It was a long and trying process, but on the weekend Bannockburn Golf Club officially opened its new greens, having transitioned from scrapes. The process began five years ago when a significant anonymous donation was made to the club.

Welcoming over 100 people, Bannockburn hosted a family day for the occasion, with food trucks and games alongside a competition where eager golfers could experience the greens for the first time.

"We did a shotgun start in the morning and the members could invite a visitor with them, a lot of them wanting to show the course off," said Bannockburn President Michael Jochum.

"Being a country club, we wanted to show the club to the community as well that it's a perfect course for families and golfers learning too.

"We got some jumping castles and face painting and had Geelong Golf Academy out doing kids clinics. It was a great day."

Having had the first nine greens open for some time, Jochum says transitioning from scrapes has had an immediate and significant effect on visitor numbers.

"We've been on a combination of either nine holes or 18 hole temporaries for the last sort of three years," he said.

"When the front nine opened, we saw a huge increase with green fee players. Before we were even fully open, we'd seen green fee players at least double, and our members have stuck with us too.

"All the members stayed around and stayed a part of it, which was great. We expect the membership to begin to increase now with all the greens being open."

Beyond the greens, Bannockburn has gone from strength to strength in past years, Jochum detailing a major milestone which will ensure the new greens are well looked after.

"We didn't have any employed staff, the club was entirely volunteer run when we received the donation," he said.

"In that time, we've hired our superintendent, David Johnson, and he's been astronomical.

"He's not just maintained the course, he's pretty much helped the designer and the greens scraper with the whole process."

It is fitting that Bannockburn welcomed the entire community in on Saturday's opening, as the whole process wouldn't have been possible without everyone rolling up their sleeves and pitching in. From volunteers, to generous sponsors, to loyal members, Jochum is incredibly grateful.

To find out more about Bannockburn and book in a game on the new greens, CLICK HERE.