Base Andrews will bring much-needed improvements to service members and their families for generations to come to enjoy.”
The White House said plans are in the early stages and the cost and funding for the project have yet to be determined. Trump simply said it would require “very little money.”
Andrews’ renovation project joins a long list of Trump’s construction projects, including tearing down the East Wing of the White House, building a massive ballroom now expected to cost $400 million, redoing the bathroom connected to the Lincoln Bedroom and replacing the Rose Garden lawn with a Mar-a-Lago-style patio area.
Outside the White House, Trump has led construction projects at the Kennedy Center and wants to build a Parisian-style arch near the Lincoln Memorial and has said he wants to redevelop Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration on Wednesday terminated a lease agreement with a nonprofit group for three public golf courses in Washington, potentially allowing the president to further shape golf in the nation’s capital. However, the White House said the move had nothing to do with Andrews’ plans.
Presidential Benefit Golfing at Andrews
When the president plays golf, Andrews officials cordon off nine holes at a time so no one is playing in front of him, providing extra security while also ensuring a consistent pace of play, Thomas said.
This is relatively easy to do given that these courses are not open to the public. They are typically reserved for active-duty or retired military members and their families, as well as some federal employees with ties to the Department of Defense.
Thomas remembers playing golf with the elder President Bush, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame known for his fast golf game, and first lady Barbara Bush walking with the first couple’s English Springer Spaniel, Millie. George W. Bush also played fast and often rode a mountain bike to get extra exercise before playing golf, Thomas said.
When he’s not golfing at Andrews, Obama tries to recreate at least part of the experience back home. He installed the White House golf simulator after then-First Lady Michelle Obama asked Thomas how he could obtain a model the president had seen in a Golf Channel commercial. Thomas gave her his contact information on the Internet.
In 2011, Obama cut his round short after nine holes at Andrews Course and rushed back to the White House for a top-secret review of the final preparations for a Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound.
But when Thomas played golf with the president, he said he never saw a game interrupted by an important phone call or any major emergency that forced them to leave the course midway through the hole. It never rained either.
“If it’s going to rain, they get the forecast before we do,” Thomas said. “They will cancel soon.”
