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Part 2 --- The conception and construction of the golf course. <br /> What germ of thought grew into Orono Golf Course? It was brought about by <br /> friends who pressured me for a chance to play at Woodhill Country Club. Employed <br /> b Woodhill in 1921 as "greenkeeper"II was not in a position where I could invite <br /> my friends to play golf there. Even the members who brought guests to play at <br /> Woodhill were required to pay green fees; employees were given playing privileges' <br /> but hardly the right to bring in "guests" to play for free! (The only public golf <br /> courses at that time were Glenwood (now Theodore Wirth) and Columbia, both Minneapolis <br /> municipal courses, and both having sand greens. <br /> (it was obvious that a public golf course was in demand in the area, but it <br /> was not until the winter of 1923-24 that it occurred to me that I would be involved <br /> in the matter. By no means certain that I would devote my life to greenkeeping, the <br /> decision was made to ask the Woodhill people for a three month leave of absence to <br /> be used for travel and study. Orono golfers owe a debt of gratitude to the then <br /> Woodhill officials who granted the request, for among the many places visited on that <br /> journey were a number of golf courses in the Pacific Coast states. Public golf was <br /> getting quite popular in the Los Angeles area, and it didn't require a great deal of <br /> insight to understand that golf was going to be a most popular game for people of all <br /> economic circumstances. <br /> The salary paid to a greenkeeper in 1924 wouldn't build a putting green today, <br /> much less pay for the land to build it on. What I didn't have was money---well, <br /> about $500.00 in a savings account. If a golf course for the public in Orono was <br /> to be my doings, it would have to be a bit unusual in more ways than one. The idea <br /> was very interesting, however, and I returned home in early March of 1924 determined <br /> to fully investigate the possibility and act if at all possible. <br /> Most of the land where the golf course now is was hay and pastureland in the <br /> early 1920s. My youngest brother, the late Karl Feser had taken quite an interest <br /> in golf, but was not one of those who asked permission to play at Woodhill. Armed <br />