The Wardroom Ride: Turning Camp David’s Cart into a Golf Challenge Coin

Renae
Nov 11
6 min read

Camp David Wardroom Golf Cart Challenge Coin

The Cart That Carries the Commander in Chief

The first thing you notice isn’t the cabins or the guards. It’s the cart. Tan, frosted windows, gliding through trees in radio silence. At Camp David, even a golf cart carries protocol—and history. It’s the slow roll between decisions and diplomacy. It’s where a President has sat across from a Joint Chiefs general, where a First Lady has gripped the side rail with a to-go mug in hand, where calm conversations have echoed before history got made on foot.

Even the golf carts here have presence—muted, functional, loaded with symbolism. The frosted windows? Like a whisper of discretion. The well-worn tan finish? It’s "always on duty" embodied. And that seal on the door—the Presidential Retreat’s emblem—quietly reminding every passenger: you’re not just in the woods. You’re at the helm of something sacred.

Originally established in 1942 by FDR and once named “Shangri-La,” Camp David has carried decades of secrets, solace, and statecraft in its pine-sheltered silence. And this cart? It's been there. Not for the photo ops, but for the transitions. The arrivals. The moments before and after the moments.

So when we began this project, we didn’t start with pomp. We started with this cart—and everything it represents.

The Wardroom Crew: Quiet Legends of Camp David

Because Camp David isn’t just iconic. It’s intensely personal for the teams who serve there. No press. No spotlight. Just responsibility, protocol, and an uncanny ability to memorize coffee preferences in five-star detail. The Wardroom crew, for example, could teach masterclasses on discretion and precision. But they don’t. They just keep showing up—rain, snow, or high-level talks.

The phrase "Camp David Wardroom" came up early in our conversations—because it’s not just a location. It’s a legacy. The term "wardroom" comes from naval tradition—a designated space where officers meet, eat, and quietly change the course of history. At Camp David, it’s where grilled cheese gets plated next to world-altering decisions. Where birthdays are remembered. Where comfort and consequence collide in every perfectly timed meal.

The wardroom here is a nexus of calm and command. And the people who run it? Legends—quiet ones, but legends all the same.

All of that—the wardroom, the silence, the precision—fed directly into how we built this design. But they weren’t alone. Three branches stood shoulder-to-shoulder behind them, and their legacy demanded a place in the metal too.

Three Branches, One Mission: Army, Navy, and Marine Corps at Camp David

And what about the military insignia? Each one carries a legacy. The U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps don’t just support Camp David—they ARE Camp David, in motion, in silence, in service. We fought over where each insignia belonged on the coin. Should the Army anchor the roofline? Should the Marines guard the corner? The Navy demanded balance. In the end, every branch carved out its place, because that’s exactly how Camp David runs—together, without ego.

🪖 U.S. Army

Planners and movers. The ones who make sure the President never waits for a cabin to be ready or a route to be clear. Quiet backbone, no applause required.

⚓ U.S. Navy

The rhythm section. The steady hum under every note, making the whole place feel effortless—because it never actually is.

🦅 U.S. Marine Corps

The shadow at the tree line. The reason everyone else can relax. If the Army and Navy are the heartbeat, the Marines are the locked jaw around the perimeter.

Most visitors never see the Marine sentries, or the Navy personnel quietly managing movements, or the Army team behind the operations playbook. But they’re there. Always.

Which meant their insignia had to sit on this coin. Non-negotiable. If the cart carried presidents, the roofline had to carry the branches who made it possible.

What the Coin Carries

So what carries all that emotion and meaning? We’ll get to that.

This is the story behind the shape. This is the tribute behind the text. This is Camp David, like you’ve never seen it—quietly extraordinary, carved in metal.

We’d already proven a golf cart could carry history once before. The first Camp David cart coin took an everyday vehicle and made it iconic. But this second design? It had to raise the stakes. Not just a cart—but the cart that carried presidents, wardroom legends, and the combined force of three branches.

Camp David Wardroom Golf Cart Challenge Coin

Alright—picture this: we’re crammed into a corner booth, napkins everywhere, and I slide this coin across the table like it’s contraband. You pick it up, and instantly your eyebrows shoot up—because this isn’t a circle, it isn’t a square, it’s a golf cart. A GOLF CART CHALLENGE COIN. Sculpted in perfect, custom-cut metal down to the windshield wipers, the side rails, even the shadow lines under the roof. The whole silhouette screams, “If you know, you know.” And right in the middle of that front door? The Presidential Retreat Camp David seal, enamel so crisp it practically glows. Because at Camp David, even the golf carts carry the weight of history.

Here’s the thing—this isn’t just a cart, it’s the cart. The same style of vehicle that’s ferried presidents, first ladies, and let’s be honest, probably a few bewildered world leaders through the forested lanes of Camp David. Imagine the quiet moments it’s witnessed: an off-the-record chat between heads of state, a First Lady taking a breath between events, maybe even a president joking with his detail as the trees whip by. Now it’s immortalized in 3D enamel and metal. It’s everyday logistics turned into living legend.

Lean in closer, because the details? We obsessed. The tan enamel has this slightly weathered look, like a cart that’s seen every season in the Maryland mountains. The windows aren’t just painted—they’re textured, frosted, like the hazy blur of memories themselves. And that presidential seal? Subtle but commanding. It’s giving “official business,” but also “hop in, we’ve got places to be.” YES, we argued over enamel swatches for days to nail that balance. (And yes, we’d do it again.)

Now flip it over and BOOM—the vibe shifts. The silhouette is still the cart, but the color switches to a deep, ceremonial green edged in gold. It’s the shade of quiet authority, of pine forests at dusk, of uniforms pressed and ready. Across the roofline sit the gold insignia of the Army, the Marine Corps, and the Navy. Not decorative—declarative. AWe laid them out like maniacs, measuring, spacing, re-spacing, until every branch got its dignity. If they carry Camp David in real life, the coin had to carry them in perfect proportion. Below them, bars, stars, ranks—carefully laid out, enamel sharp enough to feel. Every insignia has its space, its dignity. And anchoring it all, in bold gold letters:

“Camp David Wardroom.” A tribute to the crew who make sure the retreat runs flawlessly, every day, no matter who’s riding in that cart.

The framing again is the body of the cart itself, now flattened into a sleek silhouette so the focus stays on the insignia. We poured over spacing like maniacs, making sure every detail popped. And that green? Perfectly chosen. It ties back to the wooded landscape, the stillness of the mountain air, the calm strength of the teams who serve there. We didn’t want novelty. We wanted weight. Something that felt like it belonged in a desk drawer at Camp David itself, waiting to be discovered decades later.

Here’s the emotional kicker: the front is the ride, the quiet vehicle that’s carried history up and down mountain roads. The back is the crew—the wardroom, the service members, the people whose work never makes headlines but keeps the presidential retreat alive. Together, this coin honors both—the motion and the muscle, the ride and the riders. Hold it in your hand and you don’t just see Camp David—you feel it. The humor, the reverence, the inside nod to those who’ve been there. If you’ve ever wished you could be part of that hidden world, this coin gets you closer. It’s a golf cart turned into a medal of honor. A ride frozen into metal. A tribute to the crews and commanders who’ve shared its silence. Like the ride itself, Camp David Wardroom Golf Cart Challenge Coin carries more than passengers. It carries legacy.