The grass just got greener

By Helen Tatchell

The Grand Slam tennis circuit has a variety of surfaces, including clay, hard, and grass. In Moorabool one club has the Wimbledon equivalent.
The Bacchus Marsh Lawn Tennis Club, the name speaks for itself, has been working with council to redevelop three of their grass courts to All-Weather Mod Grass courts. Recently, the dream become a reality.
President Nigel Bullen said, as a club, a small celebration was held for the commencement of works.
“The redevelopment will occur on the three top bank grass courts and include new lighting, and bring the total of all-weather courts to ten,” he said.
“This will greatly assist and allow our junior competition during winter, our three-night competitions and the Wednesday morning ladies competitions to further expand.”
The club is 109-years old and boasts 210 members in the age range of 5-85.
All-weather mod grass is an artificial synthetic surface that can be used all year round and doesn’t need watering or mowing. It is non-slip in the wet, quick drying and hard-wearing.
The forecast completion date is for end July 2019.

Funding for the project included:
$210,000 (approx.) – Moorabool Shire Council
$130,000 – Tennis Club Members
$100,000 – State Government
$ 80,000 – Loan from Tennis Australia
$ 50,000 – Tennis Vic. Court Rebate Scheme
$ 25,000 – Bacchus Marsh Community Bank Grant