Love for a golf course, and for former Mayor Whalen

Kudos to Chris Churchill on his piece regarding the joys of off-leash dog walking at Albany’s Capital Hills municipal golf course (“Goodbye, for now, to Albany’s ‘Happy Place,’” April 23. My yellow labs, Rocky and Cooper, and I have spent many enjoyable mornings roaming the property and meeting new friends, canine and human. It was especially nice during the pandemic when golf season was delayed.

Another person who surely would have enjoyed the piece is the late Mayor Tom Whalen, who, along with Richard Barrett, Albany’s parks commissioner at the time, was the driving force behind a complete revitalization of the property in the early 1990s. It needed it. I played the course as a youngster, and my friends and I would joke that playing golf at old Albany muni was the equivalent of hiking in the Himalayas.

As both a dog person and golfer, Tom Whalen envisioned a space where dog walkers and golfers could exist side by side (with others, like cross-country skiers, another one of his passions). Our family is grateful to Mayor Kathy Sheehan, who designated the paths and trails around the course in tribute as the “Whalen Way Nature Trail.” A sign in the parking lot is worth quoting from: “As an avid and active outdoorsman, [Mayor Whalen’s] vision extended beyond golf, and he saw the property as an all-season recreational venue.”

I would be remiss if I did not pay tribute to the women and men who take meticulous care of the golf course grounds. They do an amazing job. Oh, and I think Finn McCool, our family’s late beloved golden retriever, would have approved of Churchill’s piece as well.