Oatlands Enews – Friday 1st September 2023
Content
This week’s Enews covers the following topics:
- From the Course
- OGC Father’s Day Lunch – Sunday 3rd September (Menu Available)
- Mixed / Medley PGA Scramble – Friday 15th September
- Farewell Chelsea Podro
- Captain’s Corner – Local Rule 3, Penalty Area Stakes and Dropping Stakes
- Upcoming Member Events: September – October
- Recent Trophy Event Winners
- Upcoming Trophy Events
- Members Only Facebook Group
From the Course
Rainfall for the Week: 10.0mm, Rainfall for 2023: 617.5mm, Dam: 100% Green Speed: Renovation
Renovation work on playing surfaces has continued this week with the start of the sand top dressing of all fairways. This is being followed by the application of pre-emergent herbicide for weed control, with a residual insecticide and soil penetrant also being added to the tank for season long pest control.
The team aims to spread 76 tonnes of sand each day with 2 truck and dog loads delivered each morning over the week. Our 2 top dressing machines make many trips back and forth to the maintenance shed while evenly spreading the sand over each fairway. Once the sand has dried in the sun, we rub the sand into the turf canopy and any open core holes from the recent aeration work. This is an efficient operation by the course team and something that isn’t taken on (by course staff) at any other Clubs in Sydney. This whole aeration and top dressing process, along with periodic verti draining throughout the year, enables our fairway surfaces to cope better with rainfall events which keeps carts on the course more often.
The pre-emergent herbicide application will prevent weeds from germinating in our fairway and rough lines, and the residual insecticide will provide season long control against Billbug, African Black Beetle, and Argentinian Scarab Beetles. We switched to the residual insecticide several years ago when we were in drought, as we typically couldn’t get a 2nd insecticide application out late in the summer season, as we didn’t have enough water in the dam to wash the application into the soil. This would then leave the surfaces vulnerable to attack by the pests mentioned above. Once completed next week, this residual insecticide will protect our fairways and roughs until the end of the summer season.
We have started marking out and measuring up areas on collars and surrounds to be replaced with new turf over the next few weeks. These areas have been marked with blue paint around the 1st, 5th, 7th, 13th, or 15th.
Our greens have recovered exceptionally well after the recent renovations, with the change to practices working as expected. The greens were cut on Monday morning at 4mm (lower than previous years), rolled on Tuesday morning, and then cut every morning for the remainder of the week. The cutting will be lowered to 3.5mm for the weekend and then to 3mm during next week.
Only a 2 man crew of volunteers this week but they still managed a great mornings work between them. All tree guards were repaired or replaced, and the OOB stakes were checked and replaced as required. They may appear in the next season of MAFS (Married At First Sight), as filming was taking place at Oatlands House while the OOB stakes were being checked! We will have to watch to find out. Thank you gentlemen for volunteering your services, very much appreciated as always!
Greens will be cut on Saturday, with the dew being removed from them on Sunday.
Have a great weekend and happy golfing!
The Course Team.
OGC Father’s Day Lunch – Sunday 3rd September (Menu Available)
Members and guests are invited to celebrate Father’s Day at the Club with a lovely Roast Lunch.
MENU
- Texan BBQ beef short ribs
- Crispy roasted pork belly
- Roast Dutch carrot
- Duck fat potato
- Baby peas
- Grilled corn
- Vanilla Crème Brulee
Bookings can be made through the website or by contacting Reception.
Mixed / Medley PGA Scramble – Friday 15th September
Oatlands will be running a Mixed / Medley PGA (formerly Holden / VW) Scramble on Friday 15th September, 8am shotgun start.
The event will be open to male and female, members and guests, and requires a minimum of one member per team to qualify in the 4 person Ambrose format.
The cost is $75 for members and guests (the majority of the fee going to the PGA).
All participants will receive a bacon & roll on arrival and a Callaway gift pack.
Registration for the OGC Mixed PGA Scramble is done though the PGA event portal which is accessible by clicking here.
Subject to the number of entries received, it is hoped that OGC will qualify two teams for the Regional Final where the qualifiers will be joined by one of the Club’s PGA Professionals.
Farewell Chelsea Podro
Popular Bar Supervisor Chelsea Podro finished up at Oatlands Golf Club yesterday (Thursday 31st August) as she goes on maternity leave for the impending birth of her first child, due end September.
Chelsea has worked at OGC for almost 5-years and has been a tremendous asset during this time in the kitchen and then primarily in the bar.
We wish Chelsea well in this next chapter of her life and look forward to welcoming her new bub into the world later this month.
Captain’s Corner – Local Rule 3, Penalty Area Stakes and Dropping Stakes
I am surprised by the number of questions I get regarding red pegs, but also appreciate that the treatment of such is a local rule and therefore may vary from course to course.
At OGC, we treat red pegs as an immovable obstruction, which means you cannot remove a peg which is interfering with your swing or stance., or line of site. You are however given a free relief under rule 16.1. Relief is to be the nearest point of full relief, which means the nearest point, not nearer the hole where the red peg does not interfere with your swing or stance. This point should be marked with, say a tee, and you then can drop the ball within one club length of that point, again not nearer the hole.
The same rule applies with distance markers and dropping stakes.
Please note that the relief provided above does not apply under rule 15.2
It should also be noted that relief is not provided where the ball is in the penalty, even if the red peg is interfering with your swing or stance.
A special note to the above is that a player may take free relief if the player is required to stand on the concrete wall on the 13th hole to play their shot.
Col McRae
Club Captain
Upcoming Member Events: September – October
The Club has lots of fantastic events coming up for members and guests and we encourage members to take part in the Club’s diverse offering.
Following the recent member survey regarding event ideas, we will be adding to the list of event types below as the year progresses, however for the time being, please see the upcoming events for August and September:
- Sunday 3rd September, Father’s Day Lunch, 1pm – Booking required
- Friday 8th September, Eats & Beats, from 4pm – Bookings not required
- Friday 15th September, PGA Scramble, Booking required
- Saturday 16th September, The Bettington, 6pm, 6:30pm, 7pm, 7:30pm – Booking required
- Friday 22nd September, Karahoke, – Booking required
- Wednesday 27th September, The Bettington, 6pm, 6:30pm, 7pm, 7:30pm – Booking required
- Wednesday 4th October, OGC Interactive Rules Seminar, 6pm – 8pm – Booking required
- Wednesday 11th October, Oatlands Golf Club Ltd Annual General Meeting – Registration required
- Friday 13th October, Social Cards Night, 6:30pm – 9:30pm – Booking required
- Saturday 14th October, The Bettington, 6pm, 6:30pm, 7pm, 7:30pm – Booking required
- Wednesday 25th October, The Bettington, 6pm, 6:30pm, 7pm, 7:30pm – Booking required
- Saturday 28th October, New Members Cocktail Night (by Invitation: New Members, Proposer, Seconder)
Recent Trophy Event Winners
No Trophy events were decided in the last week.
Upcoming Trophy Events
Men’s
- Saturday 2nd September – HP Evans Knockout QF
- Saturday 9th September – HP Evans Knockout SF
- Saturday 16th September – HP Evans Knockout Final
- Saturday 23rd September – Club Championship Medal Rnd 1 of 2
- Saturday 7th October – Club Championship Medal Rnd 2 of 2
- Saturday 14th October – Club Championship Matchplay Rd 1 (Plate, Middle Markers, Long Markers)
- Sunday 15th October – Club Championship Matchplay Rd 1 (Open)
- Saturday 21st October – Club Championship Matchplay Rd QF (Plate, Middle Markers, Long Markers)
- Sunday 22nd October – Club Championship Matchplay Rd QF (Open)
- Saturday 28th October – Medal
- Saturday 28th October – Club Championship Matchplay SF (Plate, Middle Markers, Long Markers)
- Sunday 29th October – Club Championship Matchplay SF (Open)
- Saturday 4th November – Club Championship Matchplay Finals (All Grades)
Ladies
- Thursday 7th September – Captain’s Cup Rd2
- Thursday 14th September – Captain’s Cup Rd3
- Thursday 21st September – Captain’s Cup Final
- Thursday 28th September – Medal
- Thursday 5th October – Captain’s vs President’s
- Thursday 12th October – Club Championship Rd1
- Thursday 19th October – Club Championship Rd2
- Thursday 26th October – Club Championship Rd3
Mixed
- Sunday 1st October – Labour Day Cup Rnd 1
- Monday 2nd October – Labour Day Cup Rnd 2
Family Membership Incentive – 50% Joining Fee Reduction for Immediate Family
The Board and Membership Committee of Oatlands Golf Club are pleased to announce a new membership initiative designed to encourage immediate family of our existing membership to join our wonderful Club.
Starting 1st July, all immediate family of an existing member in any of the Club’s playing membership categories, will be eligible for a 50% reduction to the joining fee of the respective category in which they join.
Eligibility criteria are listed below:
- Must be in one of the following relationships with a current Playing Member of the Club.
- Spouse including defacto*
- Children including in-law relationships*
- Parents including in-law relationships*
- Siblings
* Defacto and in-law relationships require verification via a shared address on a photo ID or marriage certificate.
This is an exciting opportunity for existing members of the Club and one that we hope will continue to build the strong family and inter-generational culture that is one of the hallmarks of OGC.
For further information on this incentive or to make an application, please contact Kathy Bright via email: administration@oatlandsgolf.com.au or by phoning the Club Reception.
Members Only Facebook Group
The engagement among the membership on our Members Only Facebook group has continued to grow in recent months with posts from members and staff happening daily.
So if you aren’t already part of our Members Only Facebook Group, join up now and join in the fun banter.
We now have over 380 members who have joined the group and hope to see this get closer to 700 in the next 12-months.
Importantly, members are advised that this social media platform will not be used for the Club to communicate critical information, that will remain via the Enews, website and direct email however, it is a place that members and the Club can post interesting Club and golf related items to compliment this Enews.
To join the Members Only Facebook Group please click on the link below and then click on the “JOIN GROUP” button. You will be asked a few questions to verify you are a member and then approved by the group administrator shortly thereafter.
www.facebook.com/groups/870087546972166/