Oatlands Enews – Friday 20th October 2023

Published on 19th October 2023 in E-News, Guests

Content

This week’s Enews covers the following topics:

  • MiClub Website Issues
  • From the Course
  • Men’s Club Championship Update
  • Ladies Club Championship Update
  • Modified Office Hours – Monday 16th – Monday 30th October 2023
  • Monday and Thursday Competition Trial: Starts 20th November
  • Annual Presentation Dinner – Saturday 4th November
  • Join Our Course Volunteer Group
  • Melbourne Cup Luncheon – Tuesday 7th November 2023
  • Nine, Wine & Dine – Starts October 2023
  • Grooves and Greens – Friday 17th November, Free Outdoor Music Event
  • Upcoming Member Events:  October and November
  • Recent Trophy Event Winners
  • Upcoming Trophy Events
  • Members Only Facebook Group

MiClub Website Issues

Members are advised that the club is working through a number of issues with our website provider MiClub which we hope to have resolved soon. These issues are;

  • Timesheets are not opening at the times set
  • Ball prize allocation not adding to member accounts.
  • “Membership status blocked” message error when bookings being made

We are working closely to resolve these issues as quickly as possible and appreciate and apologise for the inconvenience.

From the Course

Rainfall for the Week: 3.3mm,  Rainfall for 2023: 701.0mm, Dam: 95%   Green Speed: 10 feet

The course has really started to shine over the past few weeks with the fairways looking great with the strips being mown into them each week. The unbroken blue lines around a few fairways have reduced in size, and it won’t be long until we won’t need these lines at all. The growth regulator and pre-emergent herbicide spray work that was started last week hasn’t progressed too much this week due to unfavourable windy weather conditions on Tuesday and a busy play schedule for the remainder of the week.   

New turf has been laid around the 2nd collar this week with the assistance of our volunteers on Monday morning. The turf that was laid on the 5th and 7th collars has taken root already which means the course team don’t have to water this turf as often, as the turf is able to obtain any required moisture from the soil. Next week we are planning to returf the 15th collar. We will be using our excavator on this collar to ensure we remove all of the kikuyu rootzone to reduce the likelihood of this grass returning in this collar. Blue dotted lines have been painted around the 4th,10th, and 13th greens as a guide for course staff members who are spraying any kikuyu on these collars in preparation for returfing of these collars as well.

All collars, aprons and tee complexes have been sprayed with a miticide to control couch mites. The mites attack couch and cause a stunted appearance of the turf, which slows recovery and if infestations are large enough, large dead patches can result. Over the coming weeks all tees will be verti drained and fertilised to coincide with the warmer weather approaching, and this should have these surfaces looking their best in no time.

The milder weather this week has allowed greens to be really pushed in regard to moisture levels (dried out) with very firm putting surfaces experienced by the ladies on Thursday for the 2nd round of their club championships. Unfortunately, with the hot weather returning over the weekend, we will have to irrigate greens for their survival. The team will probe greens on Friday morning to ensure we have no unexpected dry areas on the greens over the weekend.

A smaller group of volunteers were on course Monday morning, and they were a great help with the work on the 2nd collar. We had a new attending, Peter Baker, and we will happily welcome any other members that would like to help out on a Monday morning. Thank you to those that attended, and I hope to see you all again this Monday morning at 7am.

Greens will be cut on Saturday, and then cut and rolled on Sunday. Have a great weekend and happy golfing!

The Course Team.

Men’s Club Championship Update

Men’s Matchplay

The first round of the Men’s Club Championship Matchplay was played over the 14th and 15th of October. The 36 Hole Championship matches were mostly very closely contested with four out of the eight matches finishing on the 35th or 36th hole and one match going into extra holes with Christian Rees winning his match against Nathan Wareham on the 38th hole. The Quarter Final round will be highlighted by the match of Wil Reece vs Sam Reece which tees off at 7am on Sunday October 22nd with quite a few members already expected to come out and watch a few holes of what is sure to be a great match between the two brothers.

More tight matches in the Plate on Saturday which saw the middle of the pack, seeds 8 & 9 face off in matching outfits. Rod Butcher and Hugh Kim selected matching shirts from the Pro Shop during the week with Hugh, the winner of the Saturday match securing his caddy for the remaining rounds after a 1up victory on his close friend Rod.

The Middle Markers put on a show accented by Luke Bradshaw who won the 9th hole with an ace on his way to a 5&4 win over Rod Bowyer who at least went home with the conciliation prize of $92.50 after the stylish super pin win by his opponent.

Long Markers number 1 qualifier Max Wahbe kept his run of good form going with the largest margin of victory through any of the 18 hole matches for the 3 grades on Saturday, recording a 7&6 win over Tony Groth. Leo Nelson also moves through the quarter finals after a W/O in round 1. Leo won the Long Markers championship 3 consecutive years in 2018, 19 & 20 and after a couple years of letting others get their names engraved on the trophy is back looking for a 4th win.

Ladies Club Championship Update

The second strokeplay round of the Ladies Club Championship was completed yesterday and saw some changes to the top of the leaderboard in the open Championship grade after Debbie Jepson recorded the round of the championship so far moving from five shots behind after round one to four shots in front with one round left to play next Thursday. There are still four other ladies 8 shots or less behind Debbie so a competitive final round is definitely instore.

The first round leaders from both the Bronze 1, Dolores Pearse, and Bronze 2, Judith Leeds-Roberts, were able to stay at the top of the their leaderboards and with 5 and 7 shot leads respectively over their next best competitors have the chance to go wire to wire over the 3 rounds of stroke to take home the trophies.

Modified Reception / Office Hours: Monday 16th – Monday 30th October 2023

Members are advised that office hours for the period Monday 16th October 2023 to Monday 30th October inclusive will be 9.30am to 2.30pm due to staff annual leave. If you would like to pay your account outside of those hours, please see the Bar or Proshop staff. If you call Reception outside of those hours, please leave a message and we will respond the next day when the office is attended.

Monday and Thursday Competition Trial: Starts 20th November

As we approach the 2023 Ladies Closing Day (Thursday 16th November) and gear up for the 2024 Ladies Opening Day (date TBC), the Match Committee will be trialling some changes to Monday and Thursday timesheets with the objective of encouraging greater participation in the Club’s Monday and Thursday competitions, which over the last year has had a considerable percentage of unused tee times when compared to all other days.

Trial Details: Starting after the 2023 Closing Day until the 2024 Opening Day, we will be conducting a trial for the Monday and Thursday competitions. The trial will introduce the following changes:

  1. Play in Groups of 4 – Allowing for a more diverse competition offering such as 4BBB events and aligning timesheet configuration with all other competition days where participation is higher.
  2. Ladies Priority Bookings on the 1st Tee: During the trial period, we will allocate priority bookings for our lady members exclusively on the 1st tee from when the timesheets open until 4:30pm the next day. 12th tee time slots will open to all Full-playing members when the timesheet opens at 4:30pm, 8 days in advance. This change will allow a broader cross-section of members the opportunity to access preferred tee times when the timesheet first opens.

Note: The competition format which sees both a men’s and ladies competition will be maintained, with any additional 4BBB events being run under a medley format.

Purpose of the Trial: Our decision to conduct this trial is in response to declining participation numbers on Mondays and Thursdays. We believe that by implementing these changes, we can revitalize these days and create a stronger golfing community. The trial structure has been carefully designed to balance the ladies priority access while creating greater access to the broader membership, and at the same time allowing for a more diverse competition event offering. We hope that this diversity in competition formats will entice more members to participate, and reverse the declining participation trend on these days and see our Monday and Thursday events thrive.

Your feedback and participation will be invaluable in determining the success of these changes. We encourage you to embrace the new group play dynamic and experience the benefits it brings to both your game and your connections within the Club. We believe that this trial will breathe new life into our Monday and Thursday competitions, making them more vibrant and enjoyable for all.

Annual Presentation Dinner – Saturday 4th November

Members and their guests are invited to the Club’s Annual Presentation Dinner on Saturday 4th November. This event will celebrate the major event winners for this year’s golfing programme and is held the evening of the Men’s Club Championship finals.

Each major winner will be presented with their trophy and an individual prize, whilst runners-up of major events will also receive an individual prize.

Dress for the evening is smart casual with the cost for the night, being $69pp. The evening will commence with a sumptuous three course dinner prepared by our executive chef, Andrew Yang.

To confirm your attendance, please RSVP to the Office on 9630 4444, admin@oatlandsgolf.com.au, or book via the online timesheet.

We request that bookings include individual names so that we can identify the trophy winners attending.

Join Our Course Volunteer Group

Our band of merry volunteers are looking for new recruits.

The volunteers meet every Monday morning and assist the Course Staff with various duties that are vital to the ongoing maintenance of the course.

This working group contributes an enormous amount to the Club and its members but is also a tremendous “men’s shed” activity with lots of fun and friendships formed both on the course and in the Clubhouse.

Lunch is provided after each session.

For more information, please contact Club General Manager, Sam Howe, gm@oatlandsgolf.com.au, or simply turn up on Monday mornings at 7am.

 

 

Melbourne Cup Luncheon – Tuesday 7th November 2023

Members and guests are invited to enjoy the ‘Race that Stops a Nation’, the iconic Melbourne Cup at OGC with a Chef’s Buffet Luncheon on Tuesday 7th November. This is a great day to get into your finest spring carnival attire and join friends for an afternoon of excitement, camaraderie and hopefully, to pick a winner in the great race.

Bookings essential and can be made via the Club website or by phoning Reception.

Nine, Wine & Dine – Starts 27th October 2023

Members and guests are invited to join the Club for the first in our Spring / Summer series of Nine, Wine & Dine on Friday 27th October.

This new series will replace the long-running Five after Five and will see aspects of this series carry over, such as optional competition format to encourage participation by competition and social golfers alike, and guests able to be invited with no green fee payable.

The 9-holes played will be holes 1-7, 17 & 18, with those playing competition playing a 9-hole stableford and with a traditional prize of a trophy voucher and ball competition included.

Tee times will be available from 4pm – 5:30pm with a two course modified a la carte menu after golf.

Bookings are now open for the first in the month series and we hope to see you there.

 

Grooves and Greens – Friday 17th November, Free Outdoor Music Event

We are pleased to announce the next iteration of our Grooves and Greens event on Friday 17th November. This free event for members and guests will run from 6pm – 10pm and will include;

  • Live Music adjacent to the 18th green from 7pm.
  • Outdoor BBQ and Bar available (BYO food and non-alcoholic beverage permitted, alcoholic beverages to be purchased from the club due to license restrcitions).
  • Par 3 shootout competitions on the 18th hole

This event is limited to 150 members and guests, so jump onto the club website and book yourself in for this popular OGC event.

Upcoming Member Events: October and November

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 October:

  • 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)
  • Saturday 4th November, Annual Presentation Night, 6pm – Booking required
  • Saturday 11th November, Diggers Day
  • Tuesday 7th November, 12:00pm, Melbourne Cup – Booking required
  • Friday 17th November, 6:00pm, Grooves and Greens
  • Thursday 23rd November, 6:00pm, Ladies Presentation Dinner – Booking required
  • Saturday 25th November, 6pm, 6:30pm, 7pm, 7:30pm, The Bettington – Booking required
  • Wednesday 29th November, 6pm, 6:30pm, 7pm, 7:30pm, The Bettington – Booking required

Recent Trophy Event Winners

There were no trophy events decided in the last week while both men’s and ladies club championships are underway.

Upcoming Trophy Events

Men’s

  • 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 26th October – Club Championship Rd3

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/

 

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