To the Editor:

Partridge Run Golf & Country Club is in trouble, and anyone who has played there over the last few years knows it.

What was once one of the finest public golf courses in Northern New York is steadily falling apart before our eyes. Fairways are often poorly maintained. Greens are riddled with dead spots. The bunkers are an embarrassment, filled with weeds, grass, and hard-packed gravel-like conditions that would be unacceptable at even the most modest golf facilities.

This decline did not happen overnight. It began when the course lost greenskeeper Scott Nickerson.

Under Scott’s leadership, Partridge Run was the best it had ever been. The course was respected, well-maintained, and a destination for golfers from both sides of the border. He took pride in his work, had a vision for the property, and understood what it took to make Partridge Run special.

The Village of Canton failed to recognize his value and allowed him to leave for a better opportunity. Since then, the results have been impossible to ignore.

Perhaps even more frustrating is the apparent indifference from village leadership. The course is one of Canton’s greatest recreational assets, yet it often feels like an afterthought. Every year that passes without meaningful investment and attention pushes Partridge Run further into decline.

The problems go beyond course conditions. Pace of play has become unacceptable. Four-and-a-half and five-hour rounds have become common. There is rarely a marshal on the course to keep groups moving, and the experience suffers because of it.

At some point, those responsible for the operation of the golf course need to stop making excuses and start demanding action. The golf professional should be advocating aggressively on behalf of the course and its golfers. If village officials are ignoring the problems, then those concerns need to be voiced publicly and repeatedly until something changes. Silence is not leadership.

The members need to speak up as well. Let the pro shop know. Contact village officials. Attend meetings. Demand answers. Demand a plan. Demand accountability. Demand, demand, demand!

Many golfers from my area in Canada who once played Partridge Run regularly now avoid it altogether. They have taken their money elsewhere. That should concern everyone involved.

Partridge Run is too important to Canton to continue down this path. The course does not need another study, another excuse, or another promise. It needs action. It needs investment. It needs leadership.

Most importantly, it needs change now, before one of the region’s great golf courses deteriorates beyond repair.

Gord McDonald

Brockville, Ontario