City of Greater Geelong councillor Tony Ansett says an innovative new alternative water supply project means the Elcho Park Golf Course will no longer be regarded as the 'poor relation' among the Geelong region's wide range of golfing venues.

The City has thrown its support behind the project, under which recycled water would be piped from the Barwon Prison complex to Elcho Park, completely replacing the potable water currently used to water the Elcho Park Golf Course and its surrounds.

Council last week adopted a resolution to continue negotiations with Barwon Water and Barwon Prison and to begin discussions with VicRoads to clarify its permit requirements for construction of the proposed pipeline.

Cr Tom O'Connor, the portfolio holder for Environment, said Elcho Park was Council's largest consumer of potable, or drinking water.

He said it was estimated that the new recycled water project would result in a saving to council of more than seven percent of its total annual potable water consumption.

"It would be a major contributor in achieving Council's planned reduction of 25 percent of potable water consumption by 2015," Cr O'Connor said.

Cr Ansett, who represents Windermere Ward, said $240,000 of the proposed cost of the project had been identified in Council's 2007-2008 budget, and a 2008-2009 budget proposal of $310,000 had been requested.

He said funding contributions were currently being sought from the State government.

Cr Ansett said he was ecstatic about the project, and looked forward to Elcho Park becoming one of the best golf courses in the region.

"It will be a far cry from the Elcho Park course I knew as a young bloke," he said.

"Water was a major issue even back then. We had the best greens, but we had the worst fairways," Cr Ansett said.

"It was dry and it was desolate out on the fairways. You could hit a beautiful five-iron and it might be heading for the green, but then it would hit a crack in the ground and go anywhere," he said.

"It would bounce off into the scrub and you wouldn't have a clue where to start looking. We used to say there were big crickets that crawled up out of the cracks in the ground and made off with the ball," Cr Ansett said.

"Those cracks were like crevasses. Anything could have been hiding down there."

Cr Ansett said he was optimistic that the State government would weigh in with some funding for the project.

"Local golfers will see this course changing from brown to green before their eyes," he said.