Oatlands Enews – Friday 11th December 2020
Content
This week’s Enews covers the following topics:
- David Ecob – Playing Lessons in January
- From the Course
- OGC Membership
- President’s vs Captain’s – The Grudge Match is On!!!!
- QPC&C Tiger Tee Champion of Champions – Postponed to 15th January 2021
- Ladies Committee Lunch
- Five after Five – Extended due to Popular Demand
- Bistro on Bettington – Rename and Win
- Locker Rooms – Towels and Sunblock to be re-instated
- Covid QR Code Check In – Remember Me Feature
- Care for the Course – Golf Cart Traffic Management
David Ecob – Playing Lessons in January
Oatlands Teaching professional, David Ecob, will be offering on course lessons starting in January 2021. Dates below:
- 13th January
- 20th January
- 27th January
- 3rd February
All classes will be from 1:30pm to 3:30pm playing as many holes as possible in the 2 hour time frame.
Each lesson will be open for a maximum of 3 members to have on course tuition playing with David.
Total cost is $130.00 per person per class.
For more information or to book a lesson please contact the Pro Shop or email David directly via golflessons@oatlandsgolf.com.au.
From the Course
Rainfall for the Week: 7.0mm Rainfall for 2020: 1,160.5mm Dam: 80% Green Speed: 9 feet
Green Health over Speed!
With a small window of opportunity on Tuesday, the team was able to scarify all of the greens to remove dead thatch material from the putting surfaces. This thatch material makes the greens feel spongy to walk on, reduces the green speed and reduces infiltration rates meaning it takes longer for water to enter into the greens sub-soils. The scarifying process places stress on the plant whilst being performed, so the cooler day on Tuesday was ideal to perform this task.
Team members spent time this week manually removing a large amount of the Parrot’s Feather aquatic weed from the 9th pond, in an attempt to improve the appearance of this area. A new aerator has been purchased for this pond which will improve the quality of the water for the turtles and eels that inhabit this waterway. If delivered this week, hopefully we can get it installed early next week.
The team has also cut out the plate areas on the 10th, 14th and 15th tees and will be replacing these areas with new Santa anna couch next week. These areas are currently turfed in Windsor Green couch which is slower to recover coming out of winter compared to the Santa anna. We will also cut out some bare areas around bunker surrounds and replace with new Santa anna as well. The edge of the new pathway between the putting and chipping green will be turfed at the same time.
The edge of the putting green near the new pathway has been repaired this week, with the turf being cut and lifted so that it blends in better to the new pathway. Some minor strips of turf will also be laid against the edge of the pathway to complete the coverage.
All areas of the course have been cut this week including a full cut of all roughs, which has really tidied the appearance of the course. However, the winds have returned on Thursday and there is leaf debris over the entire course yet again!
Our volunteers were on course on Monday morning, performing a clean out and rake of all the bunkers, blowing fairways, edging pathways, drainage pits cleaned and trimmed, maintenance work on the screen behind the 4th tee and clubhouse maintenance. Another great effort gentlemen and, as always, very much appreciated!
Have a good weekend!
The Course Team.
OGC Membership
With the introduction of a cap on membership and the reinstatement of Joining Fees when those caps were reached, announced at the October AGM, the subsequent result in new applications and upgrades has been incredible with all categories reaching capacity in the last 2-3 weeks and Joining Fees in place for all playing categories.
The entire golf industry has seen an increase in participation and a recent industry study has indicated that Sydney metro Clubs have seen an average of 100 new members since the beginning of Covid. This is an amazing number and gives some context to the success of recent membership initiatives introduced at OGC as we have seen almost 250 new members since the beginning of Covid in March and over 150 new members since the AGM announcement.
All members should take great pride in this result as it is the culture and values of the membership that has produced such a phenomenal result, possibly the strongest membership result in Australian golf.
At the time of writing, all categories are closed with waiting lists building, with the exception of Lifestyle membership which currently has 5 spaces available. This is due to some Lifestyle members upgrading to Full membership.
Going forward, the Club focus regarding membership will be on renewals and retention with the 2021-22 subscription notices to go out in Mid-February. To that end, all members are encouraged to reach out to any members they know who they might not have seen for a while and invite them back to the Club to enjoy the great facilities we have.
Covid and the current membership status has put the Club in a position that will allow significantly more expenditure on the Club facilities in the future and in particular the course. Over the last decade the “churn” of members has been quite high, with a competitive industry and no joining fees producing a more transient membership. It is hoped that the recent results in membership and the introduction of a joining fee, along with the strong culture of the club and its members, will see this churn reduced dramatically at the 2021-22 renewals which will allow management to budget for facility improvements with more certainty than we have had for many years.
If the 2021-22 renewals produce a strong result and the Club can attract members to fill the positions vacated by a lower than historical average number of resignations, (with joining fees in place), then 2020 and 2021-22 has the potential to set the Club up for a future that as little as 9 months ago was barely imaginable.
The Board and Management would like to thank all members for the integral role you have played in achieving the current membership position. It is a credit to you all that Oatlands has significantly exceeded the industry trend over the last few months and set us on a path to a place in the golf industry that is the envy of almost every other golf club.
President’s vs Captain’s – The Grudge Match is On!!!
Written by General Manager, Sam Howe.
Let me start this piece by saying that the Board and Management of OGC have probably the healthiest relationship I have ever been a part of in my 25 years in the golf industry.
With that said (tongue now firmly in cheek), when our Golf Operations Manager and PGA Professional Jeremy Ward was appointed in June this year and following a game of golf with the Club Captain Matthew Seamons, Matt went on record at a Match Committee claiming that Jeremy was a better golfer than the Club GM and fellow PGA member, Sam Howe (me).
Now, PGA Professionals are a proud bunch (possibly substitute arrogant for proud) and this comment instantly created a President and GM vs Captain and Golf Pro rivalry that has been the topic of ongoing banter and sledging at every opportunity in the lead up to tomorrow’s President’s vs Captain’s event where Club President, George Isaac and I (the good guys) will be taking on the Club Captain and Golf Pro (the wanna be’s).
This is set to start a rivalry not seen since Woods vs Mickelson, Norman v Faldo, and Nicklaus v Watson.
For those playing tomorrow, the event will see each group of 4 playing a 4BBB with the 2 players on the left of the timesheet in the President’s team and the 2 players on the right hand side in the Captain’s team with the best 4BBB score at the completion of play scoring a point for the respective team.
Needless to say, the Presidents team are going in overwhelming favourites, and since I have control of the weekly Enews communication, I am thoroughly looking forward to dedicating the majority of next week’s communication to gloating over a dominate victory by the good guys.
Note: The General Manager of Oatlands Golf Club reserves the right to say nothing in next week’s Enews in the event of a highly unlikely victory by the wanna be’s.
QPC&C Tiger Tee Challenge Champion of Champions – Postponed to Friday 15th January
Due to a recurring charity day booking on the scheduled date for the 2020 QPC&C Tiger Tee Challenge Champion of Champions, the event has been postponed to Friday 15th January 2021.
The event is open to all golfers (members and visitors) who have played a Tiger Tee Challenge in 2020.
The timesheet will open at 6am on 15th December.
Ladies Committee Lunch
The Ladies Committee had their annual lunch at the Club today. The Ladies programme has suffered the most through Covid with virtually none of their regular shotgun start and lunch / charity events able to proceed. Despite this the Ladies committee have done a tremendous job putting together a programme that allowed the majority of trophies to be decided and keeping the spirits high throughout the events that could go ahead.
Well done ladies, we are all looking forward to a much easier 2021.
Five after Five – Extended due to Popular Demand
The Club’s popular Five after Five series will be extended in 2021 due to the popularity of the event in 2020.
This popular series is hosted by Rodney (Doer) Walsh and is a great way for members who don’t play regular competition golf to play a short form competition without the pressure of a full 18 holes and alongside members who play regular competition golf. Each event includes a 5 hole stableford (scoring is optional) followed by a casual dinner and presentation of prizes (a fabulous array of whatever Rodney can beg, borrow and steal from around the Club, with the tackiest prizes also the most prestigious to win).
Timesheets for all Five after Five fixtures are now open on the following dates;
- Friday 19th December 2020
- Friday 8th January 2021
- Friday 22nd January 2021
- Friday 5th February 2021
- Friday 19th February 2021
- Friday 5th March 2021
Spaces are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.
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.
Locker Room Towels and Sunblock to be Re-instated
Members are advised that towels and sunblock will be re-instated in the Men’s and Ladies Locker Rooms from Wednesday 16th December.
This is following a change of guidance from the Club governing bodies from advice against providing towels and products to a choice for individual venues to make.
Given the low rate of Covid in NSW and the towels and communal use sunblock being optional, the Club is confident that re-introducing these will pose no increased risk.
Members are still advised to bring their own towels and sunblock if they have any concerns using those provided by the Club.
Covid QR Code Check In – Remember Me
Members are advised that the Club QR code Covid registration app now has the provision to remember your details so that you don’t need to enter the contact information each time you login.
In order to tell the app to remember your details, the next time you register and get the completion screen below, you will see a Remember Me button at the top by selecting this, the next time you scan the QR code, your name, email and contact number will be pre-populated.
You will still be required to answer the Covid registration questions upon each registration.
Korean Beer and Soft Drink – Now Available
Following the Club’s successful Korean BBQ night in October, the Club has been approached by some of our members requesting that the Club stock some Korean beer and soft drink options. As such and effective tomorrow, the Club now have two Korean bottled beers available from the Bar and two soft drink options available from Pro Shop.
Korean Bottle Beer: Kloud and Cass
Soft Drink: Chill Cider and Lets Coffee
Care for the Course – Golf Cart Traffic Management
The Match Committee would like to ask all members and their guests who utilise the Club’s motorised carts, to please adhere to the traffic management measures in place around the course to limit the damage caused by golf carts in the most sensitive areas of the course.
All members are encouraged to watch the short video below by Club General Manager and PGA Professional, Sam Howe.