Oatlands Enews – Friday 25th August 2023
Content
This week’s Enews covers the following topics:
- Telephone Outage – Friday 25th August / Saturday 26th August
- Mixed PGA Scramble – Friday 15th September
- From the Course
- OGC Father’s Day Lunch – Sunday 3rd September (Menu Available)
- OGC Ladies at Musswellbrook Vets Tournament
- Vice Captain’s Corner – Observations on the Spring Renovations
- PING and Titleist Fitting Days
- Upcoming Member Events: August – September
- Recent Trophy Event Winners
- Upcoming Trophy Events
- Members Only Facebook Group
Telephone Outage – Friday 25th August / Saturday 26th August
As of 8pm Friday 25th August, the telephone outage that was communicated to all members via email has yet to be resolved as per the detail below that was sent earlier today.
Members are advised that Oatlands Golf Club is experiencing an outage with all phone lines into and out of the Club. The issue is being investigated by our telco provider, however in the meantime, members needing to contact the Club should do so via email.
admin@oatlandsgolf.com.au
proshop@oatlandsgolf.com.au
clubhouse@oatlandsgolf.com.au
accounts@oatlandsgolf.com.au
gm@oatlandsgolf.com.au
Members will be advised via email once the phone service has been restored (now expected to be Saturday 26th August).
We apologise for the inconvenience this causes.
Mixed PGA Scramble – Friday 15th September
Oatlands will be running a Mixed 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.
Click here for event terms and conditions.
From the Course
Rainfall for the Week: 11.0mm, Rainfall for 2023: 607.5mm, Dam: 100% Green Speed: Renovation
A busy 3 days for the course team with plenty of work being completed during the course closure. All greens have been aerated, topdressed and fertilised, and they are in great condition so soon due to the changed renovation practices this time around. Approximately 55 tonnes of sand was applied to green surfaces with cutting to resume on Monday.
All fairways have been aerated and the cores that were removed during the aeration process have been smashed up. Fairways will now be spiral cut to tidy them up before topdressing starts on Monday. The team will be applying 30 tonnes per hectare to all fairways, spreading around 300 tonnes of sand across all surfaces. The topdressing process will take a week to complete, with the sand to be rubbed into surfaces with our sweep n fill machine. Once fairways have been topdressed, fertiliser will be applied in conjunction with pre-emergent herbicide for weeds and a residual insecticide to protect surfaces, all requiring irrigation. Therefore, this last process will take over a week to complete as we work around play on all days of the week, before and after play.
All collars have now received the same renovation work that the 8th, 11th, 12th and 14th collars had received last week. It is still too early to see any real growth of these couch surfaces but we should expect to see the exposed stubble that was beneath the decaying mat and thatch, start to shoot new green shoots to present a more aesthetic appearance to these surfaces. Liquid fertiliser and green pigment will also be applied to enhance the appearance of these surfaces.
The low limbing of trees between the 3rd/4th, 4th/6th, and 7th/8th was continued this week, with this work really opening up the canopy in the rough lines and allowing more sunlight onto fairway areas. Garden work this week included new plants to the Gardenia hedge along the 1st tee to stop members climbing over the wall to get on to the tee, clearing out the garden between the car park fence and Bettington Rd, and gurney work and resetting the fountain so that the water spills over evenly.
Our volunteers were on course for all 3 days of the course closure and were very busy and productive. Tasks completed included aerating fairways with the Ventrac machine, gurney work on tee furniture/ practice nets/ Spurway fountain, Glyphosate painting of Parramatta grass weeds, smashing up the cores on fairways, maintenance work in the kitchen and men’s locker room, and painting of tee markers.
I thank you gentlemen each week for your valuable contribution but even more so this week. Giving up 3 days to help the team and the Club out, everyone should be very appreciative of your efforts, just like the course team is.
Greens won’t be cut this weekend as they recover from renovations.
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.
OGC Ladies at Musswellbrook Vets Tournament
Five Oatlands members (previously from Chatswood Golf Club) Rhonda Furini, Jacquie Ferrari, Yvonne Hall-Watson, Robyn Keane and I enjoyed our Vets visit to Muswellbrook. On the first day, Monday 21st August we all wore our Oatlands club shirts.
A large group of women from Chatswood GC have been participating in many “Vets” competitions. This 2 day event was a great opportunity to get together with golfing friends on the course and socially, as well as experiencing a different course and getting to know other golfers from many different Clubs.
The report was written and provided by OGC Member Madeleine Juchau
Vice Captain’s Corner – Observations on the Spring Renovations
Members are well informed about Course activities via the Weekly E-news. By way of example, the past two weeks “From The Course” articles explained preparatory Renovations work being undertaken on the Greens while the late July/early August editions explained work being undertaken on Greens surrounds. Today’s E-news reports on the Course Renovations work from Monday 21st to Wednesday 23rd August together with details of remaining Renovations work over the next few weeks. By any measure the scope, detail and execution of the work is considerable.
Detailed planning and preparation is the pre-requisite to successfully taking advantage of the Course Renovations closure window and this commenced several weeks ago. Soil sampling and analysis, purchase of materials, machinery and plant calibration and testing, staff training and arborist assessments of senescent trees are typical mandatory lead-in activities in planning the Renovations. This, and more, is expertly handled by our Course Superintendent, as is the execution of programmed work.
It is impressive and reassuring to observe the management and coordination of the overall programme during renovations. There is a strong focus on purpose and efficiency with improved playing surfaces at our Golf Course being the desired outcome. In this respect Members may reflect on sage advice published by the Australian Golf Course Superintendent’s Association (AGCSA) a few years ago:
While it is tempting to compare one course to another, or be influenced by images on our television screens, it is critical that there is an understanding of the capabilities of your own club and course. The intricate combination of the site, soils, climate, water supply, staffing levels, course design and budgets all have enormous impact on the maintenance programme at your course, as they do with others.
Bill Mitchell
Chairman Greens Committee
PING and Titleist Fitting Days
The Pro Shop will be running a series of Fitting Days with two of the biggest equipment manufacturers in golf over the coming month.
These days are a great opportunity to road test the latest technology with instant feedback from the expert Club fitters on hand and the latest launch monitor technology, to identify the incremental improvements that new equipment can produce.
The following days, dates and times are available:
PING – Tuesday 5th September: 8am – 11am
TITLEIST – Tuesday 12th September: 9am – 1pm
Bookings are essential and can be made online through the Club’s website or by contacting the Pro Shop.
Booking times are on the hour, however as a general rule, the following timing is required:
- Driver or Fairway Wood Fitting – 30 Minutes
- Iron Fitting – 45 Minutes
- Full Set Fitting – 1 Hour
Upcoming Member Events: August – September
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:
- Wednesday 30th August, The Bettington, 6pm, 6:30pm, 7pm, 7:30pm – Booking required
- Sunday 3rd September, Father’s Day Lunch, 1pm – Booking required
- Friday 8th September, Winter 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
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
Ladies
- Thursday 31st August – Captain’s Cup Rd1
- 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
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/