HOLDEN – Bob Sparks is a businessman. It’s important that you know that up front.

He’s not one of those guys who got a good nip from the golf bug and decided that taking 48 acres of Holden woodland and carving out a cozy nine-hole course would be an easy, cool thing to do.

He’s a businessman. And as such, he did his homework. He commissioned feasibility studies. He learned about the industry. He looked at alternatives.

Then he started working on Felt Brook Golf Center … with a simple, lofty aspiration.

“I want to be the best nine-hole golf course in the state of Maine. That’s my goal,” Sparks says, before adding, modestly, that he doesn’t know if he’ll ever actually reach that pinnacle.

This much, he says, he does know: When golfers tee it up at Felt Brook, they’ll do so from tee boxes that will accept a tee, even in the mid-July heat. They’ll aim at fairways mowed so they look just like the ones on TV. They’ll try to avoid well-groomed intermediate collars and full-fledged rough. And the irrigation system will ensure that mid- and late-season golfers will be enjoying the best action of the year.

“And when you get to the greens, I want the best greens around,” Sparks says.

Felt Brook Golf Center sits just across the Holden-Brewer line, along busy Route 1A. As the name indicates, the course is just the centerpiece of a varied enterprise.

A lighted driving range is open until 11 p.m., while golfers can practice chipping, putting and hitting shots out of a practice bunker nearby.

“It was built with the golfer who wants to better his game in mind,” says Sparks, who has PGA professional Mark Hall to handle any instructional needs his customers may have.

Go-kart racing and miniature golf are available, and the facility boasts a full restaurant (Mulligan’s) as well as karaoke and dancing on Fridays and Saturdays.

And the golf course? It’s a cozy but challenging par-33 layout that will be transformed into a par-35 setup after some tinkering this summer.

One thing the early feasibility studies told Sparks was that he shouldn’t go into business with the intention of providing the same kind of service the established courses were providing.

“What it recommended is what we built,” Sparks says. “A regulation course, not too long, and one that everyone can enjoy.”

Sparks says the course’s big challenge has been winning over customers who’ve never actually played it, but who think they know what it is.

“The perception for the first couple of years was, ‘It’s short, it’s narrow, it’s this, it’s that,” Sparks said. “It’s no narrower than a lot of golf courses.”

And it’s better maintained than most. Sparks has made sure of that, making decisions that stuck to his long-term goals from the course’s inception.

“I’m the kind of person who likes to do things right the first time,” Sparks says. “Do it right, get it over with, and you don’t have to mess around.”

Among those who had preconceived notions: Sparks’ new pro, who played it for the first time last summer and left surprised… and impressed.

“Even though it’s got some short holes, it’s a true challenge, and it’s a fun golf course to play,” Hall says. “It’s not going to be a golf course that’s gonna pound on you and pound on you and you’re not going to have the worst score you’ve ever had.

“But it’s a course where you’ve got to be on your toes.”

Contributing to that: Plenty of water, including the ponds that encircle No. 5’s island green.

The greens, which Sparks insisted on building to PGA specifications, rest on a 90 percent sand base that ranges from 12 to 24 inches deep. The result: In summer, the roll is true and fast, but the surface is pliable enough that well-hit shots hit and stop quickly.

The greens are large, covering 1.6 acres of the total 48 acres. And their large size and undulations make a pro’s job fun, Hall says.

“When you come to Felt Brook and say ‘Who in the heck would put that pin there?’ Well, guess what? It’s the pro,” Hall says with a chuckle. “And he’s a little sadistic sometimes.”

Hall plans to beef up Felt Brook’s junior league this summer and has commitments from more than 30 players. Other summer highlights include the popular glowball tournaments.

Felt Brook, which opened for its first full season in 1998, is nearing maturity, Sparks figures. But that doesn’t mean he’s satisfied. … not quite yet.

Plans call for lengthening the 255-yard first hole by tucking a tee box 30 to 40 yards back in the woods. In addition, No. 2 will be transformed from a straight-forward but tough 178-yard par-3 into a 245-yard par-4.

And No. 5, the course’s toughest hole, will be played from a new tee box that will turn it into a 250-yard par-4 the first time around in order to speed up the pace of play.

Then Sparks and his crew can focus on reaching his bigger goal. And he’s confident in the staff and managers he and wife Linda have assembled.

“We’ve got great people here,” Sparks says. “They’re making things happen the way they should happen.”

John Holyoke will be profiling a Maine golf course each Tuesday. Contact him at 990-8214 or by e-mail at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net

FELT BROOK GOLF CENTER

Holes: Nine

Yards: 2,259 (white), 1,767 (red); par: 33

Slope: 99; rating: 62.2

Green fees: 9 holes: $13 weekdays ($10 special before 10 a.m.), $14 weekends; 18 holes: $20 weekdays, $22 weekends

Memberships: $600 adults, $850 family, $350 college students, $300 juniors (each membership fee includes $50 driving range credit and free Friday night instructional session)

Tee times: weekends only

Directions: Take I-395 east to Route 1A (Exit 6) in Brewer; Felt Brook Golf Center is on the right just after the exit ramp.

Phone: 989-3500