Oliver: Hit the links at Woodstock library

Me, too. The old pocketbook is feeling a bit lighter and tighter these days.

So we have to be creative.

Turns out, so do those who would like us to part with a little of that hard-earned cash to help their worthy causes.

Just such a “clever endeavor,” combining cheap fun for a good purpose, is being put on March 14 at Woodstock Public Library.

The Friends of Woodstock Public Library plan to turn the library into – get this – a mini-golf course.

For a mere $5, you can play 18 holes amid the book stacks.

“You will, in fact, have to putt into the elevator to get up to the second floor. To get back the way you cometh, you will have to putt down the stairs,” event co-chairwoman Gayle Hoch said. “We’re putting this all over the library.”

In the stacks. Through the reference room. Around the magazines. You get the picture.

If you’re a child 8 or younger, it’s $3 if you attend with an adult.

And if you think you’re a “Pretty Good Golfer” and want to compete in a tournament, it will set you back only $8.

The idea for the Mini-Links Golf Outing originated in Connecticut, Hoch told me. The Friends there did so well that the concept spread throughout the East Coast.

The Woodstock Friends are adding a few touches of their own. If you don’t want to play the course, you’re welcome to practice your swing on a Wii game that will be available.

A “car” will be awarded to the player with the lowest score.

“But it’s just a little car,” Hoch said. As in, don‘t plan to drive it home.

Every hole will have a sponsor. That includes the 19th Hole, where you can buy munchies, such as chips and cookies.

Course officials will be volunteers, some of them high school golfers.

If you don’t want to play, you can watch the scores on an electronic leader board.

“It’s one of those things where you can involve everybody,” Hoch said. “Anybody can come.”