Warrnambool East Rotary Club's hole-in-one competition returns for golfers of all ages and abilities

Rotarian Ian Macdonald said the competition was opened to all golfers and was all in the name of raising funds.

"This is our main fundraiser for the year," he said. "Throughout the year we help other small organisations and community non-for-profits with donations.

"Any community service you can think of, we help them at some stage or another."

Running from Boxing Day to January 26, the competition ends with the final shoot off where all the participants who scored a hole-in-one or closest to the pin on one of the days battle it out to win the black Kia Picanto.

Around 20 hole-in-ones are scored every competition in either the children's pin, about 50 metres away from the tee, or the adult pin, which is around 100 metres away.

"It's just about raising as much money as possible," Mr Macdonald said. "Every cent, 100 per cent of all funds raised will go straight back into the community.

"Every year for the past five years, we've increased on our total raised.

"Between 70-90 businesses sponsor the event with monetary or goods and services and we certainly can do a lot with the generosity we receive from people."

With a huge amount of people walking through the gates to try their luck in the competition, a lot of golf balls get lost in the foreshore's scrub.

"It works out that over the month, one ball is hit every five seconds," Mr Macdonald said. "We go through a lot of balls; thousands and thousands of balls are hit.

"We look for what we can and in the evenings we see kids going in and finding them."

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No hole-in-one's were scored on the first day of the competition but beginner and expert golfers of all ages are invited to give it a go.

"We see regular holidaymakers who love the competition," Mr Macdonald said. "We see the same people from New South Wales and beyond coming down for a hit.

"We have a number of people who will be here four or five times a weeks and a couple have won the car before."

The competition is open everyday until January 26 from 10am to 6pm next to the Warrnambool skatepark and plenty of Rotarians turn out to help make the event possible.

"We have two shifts of four people a day and we also have a committee of 12 people who set up every morning and pack up in the evening," Mr Macdonald said. "There are three dedicated ground staff who look after the area in the two months leading up to the competition.

"As soon as the event finishes, we're thinking about the next year and how to improve it. A lot of man hours involved in the competition."

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