Oatlands Enews – Friday 5th February 2021

Published on 5th February 2021 in E-News, Guests

Content

This week’s Enews covers the following topics:

From the Course
Practice on the golf course – Course Care
Bettington Road Traffic Accident Site
Denlo VW Scramble – Tuesday 23rd February 2021
Major Pennant – Down but not Out
Ladies Update – 4th February
Carpark and Nursery Green Practice Are Core Sampling
Paige Stubbs – Upcoming Group Clinic Programme
Oatlands Takeaway Meals – Updated 3rd February 2021
Renaming Bistro on Bettington – The Winner Is!!!
Upcoming Events

From the Course

Rainfall for the Week: 43.5mm mm, Rainfall for 2021: 83.5mm Dam: 100% Green Speed: 9 feet

As always, it’s been another busy and productive week on the course. The club has employed 2 new fulltime greenkeepers and another casual greenkeeper recently and they have all started this week. This has enabled the team to perform extra tasks this week and carry out our usual maintenance tasks in a much more meticulous workplace atmosphere.

All greens have been needle tined this week to provide relief to the subsoils of our greens after the recent hot weather and the following rainfall. As mentioned last week, the soil profile of all the greens is very wet as a result of having to have moisture levels high for the hot weather period, which then lead straight into rainfall and overcast cloudy days, which hasn’t allowed the soils to dry out at all. The needle tyning will help these subsoils to drain and dry out somewhat, and allow air to move into the soil profile which is beneficial for maintaining a healthy root system.

The greens remain in excellent condition and recent fertilising to all tee complexes has seen an increase of growth over these surfaces as well. The new turf laid on the 10^th, 14^th and 15^th tees has established well, with some light topdressing being performed in the last week to level out any imperfections.

The area behind the 4^th green has been turfed this week and the green plastic mesh material has been installed over the designated cart path area. Couch turf has been laid on this cart path area as it grows better through this plastic material than kikuyu. The course received a large downpour on Monday night (26mm) which made this area a little bit boggy on Tuesday morning but this didn’t stop the turf being laid. Once established, this new path will be much safer for carts in wet weather, whilst also naturally blending into the green surrounds and avoiding an unlucky bounce off a concrete path down towards the OOB on the 5^th hole.

The 9^th pond was filled naturally on Friday night with runoff from the roads and the aerator was working over the weekend. The wire like aquatic weed in the water of this pond blocked the screens up again, but the team has cleaned them out and it is back working again. More Bio stimulant bacteria has been added to the water to strip the nutrients from the water and sludge which this aquatic weed feed’s on, in an effort to reduce this problem.

Our volunteers were on course on Monday morning, preparing the bunkers for play before laying 300m²of turf on the prepared bare areas on the 12^th and 13^th holes. This was a great effort by all involved on a very warm and humid morning. This coming Monday is the volunteer’s annual golf day, which is an appreciation day for all their hard work throughout the year. This is followed by lunch and some small prizes. Thank you to all that attended and worked this week, and I’ll see you all for golf on Monday morning!

Good Golfing!

The Course Team

Practice on the Course – Course Care

Outside of competition play, members are able to practice on the course with two golf balls as long as they don’t hold up the groups behind. In recent weeks, a number of areas have been observed where some individuals are playing shots from the same spot with up to 6 golf balls as can be seen from the photo below, taken early Wednesday morning after social play on Tuesday.

The course and fairway’s are in excellent condition and this type of action is detrimental to not just the golf course but the experience of all members.

The divot pattern of these shots is indicative of a good golfer and narrows down the field of investigation for the Match Committee to ascertain who is responsible. If golfers are discovered breaching this common course etiquette rule, then the Match Committee has a responsibility to take disciplinary action to prevent future occurrences.

Bettington Road Accident Site

Many members would be aware that the tragic accident that killed 4 children adjacent to the golf course on 1st February 2020, has received a significant amount of media coverage in the last week. This has not been instigated by or engaged with by the Club as the Board and Management believe that the sensitive matter, and discussions that has taken place with the families and Council, should be handled delicately and with the respect deserved by all parties involved.

As discussed and minuted at the October 2020 Club AGM, any decision to proceed with a permanent memorial on Club land would require member approval through a vote at a Special General Meeting, as required by the Club’s Constitution.

The Board has recently received further concepts from Parramatta Council, which will be reviewed by the full Board at its next meeting.

Members should be assured that the Board’s discussions and consideration of these options are taking into account all relevant factors including but not limited to; the impact of the tragedy on all parties including the families, first responders and neighbours, precedent and RMS guidelines for these type of tragedies, and of course the best interest of the Club and its members, which is the mandate of the Board and Management

Denlo Volkswagen Scramble – Tuesday 23rd February

Oatlands Golf Club and Denlo Volkswagen Parramatta are pleased to announce that the Club will be hosting another Volkswagen Scramble event on Tuesday 23rd Feburary.

Following the success of our events in March and November 2020, Denlo Volkswagen Parramatta have generously agreed to sponsor the upcoming event to include the following for entrants;

Pre-game breakfast and coffee
On course beverage
Post game two course lunch and beverage
Additional prizes

The value of this sponsorship is in excess of $10,000 and will make this one of the biggest scramble events in NSW.

Entry to the event is via the link below with entry fee ($40pp) payable upon registration and going to the PGA of Australia who run the National event. All entrants will receive 6 Callaway golf balls.

Two teams from this Scramble event will progress to the regional final to be held later in the year and join the OGC qualifiers from the November 2020 event.

Spaces are limited to 128 players so book early to avoid disappointment.

Click the link below to regsiter;

https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/7049009249015317849

Event Details:

Oatlands Golf Club – At least one member per team

Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Tee Time: 8.00 AM Shotgun Start

Entry Fee: $40.00 per person

Inclusions:

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

Registrations Close: Monday, February 22, 2021 at 12:00 PM

Major Pennant – Down but not Out!

Wow, what a day last Sunday at The Lakes!

It was a hard day in the office for all the team!

Yes, The Lakes beat us last Sunday as the golfing Gods threw everything against the Oatlands Boys …. A championship course set up hard, a side with 3- ex touring pros and a few state representatives, then add in wind gusts of 40km and the combination provided too great an obstacle for our talented young squad.

The Oatlands guys gave all they had but just went down a few holes early in their rounds while trying to adjust to the conditions. They found it hard to win back the holes but they all gave it a good run and never gave up, once again making the Club proud despite the result.

As we were walking off the 15^th hole watching the last game unfold, there was a sea of Oatlands’ shirts in attendance, all 19 of us. Yes 19 Oatlands shirts of players/ Caddies / Supporters, everyone getting around the side, helping them to stay psotive, saying things like “we can’t wait to get these guys at Oatlands “. And no truer words were spoken. Our team at home, on our greens, will be a big challenge for The Lakes in the return leg this coming Sunday 7th February.

All members are encouraged to get along on Sunday morning and support our team. Tee off is at 7am, so, if you want to see some awesome golf being played it would be great to see you out there!

To the awesome support from all involved “Thank you“!

To the Caddies “Thank you”!

We were down for a day but definitely not out of the division with 5 more matches to play.

Ken Doolan
Team Manager

Ladies Update – 4th February

The ladies season opened on Thursday with 8 players qualifying for the President’s Cup Trophy. These ladies will play off in match play events over the following 3 weeks. Round 1 of the Lexus Cup and Monthly Medals were also contested with winners announced next week.

Barbara Koch Day is scheduled for Thursday 18 March 2021, (not 13/3/21 as previously advised), please mark this in your calendar – always a fun day and another opportunity to raise funds for our charities.

A friendly reminder to our cart drivers when playing the 18^th hole, please park on either side of the green and not on the path behind the green, as this blocks other path users – thank you.

Carpark and Nursery Green Practice Area Core Sampling

Next week from Tuesday 9th – Thursday 11th February inclusive, members may see some heavy machinery around the carpark and nursery green practice area drilling holes for core sampling. The drilling process will only take a few days and is being staged to best manage our members requirements in the carpark, however some areas of the carpark will not be accessible during the drilling. Club staff will be on-hand to ensure the minimum disruption possible to members.

These core samples will provide a profile of the composition of material beneath the carpark and clubhouse precinct. The sampling is part of the Board’s due diligence with regard to Strategic Planning, and will provide foundation information pertinent to any potential future works.

If you have any questions, please direct them to the Club General Manager, Sam Howe.

Paige Stubbs – 4 Week Game Improvement Programme

The Club’s newest PGA Professional, Paige Stubbs, is pleased to offer a 4 Week Game Improvement Programme for members and guests as outlined below:

Paige Stubbs 4 Week Game Improvement Clinic

Come enjoy the opportunity to learn from Oatlands Tour Professional/Golf Coach Paige Stubbs, where she will simplify your game to improve your score as well as help you with your mental game and pre shot routine.

Limited to 4 people per clinic – $220pp

Programme A

Week 1 – Tuesday 16^th February 10am: Putting (1 hour)

Week 2 – Tuesday 23^rd February 10am: Chipping/Bunkers (1 hour 30 mins)

Week 3 – Tuesday 2^nd March 10am: Driving Range (1 hour)

Week 4 – Tuesday 9^th March 10am: On Course Playing (Mental Game/Routine Included) (2 hours)

Programme B

Week 1 – Tuesday 16^th February 2pm: Putting (1 hour)

Week 2 – Tuesday 23^rd February 2pm: Chipping/Bunkers (1 hour 30 mins)

Week 3 – Tuesday 2^nd March 2pm: Driving Range (1 hour)

Week 4 – Tuesday 9^th March 1pm: On Course Playing (Mental Game/Routine Included) (2 hours)

Please feel free to contact Paige on 0416421677 to book or for more information.

Oatlands Takeaway Meals – Updated 3rd February 2021

Renaming Bistro on Bettington – The Winner Is!!!

Throughout November and December, the Club has been running a competition to rename the popular Bistro on Bettington evenings. The response to this competition has been fantastic with almost 70 suggestions received.

These suggestions were narrowed down to 6 finalists which have been voted on by members over the last month.

The Club is pleased to announce that the winning entry is:

THE BETTINGTON

This name fits perfectly with the various member dining events that the Club offers, with our regular Bistro on Bettington to be named The Bettington Restaurant and our themed nights such as the upcoming Brazilian BBQ night to be named the The Bettington Brazilian Night.

Voting on the top 6 suggestions was as follows;

The Bettington – 33 votes
Fairway’s – 31 votes
Black Tee Bistro – 15 votes
The Green Gourmet – 12 votes
Oatlands Kitchen – 10 votes
Bettington Kitchen – 8 votes

The member who nominated the winning suggestion is Linda Isaac. Linda has won dinner with drinks for 4ppl at The Bettington Restaurant event of her choice.