Chalambar Golf Club's greenskeeper is setting off on a new adventure, over two years since he took the reins, or greens, at Chalambar.
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Chad Gilmour is proud of what he's achieved at his time at the club, and feels confident he's leaving the green in great shape.
"When I first got to Chalambar, that first year I was really busting my guts to get it to where it needed to be. The whole course needed a lot of work," he said.
"They went through a big changeover at the club, a lot of turnover of people.
"I came in and did the best I could with the money we had, and we've done a pretty good job. I think I've left the club in pretty good stead for the next person to come in.
"The hard work's done now, they've just got to maintain that standard.
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"People in Ballarat were coming down here to play golf. We're competing with Ballarat and Horsham, so that's a big positive for the club."
Mr Gilmour is leaving Chalambar for the town of Harden in New South Wales, to be closer to his family in Sydney.
"The lockdowns have got the better of me in the end. It's frustrating, constantly missing family events," he said.
"We've got a lot of younger nieces and nephews, so I'm missing a lot of their first birthdays, christenings and that sort of thing."
It was family connection that got Mr Gilmour into greenskeeping, and the career he's enjoyed.
"When I left school, I worked in a factory for a bit and hated it. I'd done greenkeeping work experience with my uncle, and that's how I got into it. After that it's all just history," he said.
Mr GIlmour said being a greenkeeper was an exceptionally rewarding job.
"When you have a project in hand, you can see the end product and hear golfers say how good it is - that's really rewarding, just to see your hard work paying off."
Mr Gilmour said it was the friendly faces of Chalambar's members and the club's progressive streak that he'll miss most.
"The members are really friendly and open, and we had a really good board, which doesn't happen very often. They were so open-minded and had the same ideas to get the club going forward," he said.
The greenkeeper said he will also miss the friends he made in Ararat and at the Great Western Football Club.
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