Oatlands Enews – Friday 16th December 2022
Content
This week’s Enews covers the following topics:
- Final Enews for 2022
- Farewell to Jason Park
- Members Guest bookings in Saturday and Sunday Competitions
- From the Course
- President’s vs Captains – A win for the Captain’s despite the current President’s 44 points
- Bunkers with Jeremy Ward – Chaser Drill
- Christmas and New Year Trading Time Variations
- Rules of Golf Updates – 1st January 2023
- QPC&C Tiger Tee Champion of Champions – Friday 13th January 2022
- School Holiday Clinics with Max Dakic – One Space Remaining
- Join Our Members Only Facebook Group
Final Enews for 2022
Members are advised that this will be the final Enews for 2022.
We will continue to post interest pieces on our Members Only Facebook Group as they arise throughout the holiday period. Members are encouraged to join the Members Only Facebook Group as per the details below.
We wish all members a safe and happy Christmas and hope you get to spend as much time as possible with family and friends.
The Club’s members only Facebook Group is a fantastic way for members and staff to engage with each other.
We now have almost 350 members who have joined the group and we would love to see that grow to include all of our members.
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/
Farewell to Jason Park
We regrettably have to inform members that popular Pro Shop staff member, and PGA Professional, Jason Park, has resigned his position at the Club for health reasons.
Jason is dealing with a severe case of Crohn’s Disease and has decided to return to Korea for the additional family support he has in his Country of birth, while he gets treatment.
We will sorely miss Jason who has been a popular member of the Pro Shop team for 5 years.
We wish him well in his recovery and have made it clear that he will always be welcomed back to OGC with open arms, in the event he returns.
Members Guest bookings in Saturday and Sunday Competitions
One of the final remaining changes to booking access at OGC as a result of the Covid pandemic is the restrcitions on members inviting guests to play in the Saturday and Sunday competition.
With the days now longer and the demand for tee times having settled, the Match Committee have decided to remove this restriction. As such, effective immediately, members are once again able to invite guests to accompany them in the Saturday and Sunday competitions, with two exclusions being; Trophy Events, days where Pennant is being hosted. These exclusions will be subject to availability and by request.
This is great news for the Club and its members and we hope many of you will take the opportunity to invite friends and family along to join you for a weekend competition game.
From the Course
Rainfall for the Week: 9.0mm, Rainfall for 2022: 2028.0mm Dam: 95% Green Speed: 10.5 feet
The course team has made a start on the next stage of this seasons bunker rejuvenation works, with the LHS bunker on the 14th having all drainage materials and fabric lining installed on Monday. As mentioned previously when we were completing last seasons bunkers, the installation of the above materials takes 8 staff members the best part of the entire day, which means other routine maintenance works that would’ve normally been performed on a Monday, need to be neglected or swapped with something else later during the week.
The pinning down of the fabric linings is the most labour intensive part of the process, with team members having to hammer in between 1500-2000 steel pins per bunker, to ensure the fabric stays in place below the sand so that it will never be hit by a member whilst playing a shot, and to stop contamination of the sand from the clay bunker base below and on the faces. The installation process is made even harder if sandstone or large rocks have been used in the fill to create the bunker shell, as the pins bend and won’t go in in these situations.
More Geohex product has been installed this week with the small worn exit path on the 18th hole covered with this product. The Geohex will be backfilled with blue metal again and the team will dress up the surrounds of this path with new soil and turf. The entry points of this pathway will be covered with the green plastic mesh so that the turf can grow through it. We are planning to install more of this product early next week on the path entry to the 4th tee from the 3rd green, and the entry point to the path near the practice nets coming from the 11th fairway.
The team is in the process of applying another growth regulator application to fairways, with the back 7 fairways completed so far this week. The remaining fairways will be completed early next week. The winds have once again disrupted operations such as this during the week, as the fairways need to be free of debris for either cutting or spraying, so that the herbicide can reach the turf grass. If we simply spray over the top of the debris, we won’t reach the intended target, and we will simply be wasting our time and money. Therefore, fairways must be blown off with the mechanical blowers before mowing or chemical applications start, and this has been a daily occurrence this week.
Our volunteers were back on course Monday morning, raking the bunkers before the competition, trimming the hedge behind the 3rd tee, tidying up the practice nets, edging pathways and trimming suckers from tree bases. Thank you gentlemen for all your assistance once again this week!
Have a great weekend!
The Course Team
President’s vs Captains – A win for the Captain’s despite the current President’s 44 points
The annual President’s vs Captain’s event was played on Saturday 10th December with a number of the novelty aspects re-introduced to this event for 2022. These included variable tees for the Presidents and Captains team on the 6th and 14th holes, and multiple tees and pins on the 12th and 18th holes.
The 4BBB event saw a Presidents pairing take on a Captains pairing in each group with a point awarded to the winning pairing of each group.
There were lots of close matches throughout the day (and some not so close) and despite Club President, George Isaac having 44points on his own to win his match against the Club Captain, the Captain’s team prevailed across the day to give Col McRae the trophy and bragging rights for 2022.
Bunkers with Jeremy Ward – Chaser Drill
Head Professional Jeremy Ward provides a very useful drill to improve your bunker play in the video below.
To book a lesson with Jeremy or any of the Club PGA Professionals, please contact the Golf Shop or visit the Lessons section of the Club website.
Christmas and New Year Trading Time Variations
Note: The entire Club (Course, Clubhouse and Golf Shop) are closed on Christmas Day.
Clubhouse – Bar
The Clubhouse Bar will open as normal throughout the Christmas and New Year period.
Clubhouse – Catering
The kitchen and sandwich service will open as normal throughout the holiday period with the following exceptions:
- Monday 26th December: Sandwich Hut Closed (daily bistro menu available)
- Sunday 1st January: Sandwich Hut TBC
- Monday 2nd January: Sandwich Hut Closed (daily bistro menu available)
Clubhouse – Reception
Members are advised that the Club Reception will shutdown over the Christmas / New Year period for the following dates:
- Closing – Friday 23rd December at 2:30pm
- Re-open – Monday 9th January at 9am
During this time, the Clubhouse will be open as usual (excluding Christmas Day) and the General Manager will be onsite as normal to assist with any administration matters that arise.
Golf Course and Golf Shop
The golf course and golf shop will be open everyday except Christmas Day. Please see website fixtures for tee times.
Rules of Golf Updates – 1st January 2023
Many members will be aware that the Rules of Golf get updated every four years. The next scheduled update occurs on 1st January 2023.
The Rules of Golf were significantly simplified in 2019, and the upcoming changes are an extension of the previous round of changes.
Further information on the updates can be sourced from the Golf Australia website, including the following link announcing the changes, click here
To further assist, a chart of changes can be viewed by clicking on the following link – Chart of Main Rules Changes (2023). This is an excellent resource which compares the updated Rules effective 1st January 2023 with the Rules as they currently stand that came into effect 1st January 2019.
One of the main updates is to the penalties that apply to certain situations that arise on course. These penalty changes have been summarised for members below:
Rule Number |
Deals with |
Old penalty under 2019 Rules |
New penalty under 2023 Rules |
6.3b |
Substitution of another ball, and making a stroke at an incorrectly substituted ball |
2 Strokes (general penalty) |
1 Stroke |
14.1c |
Clarification that cleaning a ball that has not been lifted (I.e. cleaned while in place) results in a penalty |
Unclear if there is any penalty |
1 Stroke |
22.6 |
New section of Rule 22 which deals with Foursomes events, and prevents partner from standing behind player to gain information on next stroke |
|
Team gets 2 Strokes (general penalty) |
23.8 |
New section of Rule 23 which deals with Fourball events, and prevents partner from standing behind player to gain information on next stroke |
|
Partner 2 Strokes (general penalty) |
Thanks has to go to John Bowring and Tony Groth for their assistance in preparing this information.
Good Golfing,
Col McRae
Club Captain
Reduced Clubhouse Trading Times – Monday 19th December
Members are advised that the Clubhouse will close early on Monday 19th December as the Club is hosting a member booked private event Christmas Party that will take over the entire Clubhouse. This event has been held at the Club for many years, although not recently due to Covid.
As such, the Clubhouse will be closed on Monday 19th December from 3pm to allow staff time to complete setup and host the function which contributes significantly to the Club.
The golf course will operate as normal on this day.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
QPC&C Tiger Tee Champion of Champions – Friday 13th January 2023
The Champion of Champions for the 2022 QPC&C Tiger Tee Challenge will be held on Friday 13th January 2023.
This event is open to all members and guests, however previous winners of a QPC&C Tiger Tee Challenge in the 2022 calendar year, will be eligible for the Champion of Champions honour.
This event will see the golf course setup at its most difficult, even by weekly QPC&C Tiger Tee standards.
So if you are up for challenging yourself against Oatlands Golf Course at it’s most difficult, the timesheet for the event will open on 14th December 2022.
School Holiday Clinics with Max Dakic – One Space Remaining
Max Dakic will be running a School Holiday Clinic for our Junior Members and friends (you don’t have to be a member to join the class).
Dates are as follows:
- Tuesday 10th January – 10:00 am to 11:30 am (Full Swing)
- Wednesday 11th January – 10:00 am to 11:30 am (Short Game)
- Thursday 12th January – 10:00 am to 11:30 am (Putting)
Food & Drink will be provided after each clinic.
The total cost will be $90 for each participant for all three clinics.
Bookings can be made through the Member’s website or by contacting the Proshop.
Join Our Members Only Facebook Group
The Club’s members only Facebook Group is a fantastic way for members and staff to engage with each other.
We now have almost 350 members who have joined the group and we would love to see that grow to include all of our members.
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/