I thought the golf course drama would work its own self out. The original premise for its review was it’s a financial drain on city coffers. From what I knew, it was running at minor deficit and maintained by a largely volunteer grounds crew. 

To change this formula in any way would take MORE money. It’s already a golf course, already maintained, already beautiful and historical.

My hunch is most residents are ambivalent about it. Which also made it a status quo site. If the majority wanted another use and were willing to raise taxes or pull from city pet round-a-bout and art projects then so be it. 

But as I’ve read more about meetings there are small groups of “stakeholders” which divide people into blocks and takes away from the individual resident input. I would imagine the golf leagues (men’s and women’s), the high school golf team, casual players are likely what would be called stakeholders. But how it got attached to the pool as evidenced in a Leader article, I’m confused. What does one have to do with the other? Seems like a false equivalency. 

As with all things Port Townsend community culture it can get “deeply weird” (2021 PTHS valedictorian speech). Most towns install pickleball courts and those who like to, play. The course is 58 acres of land. How is the Port Townsend Pickleball League a stakeholder? Pickleball courts are very small and could be built on a small patch; 58 acres is likely 50,000 pickleball courts.

Then there’s Central Park utopian fringe. Well, it actually sounds cool. But, maintaining a 58-acre park would be very expensive and I would imagine it could present some unique security and squatter challenges.

When I chose PT as home in 2002, I chose based on natural beauty, Fort Worden, North Beach, Chetzemoka parks, and a couple golf courses. Really nothing else aside from very reasonable housing prices at the time, if you can believe that. 

I guess I’d ask, if we already have three crown jewel parks and beaches, why are we going after the golf course?

My tenure here has been off and on but I’ve taught my kids golf and how to drive (cart) on the course. I’ve been impressed with the scratch golfers turned out by PTHS golf team. I’ve been impressed with the crew that maintains the course on a shoestring. It’s a challenging sport and an allegory for life. When it gets difficult you learn how to persevere and do better.

I see a hybrid “compromise” with “stakeholders” as the contrived narrative. Doesn’t that require MORE money?

James Richard Wickens
PORT TOWNSEND