Trump National Golf Club - Washington D.C. - River Course

I was invited to play rounds at both the Championship and River courses here at Trump National. While both were equally fantastic experiences, there were a few differences in the courses, so this review covers just the River course.

The River course was definitely my favorite of the two courses in terms of the layout. Despite its name, the River course doesn’t actually have any holes that border the river. Instead, it offers a more diverse scenery and design (compliments to architect Arthur Hills, one of my favorites) than its sister course. Rather than a completely open layout, the River starts you out in the hills and trees, beautifully framed by flowering bushes and manicured creek beds. After several holes you join the floodplain shared by the Championship course but even here I found the River’s holes to have just a bit more character and required some extra thought for tee and approach shots alike.

This was particularly true of the par-5 8th hole which is likely the most controversial of the 36 on property. With two separate water hazards threatening your layup and/or approach shots, playing safe isn’t actually that easy to do (as I found out). Our caddie Con was not a fan of the hole, mostly because of how difficult it is to communicate a successful playing strategy to his players who haven’t played it before. Once you’ve walked the hole, however, it becomes more clear and I ended up liking it quite a bit. The last two holes finish up in the woods, though the 18th isn’t as grand a display as its counterpart over at the Championship course.

As with the other course here, the conditions of the River course were impressively excellent. Northern Virginia’s summer weather has been an utter disaster for many public courses in the area without the resources to combat the prolonged periods of flooding rain and sweltering heat. Looking at these courses though, you’d have thought it was 80 degrees everyday with a light shower each night. Greens, fairways, rough, bunkers, and tee boxes are all kept in immaculate condition, very green, very even, and very smooth. The thick rough will grab your club, making finding the fairways and greens extra important.

The greens are pretty quick (rolling about a 10) but with just the right amount of slope and undulation and the bunkers are predictable to hit out of. I recommend a forecaddie or yardage book as many of the golf apps don’t have the updated routing. Our caddie Con was fantastic; friendly, helpful, and professional and helped me achieve my lowest score ever!

The facilities here are world-class with an absolutely massive locker room inside the opulent clubhouse. The practice area has a grass range, chipping/pitching green, and putting green that would be the envy of most public courses. The food served in the restaurant downstairs was excellent and all members of the staff exceedingly professional. I really enjoyed my two days playing here you ever get an opportunity to do the same, don’t pass it up!

I was invited to play rounds at both the Championship and River courses here at Trump National. While both were equally fantastic experiences, there were a few differences in the course, so this review covers just the Championship course.

The aspect of the course I was most impressed by was the condition. Despite heavy rains and scorching heat for weeks prior to my visit, the course showed no signs of stress from either extreme element. Greens were fast (rolling about 10) but not too firm and buttery smooth. The fairways, tee boxes, and rough were all lush and green. Bunkers were immaculate and really framed the holes nicely. The only aspect that took some adjustment was how thick the bentgrass rough was. Even with a forecaddie, many wayward balls took time to find and chipping onto the green from the heavy rough was challenging. You can tell the maintenance crew take their jobs very seriously as I saw crew members hand-watering hot spots on fairways on multiple occasions.

The Tom Fazio layout was as splashy as you’d expect. The back tee box on #1 sits nearly 100 feet above the fairway, making that shot not much longer than the blue tees 70 yards ahead but at ground level. Several holes border the Potomac river, a unique viewing experience for this area and a real treat for those who appreciate links style of golf. The sight of the giant American flag by the 16th hole is present from most of the course (and often a good aiming point, I’m guessing by design). The giant waterfall/fountain used as a backdrop on #18 is truly impressive and perhaps a bit distracting but a cool touch.

Wide open, relatively flat layouts are not my forte but I found the design of this course to be enjoyable nonetheless with a great variety of long, short, and medium par-4s, some diabolical par-5s and a good assortment of par-3s. Greens are not overly sloped but the speed of them makes even shorter putts require your full attention.

Of course the Championship and River courses share the same staff and amenities and they are both world-class. The clubhouse is extremely impressive with the largest locker room I’ve ever seen. Food was excellent, the staff on all fronts extremely professional. Our caddie, Con, was absolutely fantastic and if you have the opportunity to play here and want a forecaddie to guide you, I highly recommend him.

The range, practice greens and other off-course amenities were exactly what you’d expect from a private course with this level of prestige. It really helps to have some time to sharpen your game before playing a course like this and I was able to do just that in about a half hour, going from full shots to pitching and chipping to putting.

It was a pleasure to play here as I truly enjoyed the “6-star” experience. I don’t often have the opportunity to play courses like this and it was certainly an opportunity I’m glad I didn’t pass up.

I was invited to play Trump (championship course) as a guest. Most of the courses in the Mid-Atlantic are tree lined so I was expecting this to be more parkland than anything else. From the first green, you can see this is anything but tree lined and is practically links golf. I loved it. The amenities are world class as you would imagine at a Trump property - gorgeous clubhouse and the staff offers more than you could ever need at a club, truly first class. The course was just immaculate and in pristine condition. The fairways are like carpet and the greens are fast and true. The rough provides a challenge if you're in it and if you end up in the high rough (the true protection of the course) you are likely losing your ball. With the exception of 1-2 doglegs, the course is right in front of you and very fair. Good shots are rewarded, bad shots punished. This seems like one of those courses you wouldn't get tired of playing over and over again (especially considering the condition of it) and while the members pay a premium to belong, it really has to be a members delight to belong at Trump.