Oatlands Enews – Friday 14th February 2020

Content

This Enews Newsletter covers the following topics:

  • Saturday, 15th February – 12th Hole Back in Play
  • From the Course
  • Damage to Course Toilet Facilities
  • Fundraising Golf Day for the Rural Fire Service – Friday, 13th March 2020
  • From the Pro Shop
  • Course Renovation Closure Dates – Change to Schedule 
  • New Putting Green – Please walk around the green unless putting
  • Rules Corner
  • Five after Five – Back due to popular demand
  • Pennant Update
  • 60 Seconds with Dave – The Hook Shot
  • Upcoming Events

Saturday 15th February – 12th Hole Back in Play

After the tragic accident that occurred on Bettington Road on Saturday, 1st February the 12th hole was closed while friends and family grieved and paid their respects. 

After consultation and at the request of the families, the 12th hole will be open from play from tomorrow, Saturday 15th February 2020. The family asked if they could erect a temporary fence inside our boundary fence to protect mourners at the tribute. This was agreed by the Club out of respect for the families, to protect mourners and to ensure children aren’t put in harm’s way by straying onto the golf course and into the path of golfers. 

The temporary fence (pictured to the left) will be out of bounds until it is removed. The timing of this will be discussed over the next week with the families.

We thank all members for their ongoing patience and understanding during this period of disruption after this tragic event.

 

 


From the Course

Rainfall for the Week: 368.00mm Rainfall for 2020: 453.5mm   Dam: 100%   Green Speed: 9ft

Well, we wanted rain but we didn’t really need it all at once! Beggars can’t be choosers they say, so we’ll deal with the situation as best we can and get through it. Although we were affected by the rain, we’ve seen photos of other courses with 4 to 7 metres of water flooding parts of their course, including greens (see the photos of Lynwood GC at the bottom of this article). So with this in mind, we must remember that there are others alot worse off than us and we should feel a little fortunate.

The clean-up started on Monday with 4 fallen trees cut up and removed to the green waste area. Many large branches also fell from trees throughout the course and these were also cut up and removed to the green waste area. This took 80 man hours to complete with the help of our volunteers, especially Col McRae who stayed the entire day helping with the clean-up.

The course was still very wet on Tuesday, so we couldn’t start cutting roughs or fairways as we would’ve caused too much damage to surfaces with the machines. Greens and tees were cleaned and cut, and fairways were blown to tidy up the appearance of the course. Some extra staff members were thrown Elinor’s way, and they managed to strip out the front clubhouse gardens in preparation for new winter annual plantings in the coming weeks.

The forecast was for more rain to return later in the week, with some predictions of up to 100mm. The decision was made to leave the temporary repair of bunkers this week, as it would have been demoralising for staff members to repair the bunkers and then see all that back breaking work wiped out with another 100mm of rain. It is worth noting that damage sustained to bunkers is much greater than for a common rain event, with the volume of water flooding much of the course and bunkers and the additional time taken to drain, adding to the significant damage done to many bunker structures.

With bunkers out of play on Wednesday, and the course drying out somewhat on Tuesday afternoon, we were able to cut all fairways, the majority of green surrounds and make a start on rough mowing.

A leak under the concrete path behind the 9th green was detected on Tuesday morning. After cutting the concrete path, we were able to utilise the on-loan excavator provided by the Club’s plumber, to lift the cut section out and gain access to the leak for assessment. We are waiting on repair joiners which will hopefully arrive today, so that the repair can be performed before the weekend.

Greens received 2 applications this week, the first containing growth regulator and a silica based product for plant health. The second application on Friday morning was for Pythium root rot and leaf blight, as well as an insecticide for African Black beetle. The humid weather has brought the number of these beetles to plague like proportions, with the crows chasing them in the greens causing damage to the putting surfaces.

Tees and fairways will be mown twice this week, and all roughs will be mown as well. Some areas on fairways will be left with the Friday cut to avoid damage.

The 18th fairway has had a renovation performed to it to ensure it fully recovers from the harsh summer. We verti drained this fairway initially before removing any built up thatch with the broom attachment on our Ventrac machine. Fertiliser will be spread as well as gypsum before several medium topdressings will be performed to encourage the turf to grow into the thin areas.

We are trying to get carts on the course as much as possible so that all members can enjoy a game, but at the same time, we must protect the course as much as possible. When we do allow carts on the course after rainfall periods, we ask that members be aware of wet areas and try and avoid them as much as possible.

Our volunteers were on course Monday assisting with the clean-up of fallen trees and branches and painting projects in the clubhouse. Thank you for all your help again this week, these efforts gave the course staff an enormous head start on the whole cleaning process.

We are planning to cut and roll greens on Saturday and Sunday this week. 

Lynwood Golf Club on Monday 10th February.

Enjoy the weekend!

The Course Team.


Damage to Course Toilet Facilities

Members are advised that the on-course toilet facilities located between the 6th green and 7th tee have been severely damaged by a fallen tree during the weekend storm and will almost certainly need to be knocked down and rebuilt. In the meantime, the amenities are unusable for safety reasons. 

The damage and repair / replacement work is being assessed with a view to being carried out as quickly as possible so as to minimise member disruption.

Due to the volume of rainfall and moisture in the soil, a temporary port-a-loo option has been ruled out due to the need to replace it daily and the potential damage that would be caused by the heavy vehicle required for the drop off and pick up. 

We appreciate the member patience and understanding while we work with the Club’s insurer to get the amenities repaired / replaced as soon as possible.

 

 


Fundraising Golf Day for the Rural Fire Service – Friday 13th March

The Club’s RFS Fundraising Day is fast approaching and the support from members (and staff) has been fantastic. Please see the following updates regarding this event:

  • A guest speaker has been arranged for the event, being Chris Ryder, RFS Manager, Operations Support, Response and Coordination at NSW Rural Fire Service (Superintendent).
  • Donations from members for raffle and auction items have been coming in steadily, thanks to those members who have already donated, more is needed for this cause.
  • The Oatlands bar staff decided to donate their tips from January to the fundraising effort and have raised just under $1,200, well done team!
  • The Club has decided to invite volunteers from the Local RFS units at no charge and are calling for members to sponsor their entry fee ($110pp) all of which will go to the fundraising effort.

The outline for the day is as follows:

7am: Registration including Bacon & Egg Rolls
8am: Shotgun Start – 4 Person Ambrose
1pm: Lunch, guest speaker, presentation and fundraising activities.

Cost: Members – $80pp / Guests – $110pp

All funds raised will go to the families of the NSW RFS Volunteers who were killed fighting the fires.

To donate a raffle / auction item, or to sponsor a RFS volunteer to play on the day, please contact the Club General Manager, gm@oatlandsgolf.com.au.

We hope many members and guests will get involved in this event and help to support the heroic effort of all those involved in fighting the unprecedented bush fires, along with those who have been tragically impacted. Bookings for the event are available via the Club website.


From the Pro Shop

The Pro Shop has a number of Fitting Day activities coming up over the next month that might interest members:

Titleist Fitting Day – Thursday 5th March 

Titleist’s master Clubfitter will be onsite on Thursday 5th March from 1pm – 5pm with the full range of Vokey SM8 Wedges, T Series Irons, and TS Woods and Fairways for members to try and be custom fitted for. Bookings via the Club website. 

 

Grip Fitting Day – Wednesday 11th March

PGA Professional David Ecob will be on hand to assess your grips and assist in fitting the best grip for your clubs and game. There will be a 20% discount on the day for all grip purchases.

There is also scheduled for May, a fitting day with Golf Pride Grips to further support our valued members.

 

Footjoy Shoe Fitting Day – Wednesday 18th March

Enjoy a complimentary Professional Shoe Fitting by the industry leader in golf footwear, FootJoy. Each fitting takes 5-15mins to complete. Bookings are available online with Footjoy’s expert shoe fitter onsite with the full range of Footjoy shoes. You will also have the opportunity to be correctly Glove Fit too. Bookings can be made through the Club’s website or by contacting the Pro Shop.

Studies show that 2 in every 3 golfers wear the wrong size golf shoe – typically too long, too wide or a combination of both. With the FootJoy Shoe Fitting Experience, you can enjoy more comfortable rounds of golf – and improved play.

 

Taylormade Fitting Day – Monday 30th March

The Taylormade Clubfitter will be at Oatlands on Monday, 30th March between 12.30pm – 4pm with the full range of Taylormade Clubs for members to try, including the newly released SIM range. Fitting Days are a great way to try out the latest equipment obligation free, and under the supervision of an experienced Clubfitter with the latest launch monitor technology. If you haven’t experienced one of these sessions, we highly recommend them for the experience alone, but be warned, you might not want to give the Clubs back. Bookings are available through the Club’s website or by contacting the Pro Shop.

 

 


Course Renovation Closure Dates – Change to Schedule

Members are advised that the dates listed in the Fixture / Programme book for Course Closure and greens renovations has been adjusted.

Course (and Clubhouse) Closure dates, previously mid-March are now as follows:

Sunday 5th April: Course closed from 12:30pm
Monday 6th April: Course and Clubhouse closed all day
Tuesday 7th April: Course and Clubhouse closed all day


New Putting Green – Please walk around the green unless putting

Members are asked to please walk around the new putting green using the concrete path when walking from the Clubhouse to the Pro Shop.

When leaving the Clubhouse, the shortest distance to the Pro Shop is across Northeast corner of the putting green, however constant foot traffic across this line will impact the plant health and wear a track into the green over time. To avoid this, members, who aren’t putting, are asked to take the slightly longer route of the concrete path to access the Pro Shop.

Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated.  


Rules Corner

Thanks to all the members, who have provided Rules to be explained in the Enews over the coming weeks. 

The Rules to be covered over the following weeks, commencing next week will be:

  1. When you are playing the 13th and your ball is near the wire fence to the left of the green, what are your options depending on how the fence interferes with your swing.
  2. When you need to take a drop from a staked tree or distance marker post. How you determine your nearest point of relief and how you drop it correctly.
  3. The correct ruling for when your ball is close to the green and you have a sprinkler head/ leaves/ sand in your line which are off the green.
  4. The options that you have if your ball has an impossible lie in a bunker
  5. When you are stuck at the base of a tree what options do you have in taking a drop under penalty.
  6. When you are addressing the ball on the putting green and your ball moves (either caused by you or by an outside agency such as wind).
  7. When you hit the ball through the back of the 9th hole what are your options if the ball is against the edge of the concrete path, on the concrete path or over into the garden.
  8. If you hit the drive off the first tee and you think it may be out of bounds, what are your options.
  9. Options when your ball runs down the Oatlands House entry driveway.
  10. LHS of the 5th, pathway, railing and rockwall – What to do when interference occurs.

We will address these specific Rules to Oatlands with a series of videos featuring various staff, directors and volunteers to explain the options and processes.


Five after Five – Get Involved

The Club’s popular Five after Five series has been extended into 2020.

This relaxed light-hearted event is a great way to introduce friends to the Club where they will get a stress free introduction to competition golf, or for all members to enjoy the friendship and camaraderie that Oatlands is famous for.

The new dates will be Fri 21st Feb and Fri 6th March. Bookings can be made online or by contacting the Club’s Reception or Pro Shop.

 


Pennant Update

Last weekend’s rain cancelled all Pennant matches Sydney wide, with Mixed Pennant having allowance for a spare date to be played on Sunday 23rd February and Major Pennant being awarded a draw in their away match against Massey Park.

Mixed Pennant

The OGC Mixed Pennant team still lead the division with 2 home matches left to play. The team’s next match is on Sunday 16th February at OGC against Strathfield commencing at 11:05am.

Major Pennant

The Major Pennant side play their next match at OGC against Massey Park on Sunday 16th February, commencing at 7am.

The team for round 2 is as follows:

Luke Mason
Sean Porter
Wil Reece
Nick Murdoch
Brad Hooper
Grant Lomas
Nathan Wareham
Reserve: Sam Reece

Team Manager: Rodney Walsh


60 Seconds with Dave – Hitting a Hook

This week, 60 Seconds with Dave focuses on how to hit an intentional hook. We hope you enjoy the video and it helps you out on the course. 

If members would like to see any topics covered in 60 Seconds with Dave, please email him your ideas at golflessons@oatlandsgolf.com.au


BISTRO ON BETTINGTON – DATES FOR 2020

A reminder that these events are held on selected Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays throughout each month and are a wonderful way to introduce new people to our Club. Bookings are essential and we ask that you reserve your table at least two (2) days in advance. Dates are shown below:

Jan Saturday 18th & Wednesday 29th
Feb Friday 14th & Wednesday 26th
Mar Saturday 14th & Wednesday 25th
Apr Saturday 18th & Wednesday 29th
May Saturday 16th & Wednesday 27th
Jun  Friday 12th & Wednesday 24th
Jul Saturday 18th & Wednesday 29th
Aug Saturday 15th & Wednesday 26th
Sep Friday 11th & Wednesday 30th 
Oct Friday 9th & Wednesday 28th
Nov Wednesday 18th & Saturday 28th
Dec Wednesday 9th & Saturday 19th (Christmas Buffet)

 

 

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