Royal Golf Club
Known Name(s)
Royal Golf Club
Address
Washington, DC
Establishment Type(s)
Golf Club
Physical Status
Unknown
Description
Asa Williams, who was the Royal Golf Club's President in 1939-1941, lived in several locations in Northeast Washington DC, but none is the golf course. The Club played at the Langston Golf Course at Anacostia Park.
Detailed History
The Royal Golf Club formed in 1926, but it was a club of male golfers, rather than located at specific place. In 1939, the National Park Service agreed to construct a golf course for the use of African Americans in Washington DC; it was named the Langston Golf Course in honor of John Mercer Langston a Howard University Law School professor, and the Royal Golf Club members played there. The course is located in Anacostia Park (2600 Benning Road, NE), on the north side of Benning Road, and when originally constructed, it had nine holes. The National Park Service expanded the course to eighteen holes in 1955. The Royal Golf Club continues to be in existence, and additional information can be found at theroyalgolfclub.org. Asa Williams was Presidents of the Royal Golf Club in 1941, and may have been responsible for the Green Book entry in 1939.
Babin, Patricia Kuhn, Links to the Past: A Historic Resource Study of National Park Service Golf Courses in the District of Columbia, Washington, DC: National Park Service (2017)
