Student-built golf course up to par

On the third floor of their University City townhouse, seniors Adam Wodka and Eric Maxon just finished constructing a nine-hole mini golf course.

Rolling Greens Golf Course takes up most of College senior Wodka's expansive full-attic bedroom. His actual bed, desk and drawers are squeezed into a small nook.

"I can't imagine having anything else here," Wodka says, navigating through the green Astroturf course -- with its real sand and water traps -- en route to his desk. "Maybe a bowling alley."

He pauses, adding, "Maybe next semester."

Wodka and Maxon -- who have been friends since high school -- say that their brainchild began as a whim. "We had a couple of ideas for the room," Wodka says. "We thought, maybe a swing set. ..."

"You wanted a swing set," Wharton senior Maxon says.

"I just wanted a project," Wodka replies.

The two began construction last July out of boredom. They worked on the course during the summer, finishing just a few weeks ago, with only minutes to spare before their grand opening party.

Wodka and Maxon split the cost of the wood, turf, piping, paint and metal materials, all bought from Home Depot.

"It was awkward, having to explain to the Home Depot guys why we were buying Astroturf," Wodka says.

The total cost was a couple hundred dollars -- the cheapest the two felt could be used to feasibly construct a golf course. Toward the end, Wodka and Maxon's six housemates pitched in on the project.

Most of their friends doubted that it would be finished at all.

"People thought it would just be a shoebox and a carpet," Wodka says. He pauses. "It's just that we're not very ... what's the opposite of lazy?"

But when it came to the design and construction of Rolling Greens, the two worked diligently to come up with nine creative holes -- and a good name.

"I thought we should call it Eight Men and a Guinea Pig," Wodka says, referencing the members of their household.

"No," Maxon says, shaking his head. "No."

Mini golfing at Rolling Greens is meant to be a challenge, "so we can play it again and again and not get bored with it," Wodka explains. The two tried to cover all the basic features of traditional mini golf courses while generating entirely new ideas as well.

One hole, for instance, features a metal loop the loop. Another requires navigating a ball around three traps -- piles of paper, scissors and rocks. There is a hole with a lighthouse that lights up and is surrounded by real water traps.

Another hole features a fake tube that spits a player's ball back out.

"It's a little advantage for us," Wodka admits. The course also has an elevated Star of David hole as well as one with a ramp and a jump.

Then there is Mr. Slippery, a big clown face that marks hole nine. A ball through Mr. Slippery's nose means a chance at a hole in one. A ball through his mouth is a guaranteed winner.

"I've gotten it through once," Wodka says, taking a shot. He misses.

Maxon steps up and cleanly lands it in Mr. Slippery's mouth. "That's how it's done."

There is a familiar, satisfying plunk when the ball lands in the hole, which is constructed from the bottom of a plastic cup. "We spent a lot of time trying to achieve that sound," Wodka says.

Wodka holds the course record so far, and his score is tacked alongside other scraps of paper on a corkboard. Next to the board are three clubs, assorted mini golf balls and Rolling Greens customized scorecards. Wodka and Maxon hope to decorate the walls with a mural eventually, but for now there are assorted posters.

Despite the uniqueness inherent in the course, Wodka and Maxon have plans to keep it fresh.

"Blindfolding," Wodka muses. "Maybe a speed round."

Then there is drunken mini golf.

"It's really good, but it can get really messy as well," Wodka says. "You never truly realize how uncoordinated you become until you try and putt a quarter-sized ball out of a sand trap and into a two-inch hole while still maintaining your balance."

Their friends tell Wodka and Maxon that they could make a small fortune charging people to play -- after all, Rolling Greens is virtually the only mini golf site within Philadelphia -- but the two insist that it's not about money.

"Now it's open to the public," Wodka says. "It's obviously free, but we're thinking about doing a charity tournament pretty soon -- something local for a West Philly organization or school." The two are also in the process of setting up an e-mail address for people who want to reserve the course for a couple of rounds.

Those who have already sampled it are in love.

"Basically, the course is mind-blowing," says College senior Rebecca Simon, who is friends with Wodka and Maxon. "It's really incredible." Simon also attended the course's themed opening party, held two weekends ago.

"The grand opening tournament was in honor of their dead guinea pig, and for the party we all dressed up as golfers. It was a lot of fun."

Wharton senior and friend Dan Bachner shares this opinion.

"When I first saw the course, I was extremely impressed at the design and how professional it looked," Bachner says. "It is truly a remarkable achievement, and it's a lot of fun."

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