Making a model municipal facility

Abstract

The golf course is the largest and most visible product of the 1903 McMillan Plan’s goal to create an exemplary public playground at Potomac Park in Washington, DC. The facility’s current decayed state, however, belies the ambition behind its construction. The objective of this thesis, therefore, is to fulfill the goals of the McMillan Plan by making East Potomac Park into a model municipal golf course. Prevailing practices in the golf industry are examined and several successful municipal golf courses are analyzed with an eye toward maximizing the enjoyment of municipal golfers while minimizing their costs. This thesis determines that affordable golf and interesting, strategic architecture are not mutually exclusive, and the means to achieve that end have beneficial consequences for the game itself - resulting in better playing characteristics and more environmentally sensitive golf courses. The findings are synthesized into a redesign of the East Potomac Park golf course.