September is here, the summer sunlight is fading into fall color, and one of America’s most hated rituals is right around the corner. At least for now.
Daylight saving time ends Nov. 1, and the turning back of the clock that comes with it is one of the more loathed exercises in American life. An Associated Press poll from October 2025 found only 12% of respondents favor the twice-yearly switching of the clock, with 47% opposed and 40% neutral.
In that same poll, 56% prefer the nation choose Daylight Time — the period between the second Sunday in March and first Sunday in November — as the default standard. That’s where the Sunshine Protection Act comes in.
The bill to make daylight time permanent passed the House 308-117 in July, and is awaiting action in the Senate. President Trump has endorsed the initiative, and 20 states have already passed measures to enact permanent DST if Congress allows, with Delaware the closest state to do so. For the District of Columbia, the sun would set no earlier than 5:46 p.m. in the deepest part of winter if daylight time was permanent, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data.
The change would affect many parts of American life, and that includes the sports and recreation world closest to you — think youth sports, ski resorts and more. One place that would see impacts on both ends, with later mornings and later evenings affecting play, is golf.
On this edition of District of Sports, National Golf Course Owners Association CEO Jay Karen joins to break down how the changes would impact courses both in the D.C. region, what his membership, including the Montgomery County-run public course network, sees as the benefits and drawbacks to permanent DST, and the chances of it becoming a reality.
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