This latest local sporting/tourism asset was officially opened recently and Uncle Vic Channell from Ulladulla Local Aboriginal Land Council got the event underway with a Welcome to Country.

On behalf of the traditional owners of the land, he welcomed everyone to the gathering and wished everyone a safe journey home.

In May 2021 Mollymook Golf Club [MGC] announced its plans to invest in a $1M upgrade to their Beachside Golf Course.

MGC General Manager, John Holt, told the gathering a bit more about why such an investment was made.

Beachside, it appears, was long overdue of an upgrade and one of the reasons included safety.

The club's main focus had been the Hilltop course.

"Hilltop [which opened in 1977] went on to become a household name within the Australian golfing fraternity, well known for the challenging design, picturesque fairways, and coastal location," Mr Holt said.

"And the course continues to improve, having just been ranked number 92 by Golf Digest, in the top 100 best golf courses in Australia, for the second year running."

The same could not be said for Beachside.

"The story is a bit different down here at Beachside," Mr Holt explained.

"Despite being located on this stunning piece of South Coast real estate, all the attention has been on Hilltop and it's fair to say Beachside was neglected.

"For more than 40 years, maintenance was minimal, and the layout, bunkers and irrigation system remained much the same.

"When I arrived here in 2010, Beachside was described to me as an easy, cheap golfing alternative to Hilltop."

Mr Holt went on to explain that the growing area was catching up to Beachside.

"Time eventually caught up with Beachside because the surrounding community has not remained the same over the last 40 years - there are many new houses, tourism has grown, and the roads have become busy," he said.

"When originally built, the Beachside course was mostly surrounded by bush and farmland and there were only a few houses nearby.

"There was not much risk of a golf ball hitting a neighbour's house or a car driving down the road, so the course was designed to be as long as possible.

"A few decades later and golf balls were regularly hitting neighbours' houses and vehicles. Most of us will remember driving down Golf Avenue and watching a golf ball bounce across the road in front of the car!

"I personally witnessed a golfer hitting their ball back onto the fairway - from the front lawn of a house on the other side of the road!"

In the interests of public safety something had to be done.

"So over time the course became unsafe, and it was only a matter of time before someone was seriously hurt," Mr Holt said.

"The decision was made to redesign the course to properly fit the size of the block and build what is known within the golfing world as a 'short course'.

"In basic terms, this means the distance the players hit the ball is shorter and so in theory the risk of a ball going where it shouldn't is far less."

The club has embraced the short course golf format.

"The concept of short course golf is interesting and is becoming increasingly popular right around the world," Mr Holt said.

"There is an emerging market for the short game, particularly as people's lives become busier and they are looking for an alternative to the traditional game which takes four to five hours to play.

"Short course golf takes around one-and-a-half to two hours and layouts are designed to be challenging for the experienced golfer and fun for those wishing to play socially."

Importantly the players are loving the new course.

Club stalwarts Joan McMullen and Veronica Johnston love the newly revamped course.

Both said the re-development made what was always a fantastic course even better.

The two keen golfers added the course would help improve your short game and definitely was not a "hit and giggle" course.

"In the few short months open for play, this course has proven to be both challenging and fun. It's certainly more popular with our membership than the old course and we have received plenty of positive comments," Mr Holt added.

The general manager would to thank the key players in the upgrade.

"I would like to make specific mention of our course architect, Justin Trott, our agronomist David Lunardelli and also our golf manager Barry West who together masterminded the short course concept for Mollymook and designed the layout. Also, our course superintendent, Mark Pullinger and his assistant, Michael Bray and the entire maintenance team who were responsible for building the new course and maintaining Hilltop, at the same time," he said.

"It was not an easy task, particularly with the COVID shutdown and all the rain that has fallen since last November.

"We are well aware of the effort they put in and they can all be proud of what they have built here at Beachside."

The future looks bright for the MGC.

"The Board of Directors and management are committed to preserving the clubs' strong values and rich heritage, however our most important role is to shape the future - and that's what we are doing," Mr Holt said.

"This new short course forms part of a bigger vision to firmly cement the future of the sport here in Mollymook.

"Our junior development program is well established, and we are planning to build a high quality mini-golf facility which will be fun for all ages and will introduce kids to the concept of golf at a very young age.

"The mini golf, the short course, and the 18-hole Hilltop course will complement each other perfectly."

On behalf of the Board of Directors and Management Mr Holt said they were proud we are to be here today celebrating the opening of the newly rebuilt Beachside Golf Course.