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NEWARK, Vt. (WCAX) – Schoolhouse Road in Newark is quiet. At first glance, you wouldn’t guess it’s the home to a nine-hole golf course called Granddad’s invitational, named for Ralph Chase’s grandfather, who purchased the home in 1918.
“It’s the old farm that we renovated back into a golf course. On the flags, you’ll see a picture of my grandfather,” Chase said. “It was taken way back in the 50s.”
The course opened for public play in 1991, but dates even further back. It all started from Ralph and his brother having an itch to play, but playing wasn’t easily accessible.
“When were kids, it was basically impossible to play on a golf course, either because of distance, or price, or people didn’t want you on the golf courses as kids.”
So, they took matters into their own hands.
“We made our own golf course. My brother and I, we used white pine needles to make greens,” he recalled. “We whittled out our golf clubs from branches on the trees. We then took wiffle balls, taped them up, and used them for our golf balls.”
Years later, Chase’s daughters bought him some seed for father’s day, and eventually, it grew into the golf course it is today.
“I went and did this first green, I did another green, and another green, and then just kept going with it until we had nine,” he said.
Turning 82 this year, Chase says it’s easy to find the passion to keep Granddad’s up and running.
“The love of golf, the love of labor.”
And it’s that same love of the game he had as a kid that he hopes others find when they drop their greens fees in the mailbox and start their round.
“We wanted to build something so that people could come and enjoy themselves for a cheap rate,” he said. “Some people are afraid to go to the big courses to try to play and learn. They haven’t ever sworn in a club before. So here they can do it, and they can learn and figure out whether they like the sport or not.”