Cattle on the Course

My research led me to an interesting discovery about the original Winter Park Country Club. In the opening years of the course maintenance struggled with roaming cattle that occupied many of the holes. The cattle distracted golfers and angered community leaders eventually leading to the construction of a fence that blocked the open fields from the course. One would think maintenance wouldn't advocate animals on the course after the struggle with the cattle, but sheep were next. Keeping the grass short enough for play in the early 20th century was a struggle and costly, this was until there was a great idea. Maintenance and greens keepers let dozens of sheep lose on the course to eat the grass, thus providing a cheap way to keep the grass short for its members. This radical technique made its way to Golf Illustrated which featured the Winter Park Country Club for its interesting grass keeping. The sheep eventually proved to be more of any annoyance then a help and were run off in the early 1920's.