Oatlands Enews – Friday 13th November 2020

Published on 13th November 2020 in E-News, Guests

Content

This week’s Enews covers the following topics:

2020 Oatlands Encourage Shield – Wrap Up
Membership Update
From the Course
Men’s Club Champions 2020
Captain’s Note – Golf is a Game of Integrity
Ladies Closing Day
Bistro on Bettington – Rename and Win
Golf NSW App
State of Origin Game 3 at OGC
Out of Bounds Register – 1st, 6th and 12th Hole
Golf Tips with Jeremy Ward – Chipping
Volkswagen Scramble – Tuesday 24^th November 2020
Upcoming Events

2020 Oatlands Encourage Shield – Wrap Up

For those who do not know, Encourage Shield is a Handicap Match Play tournament for Juniors under the age of 18.

Teams are put together by Golf Clubs in the Sydney Metropolitan area and a 5 week tournament is played between the local Clubs.

This year Oatlands Golf Club was fortunate enough to put together a very strong team of Junior’s who all have bright futures in the game of golf. That team includes:

Rylan Prasad
Jia You
Thomas Reicher
Christian Fong
Nicholas Chen
Tyler Mitchell
Stan Gade
Issabelle Myeong

Team Manager: Jason Fong

The other Golf Clubs in our draw were North Ryde, Pennant Hills, Northbridge, Stonecutters Ridge & Muirfield.

This year Oatlands finished second place (by only half a point) which is a remarkable achievement considering we couldn’t field a team in 2019. Unfortunately, only the winner of the division progress through to the finals.

Throughout the event our team had many super stars. Rylan Prasad and Jia You played the entire tournament with only one loss. That is, they won 4 out of their 5 matches. A huge achievement!

Issabelle Myeong who has only been playing the game of golf for 10 months won the 2 matches she played, again an amazing achievement.

The fight and determination shown by our team was nothing short of remarkable. One story that sticks out the most was Nicholas Chen who was 6 down with 7 holes to play at Stonecutters and ended up winning every hole to win the match 1 up. Talk about never giving up!

So many great stories and achievements came from this years Encourage Shield. The future for our club is in great hands with these young talented golfers.

A special thank you to our Team Manager Jason Fong. Thank you very much for your time and effort.

Jason and I would often joke that we feel like Ryder Cup Captains. Constantly texting each other results from the other side of the golf course.

For me it was just great fun. This group of Juniors are polite, well mannered, humble and a pleasure to be around. They are a credit to their parents and Oatlands Golf Club.

Can’t wait to do it all again next year.

Jeremy Ward

Golf Operations Manager

Membership Update

As of Thursday, 12th November Full Playing Membership (all Saturday Playing categories) is now full with a waiting list and joining fee payable when space becomes available.

With Lifestyle membership reaching capacity a number of weeks ago, that now leaves just a limited number of spaces available of 6 Day members for the Club’s membership to be completely full.

While the future of the Club is looking very positive, we will still require new members to take up spaces that inevitably become available when members resign for a range of reasons.

With this in mind, we encourage all members to advocate to your friends and family to join the membership at OGC and put their names on the waitlist early to avoid disappointment. We believe that golf is a game for life, and while new members will be required to pay a modest joining fee, we believe that it is a great investment in their future and the joy that the community of this great Club, which is built on the culture and commitment of its members, will bring.

	Maximum Number of Members	Status as of 12th November	Joining Fee Status
Saturday Playing Categories (Full, Intermediate, Junior)	500	500	All new applicants to go on a waitlist and required to pay a joining fee when space becomes available.
6 Day Categories	180	164	As of 28th February 2021 or when capacity reached. Updated forecast: Joining Fee in place by mid December.
Lifestyle Membership	370	370	All new applicants to go on a waitlist and required to pay a joining fee when space becomes available.
Junior Development (JDP)	110	Full with a waiting list	NA

Joining Fees to commence 28^th February 2021, or earlier if the above Membership Cap Limits are reached;

Full playing $2,500
6 Day $2,000
Intermediates $1,000
Lifestyle $1,500
Juniors Nil

Any member of less than 3 years wishing to upgrade their membership, once the Joining Fee has commenced, will be required to pay the difference in the Joining Fee for their existing category and the Joining Fee for the category to which they want to upgrade. Members who have held a Playing Membership for 3 years or more will not be required to pay the difference in the Joining Fees.

Rounds Cap Limit for Lifestyle Members;

Commencing 1^st April 2021, Lifestyle Members will be entitled to a maximum of 120 rounds per membership year, of which a maximum of 12 can be competition rounds.

Based on analysis of the round data for the last 2 years, it is expected that this will impact 40-50 Lifestyle Members.

Once the 120 round limit has been reached, further play will require an upgrade in membership category, which will be subject to availability, and the payment of difference in the Joining Fee based on the criteria outlined (as noted, no fee is payable if the Member has held a playing Membership for 3 years or more).

The Board and Management of Oatlands Golf Club believe these initiatives are a positive step forward for the Club. They will provide the Club with the opportunity of significantly reducing the turnover of members and strengthening the membership base, that will allow the Club to grow and prosper into the future. That will benefit the membership as a whole.

If you have any questions or wish to transfer to a different membership category prior to the implementation of Joining Fees, please contact the Club’s General Manager, Sam Howe, or Membership Co-ordinator, Kathy Bright.

From the Course

Rainfall for the Week: 8.5mm Rainfall for 2020: 1,131.0mm Dam: 100% Green Speed: 9 feet

This week, the team has managed to finish the bunkers on the 5^th hole, with sand being placed in the remaining bunker near the path and the right hand side bunker being topped up to desired levels. We will now give these bunkers some time to settle in, with staff members wheel rolling the sand with our runabout vehicles to compact the sand. This process will hopefully compact the sand enough so that players don’t end up with a plugged lie in these bunkers once they are open. The turf around the bunkers on the 5^th has established well, so it shouldn’t be too long until these bunkers are open for play.

Our greens have all been needle tyned as planned, to relieve the sub soils in the greens of compaction and allow air and water movement within the profile. A technical issue with our irrigation system late Monday afternoon which resulted in no communication with the satellite boxes on Tuesday coincided with the needle tyning caused one or two greens to dry out quicker than we anticipated on the warm Tuesday afternoon (the joys of golf course management). The majority of the greens recovered with extra hand watering on Wednesday morning, but the 8^th green has some scaring across the putting surface. This scaring will heal with some TLC over the next few weeks.

As a precautionary measure to avoid any Pythium disease attack on the plant, a fungicide application was made to all the greens on Thursday morning. On Friday morning, we will apply a calcium based fertiliser which will help the plant in its recovery, strengthen cells in the plant and also get it ready for the next warm period this weekend and early next week.

The concrete pad on the 9^th tee was poured on Tuesday morning, with the new synthetic turf strip to be installed next week. The new path between the putting and chipping greens was opened on Wednesday morning. We will prepare the edges of this pathway next week, with turfing to follow.

All tees were fertilised this week with a high nitrogen based fertiliser to encourage growth. Growth on these surfaces was starting to improve before the 2 week period of cloudy rainy weather, which has impaired this growth. The high overnight temperature on Wednesday night will increase soil temperatures and this should see growth on tees surfaces resume again.

Volunteers were on course on Monday morning, performing a bunker run before the competition, blowing fairways, trimming of sprinkler heads was completed, OOB and hazard pegs checked, practice nets replaced or rotated, 6th creek hand weeded, clubhouse maintenance, and hand weeding of the garden along the 15^th (Mr & Mrs Cummin). Thank you to everyone for their assistance this week, it is always much appreciated!

Have a good weekend!

The Course Team.

Men’s Club Champions 2020

The 2020 Men’s Club Championship finals were played on Saturday 7th November in grades:

Club Championship (36 holes): Bradley Hooper defeated Sean Porter 3/2 to win his first club championship.

Plate Championship (18 holes): Matthew Seamons defeated Rodney Butcher 3/2 to win first first singles Club Championship.

Middle Markers Championship (18 holes): Michael Carlin defeated Rob Palin 4/3 with both players playing well beyond their handicaps.

Long Markers Championship (18 hole) Leo Nelson defeated Rod Ruston 5/3 to win his third Long Markers Championship in a row.

Well done to the 2020 Champions and to all those that took part in the matchplay!

Club Championships Match Play 2020

Captain’s Note – Golf is a Game of Integrity

At Oatlands, all members, staff and committee are charged with the responsibility of making sure the game is played within the rules. The rules and our by-laws provide for sanctions against those who do not follow the rules of the game, and the by-laws of Oatlands.

The Club has had to address an unacceptable number of breaches recently ranging from accidental scoring discrepancies to more blatant acts of cheating. It goes without saying that this will not be tolerated, however the message has not been getting through to far too many golfers.

It is disappointing to have to convey this message so bluntly, however all members should expect and be aware that continued breaches of rules and scoring will be dealt with to the full extent permissible under the club’s constitution and by-laws.

Ladies Closing Day

Ladies Closing Day on Thursday was a great success. The weather was hot and the ladies looked very festive in their Christmas fashion.

Trivia questions around the course kept us busy between golf shots; thanks Kate & Denny for decorating the Spike Bar and we enjoyed yummy dessert as a treat after lunch.

Bistro on Bettington – Rename and Win

The Board and Staff would like to re-brand the Clubs popular Bistro on Bettington dining event and are offering members the chance to submit suggestions for a new name for the chance to win a dinner for 4 people (including drinks) for the best name suggestion.

The event is fine dining and one of the Clubs most popular events and we would like suggestions that encompass the nature of the fine dining on offer and / or the great camaraderie the Club is famous for.

To enter simply fill in the form below. Entries close 31st December 2020.

Golf NSW App

Mobile phones are fast becoming the preferred method for people to access information and perform every day functions, and as such, Golf NSW is excited to launch its App to the golfing world.

As well as being an extension of the Golf NSW website, the App will provide functionality including:

GA Handicap Look Up

Golf Results

Golfing News

Live Scoring for Golf NSW Events

Event Entry for Golf NSW Events

Member/Social Golfer ‘Check In’

…and much more.

The App will evolve with additional features over time, and Golf NSW looks forward to sharing these developments with you.

To launch the App, Golf NSW is running a promotional competition encouraging golfers to play more golf leading up to Christmas, with every ‘checked in’ round through the App counting as a competition entry.

Good golfing and the best of luck for your share in some great prizes!

State of Origin Game 3 at OGC

With the NSW Blues squaring the State of Origin series last night, the Club is pleased to offer members and guests the chance to watch Game 3 decider at the Club on Wednesday 18th November.

Members and guests will be provided with a Burger and Chips and half price drinks from kick off until the first points are scored

Bookings are essential due to Covid restrictions on numbers, so get in early and support the mighty blues to retain the trophy for the 3rd year in a row.

Bookings are available via the Club website or by phoning the Club.

Members and their guest are welcome.

Out of Bounds Register – 1st, 6th and 12th Holes

Members will notice that Out of Bounds Registers (as pictured) have been installed on the 1st, 6th and 12th tees.

Whenever a golf ball causes damage to property, the damage is covered under individual member insurance that is part of your membership and affiliation fees paid on your behalf to Golf Australia.

In order for the Club to claim this insurance, we need to be able to determine who struck the golf ball, hence these registers have been installed.

A claim against this insurance does not impact your personal insurances in any way.

Members are requested to please complete the form contained in each register anytime a ball is hit out of bounds on these holes or when a provisional ball needs to be played if there is any doubt as to whether a ball is out of bounds. Without this register, the cost of any damage is payable by the Club.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Golf Tips with Jeremy Ward – Chipping

Oatlands PGA Professional Jeremy Ward talks about chipping and a great practice drill for control distance in this latest coaching video.

To book a lesson with Jeremy, please contact the Pro Shop or email Jason directly at golfoperations@oatlandsgolf.com.au

Volkswagen Scramble – Tuesday 24th November 2020

OGC is pleased to announce that Denlo Volkswagen Parramatta has joined the Club to sponsor our hosting a Club qualifying event for the State and National Volkswagen Scramble.

Denlo Volkswagen will be offering all entrants and their immediate families discounts on the latest range of Volkswagen vehicles as well as providing the great prizes on offer for the Scramble.

The capacity for the event is 128 players and with over half the field already booked, we encourage members to click on the link below and book a team.

The event sees teams of 4 compete in a 4 person ambrose with winning teams qualifying for the regional final where they are joined by one of the Club’s PGA professionals for the chance to make the national final.

Last year, the Club winning team, playing with David Ecob in the regional final at Riverside Oaks, narrowly missed qualification for the national final by a single shot.

We are hoping this years winner will go one better.

This mixed event is great fun and is open to members and guests, with each team requiring at least one member to be eligible for qualification.

Entry for the event and the 8am shotgun start is via the PGA’s event link below;

https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/6716583794175919315

Entry Fee:

Members: $40.00 per person

Visitors: $70.00 per person

This event is an invitational event, where there must be at least 1 Oatlands Golf Club member per team.

Inclusions:

6 x Callaway golf balls per person
Volkswagen Gift Bag
A chance to share in over $1,700 of prizes
Exclusive partner offers

Registrations Close: Monday, November 23, 2020 at 12:00 PM

Upcoming Member and Guests Events

The Club has a range of Member Events planned for the month ahead that we hope you will join us for and bring along friends and family: