Oatlands Enews – Friday 3rd December 2021
Content
This week’s Enews covers the following topics:
- From the Course
- Meeting with NSW Premier – Traffic Accident Memorial
- Christmas Cheer Events – A Great Success
- Wearing of Face Masks in the Clubhouse and Golf Shop
- Annual Presentation Dinner 2021 – Saturday 22nd January 2021
- Men’s Club Championship – Matchplay Qualifiers
- Ladies Club Championship
- Karah’s Cocktail Masterclass – Saturday 11th December
- Oatlands Cup Winner – Wil Reece
- WS Targett Winners
- Docket Signing and Cash Payment
- Five after 5 is Back
From the Course
Rainfall for the Week: 58.5mm, Rainfall for 2021: 1012.5mm Dam: 100% Green Speed: 10 feet
After two consecutive weeks of high rainfall, the team has completed needle tyning all greens this week which involves punching solid thin metal tines through all putting surfaces to a depth of 200mm (see video at the bottom of this article). We have this process down to a fine art after a few years of practice, and once the greens are rolled, very little disruption to the putting surface is evident. The benefit of this practice is for root health and development. The solid tine leaves a tunnel in the soil profile so that air and water can move freely through the profile and relieve built up soil compaction which results from maintenance practices and play. The impact of the compaction of the soil profile is increased after being waterlogged for an extended period, as water replaces air between the soil spore spaces, which creates perfect conditions for diseases to attack vulnerable turf roots that are struggling to survive with reduced available oxygen levels. It has certainly been a challenging week to perform this work with two shotgun starts and the final round of the Women’s Club Championships testing our resilience, but we managed to get all greens completed.
The wet weather has been ideal for establishing the new turf around the 3rd and 7th bunkers and the 15th Men’s Championship tee, with very little hand watering required by staff members. The 15th tee has already been cut once at 25mm and will be in play for the matchplay over the weekend.
Members will have noticed the surrounds of the 4th and 5th bunkers yellowing off over the past fortnight after herbicide was applied to eradicate kikuyu and couch grasses. Staff members have started cutting out the bunker surrounds on the 4th and the rear bunker on the 5th in preparation for new Zoysia turf to be laid.
Our new Zoysia bunker surrounds on the 2nd, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 16th were cut this week and this has certainly sharpened up their appearance. We are in the process of trialing herbicide applications on our Zoysia surfaces to control the weeds in these areas without any damage to the Zoysia.
The humid weather has increased the growth of the kikuyu in our roughs and fairways with a 2nd growth regulator application planned for fairways over the next week. All roughs have been mown this week, and once again the blowers and vacuum have been busy all week.
Enjoy the weekend!
The Course Team.
Meeting with NSW Premier – Traffic Accident Memorial
Members will be aware that the Premier of NSW, the Hon. Dominic Perrottet, requested a meeting with Oatlands Golf Club to discuss the Abdallah and Sakr family’s request for a memorial on Golf Club property.
We advise that the President, Vice President and General Manager met with the Premier on Wednesday 1st December.
We report to members that we advised the Premier of the concerns of the Oatlands Golf Club Board and our members, as consistent with all previous communication.
We will advise members should any further developments arise.
Christmas Cheer Events a Great Success
The Club’s annual Christmas Cheer Ham & Turkey days took place during the week with just over 150 hams and turkey’s given out over the 3 days.
After what has been a long a disrupted year, it was wonderful to see so many people in the clubhouse on Monday and Wednesday, and in particular the Christmas spirit of our ladies on Monday as shown in the photos below.
A special thanks to John Carey for his ongoing tireless effort in organising the hams and turkeys, from placing orders all the way through to bagging them up individually and distributing them on the day.
Wearing of Face Masks in the Clubhouse and Golf Shop
Members are reminded that face mask rules under NSW Public Health Orders remain in place.
We are all suffering from face mask fatigue, none more so than our service staff who have to keep them on for the majority of the time they are working, however, wee need to remain diligent and vigilant with regard to the Public Health Order requirements.
As such, all members are asked to please wear a face mask whenever entering the Golf Shop, and at all times in the Clubhouse when not seated to eat and or drink.
We thank you for your assistance with this.
Annual Presentation Dinner 2021 – Saturday 22nd January 2021
The 2021 Annual Presentation Dinner will be held on Saturday 22nd January following the final of the Men’s Club Championships.
This event has been pushed back in line with the postponement of the Club Championships following the recent Covid restrictions and subsequent impact on our golfing programme.
We recognise that many members will be away during this time, however, hope to see as many members and their guests in attendance as possible to recognise the trophy winners from 2021 along with our 50 and 60 year members. Bookings are available via the online timesheet on the Club’s website.
Men’s Club Championship – Matchplay
The Matchplay rounds for the Men’s Club Championship commence this weekend across all four grades. The matchplay schedule is listed below:
Club Championship Matchplay Rounds
Championship 36 holes
- Round 1 – Sunday December 5th
- Quarter Final – Sunday December 19th
- Semi Final – Sunday 16th
- Final – Saturday January 22nd
The Plate, Middle Markers & Long Markers
- Round 1 – Saturday December 4th
- Quarter Final – Saturday December 18th
- Semi Final – Saturday January 15th
- Final – Saturday January 22nd
Ladies Club Championship
The final round of the 54 hole Ladies Club Championship took place Thursday 2nd December with warm humid conditions a change from the first 36 holes.
Linda Gyzen continued her recent dominance of this event recording her best score in the final round to hold onto her comfortable 36 hole lead and hold out Leonie Guthrie for another year.
Linda has now won the Club Championship six times, a fantastic achievement!
The Bronze I Championship was won by outgoing Ladies President, Lesleigh Perkins, who also led from start to finish, and claimed the Championship over runner up, Da Lee.
The Bronze II Championship was a much closer affair with Judith Leeds-Roberts edging out Karen Butler by a single shot.
The 54 hole nett winners were;
Championship: Vanessa Chivers
Bronze I: Lesleigh Perkins
Bronze II: Judith Leeds-Roberts
Congratulations to the 2021 Club Champions, all the other winners and runner ups, and all of those who completed the 54 hole stroke play event.
Karah’s Cocktail Masterclass – Saturday 11th December
OGC’s Clubhouse Manager, Karah Chapman, will be hosting another one of her popular Cocktail Masterclasses on Saturday 11th December.
The first of these events held in April 2021 was a fantastic night and thoroughly enjoyed by all in attendance.
At the time of writing, there are 5 spots left for this event which will have a Christmas theme. Bookings can be made via the website or by phoning Reception.
Oatlands Cup Winner – Wil Reece
The annual Oatlands Cup was played on Saturday 27th November with Covid restrictions limiting the 2021 field to OGC members only.
The event was extremely close, with Wil Reece shooting 2 over par (72) to hold off Rowan Easterbrook, Daniel Eun, and Luke Mason by a single shot.
A special mention goes to runner up Luke Mason, who courtesy of the live leaderboard, knew he needed to chip in on the last hole of the day to force a playoff. The video below captures just how close Luke came to taking the trophy to extra holes.
WS Targett Knockout Winners
The postponed final of the WS Targett Knockout was held on Sunday 28th November at 7am, with Peter Crawford and Linda Gyzen taking on Robert and Alexandra Butt.
Like many of our recent events, the final was extremely close with Linda and Peter eventually winning the match on the 19th hole.
Well done to all finalists!
Docket Signing and Cash Payment
As of Monday 22nd November, the Bar, Sandwich Hut, and Pro Shop will require members making purchases on their House Account or Bar Credit to sign the docket as proof of purchase.
This process was put on-hold at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic when NSW Health direction was to avoid communal touch points however, now that the State has exceeded 80% vaccination status, this direction is no longer in place and as such, signing of dockets will be re-instated as of Monday 22nd November.
Also, on Monday 22nd November, all areas of Club operation will once again accept cash payments. This has also been on hold since the beginning of the pandemic for the reasons listed above and is being re-instated due to the change of advice from NSW Health as a result of vaccinations.
Five after 5 is Back
The Club’s popular Five after 5 series are back again for 2021-22 with the four events scheduled for November 26 (washed out), December 17, January 7 and 21. The timesheets to book for these are live on the Club’s website.
