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This week’s Enews covers the following topics:

• Captain’s Corner: President’s vs Captain’s – Rule on Advice from Partner / Re-introduction of Novelty Format
• Christmas Bettington Menu Available – 14th & 17th December
• Rules of Golf Updates – 1st January 2023
• From the Course
• Reduced Clubhouse Trading Times – Monday 19th December
• Christmas and New Year Office / Reception Shutdown
• QPC&C Tiger Tee Champion of Champions – Friday 13th January 2022
• PING Fitting Day – Thursday 5th January 2023 – One Spot Remaining
• School Holiday Clinics with Max Dakic
• Join Our Members Only Facebook Group
• Pennant Update
• Upcoming Trophy Events
• Recent Trophy Winners

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Captain’s Corner: President’s vs Captain’s – Rule on Advice from Partner

Saturday’s Game – President Vs Captain – 4BBBB with individual stableford in conjunction

Here is one of those idiosyncrasies of Golf Rules, but we need to ensure members are aware of the Rules.

The event on Saturday is a 4BBB with individual stableford in conjunction. As the major event is a 4BBB rule 23.5a comes into play, which means that inter alia a player may provide advice to his playing partner prior to him/her playing his/her next shot.

For further information please refer to Rule 23.5a,

The difference from this event to the normal event, where we play a individual stableford in conjunction with a 4BBB, is that the primary event is an individual stableford event with a 4BBB in conjunction, not the other way around as is the case on Saturday. In effect this means that you are not allowed to provide advice to your playing partner before he/she plays a shot, if the primary event is an individual event.

So in short, for the Presidents vs Captains tomorrow (Saturday 10th December) 4BBB partners may provide each other advice during play as the 4BBB event is the primary event of the day. 

 

Captain’s Corner: President’s vs Captain’s – Re-introduction of Novelty Format

There is a long history associated with this event and over the years it has been seen as more of a fun day as we move towards Christmas and a New Year, and as such the event is not a handicapped event.

This year we are re-introducing some novelty aspects to this event that were in place some years ago, and the following are the different conditions of play for the day.

• Please be aware of whose team you are in. The first two names on the timesheet (Position 1 & 2) are in the President’s team and the last two names (position 3 & 4) are in the Captain’s team.
• On the 2^nd hole, there will be two pins and two tees in play. – The President’s team will play from the white tees and hit to a red flag, and the Captain’s team will play from the green tees and hit to a yellow flag.
• On the 12^th hole the reverse situation will occur, with the President’s team playing from the green tees and hitting to a yellow flag, and the Captain’s team playing from the white tees and hitting to a red flag.
• On the 6^th hole the President’s team will play from the green tees, and the Captain’s team will play from the white tees.
• On the 14th hole this will be reversed, with the President’s team playing from the white tees and the Captain’s team playing from the green tees.
• There will be two flags on the 18^th and it will be your choice as to what flag you play to. There will be the usual two divisions for nearest the pin, regardless of the flag you play to.

Let’s hope making a couple of fun changes will make the day enjoyable.

Col McRae

Captain

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Christmas Bettington Menu Available – 14th & 17th December

On Arrival

• Prawn noodle salad (gf)
• Bread and butter

Entrée

•  Coconut roast pork rib, pineapple caramel & chili (gf)
• Tea smoked salmon, peanut & papaya relish, betel leaf & salmon pearls (gf)
• Grilled king prawns, chilli, garlic, tarragon butter sourdough toast

 Main

• Grainge MSA beef sirloin, horseradish and tarragon butter, garlic and potato mash, English spinach, and shiraz sauce (gf)
• Rosemary and macadamia crusted lamb rack, Dijon, spiced pumpkin, heirloom carrot, whipped Persian fetta, and red wine jus (gf)
• King George whiting, kataifi, scallop prawn mousseline, finger lime, beurre blanc
• Smoked pork shoulder ham, brown sugar glaze, crispy fried potatoes, bbq pineapple, pan gravy

Dessert

• Black sticky rice pudding, poached rhubarb, gingerbread, coconut sorbet (gf)
• Dark chocolate lava cake, chocolate cream, hazelnut ice cream, coffee crumble
• Strawberries and cream, Grinch jelly, vanilla meringue(gf)

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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 and 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

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From the Course

Rainfall for the Week: 4.0mm,  Rainfall for 2022: 2019.0mm Dam: 90%   Green Speed: 10.5 feet

Planned herbicide applications to bunker surrounds and tee complexes that had previously been postponed due to unfavourable weather conditions, were finally able to be performed this week. A post emergent herbicide to control Winter Grass in our bunker surrounds was applied and watered in so that the plant can absorb this chemical through its roots. We should start to see the Winter Grass weeds in these areas yellowing off over the next 2 weeks. A different herbicide was used on our tee complexes as we are trying to control broadleaf weeds in these areas. This herbicide is absorbed by the plant through its leaves, so this chemical isn’t watered in. We should also start to see the effects of this application on the broadleaf weeds in our tees over the next 2 weeks.

Following the coring and topdressing of the collars and aprons last week, fertiliser has been applied to these areas this week to help them recover and invigorate these surfaces. Some small areas will most likely need returfing such as the front left on the 18^th and back left on the 6^th, but we are hopeful that other thin areas will recover now after this renovation.

These three tasks were very labour intensive as the bunker surround herbicide application and fertiliser application to collars and aprons required watering in by hand as the team had to complete these tasks amongst member’s play, therefore sprinklers couldn’t be used. This meant fairway mowing has only been performed once this week, but with these surfaces still under regulation, very little difference would’ve been noticed by members in Wednesday’s competition. But it could’ve been the reason why no one had 5 birdies and an eagle in their round, unlike someone (I won’t mention any names) last Sunday!

Areas outside of our usual spray regions for insects have been under attack from Billbug (photo of an adult Billbug on my thumb), with very favourable climatic conditions over the winter months seeing an increase in population numbers and the damage they cause. The yellowing of areas on the outer edges of green surrounds looks as though the area has just dried out from some warmer weather, but in fact it is the plant dying after the Billbug inserts its snout in the stem of the plant, causing the plant to die. Additional insecticide applications have been made to these areas now, so we should start to see some improvement in the coming weeks. 

We are also currently trying to find and repair a broken wire on the irrigation system for the 14^th green. For the past 2 months we have had to manually turn on one of the sprinklers on this green each morning, as the broken wire means we have lost communication to this sprinkler and thus, lost automatic control at night.

Our volunteers had a week off this week but are enthusiastic about returning next Monday.

Have a great weekend!

The Course Team

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Reduced Clubhouse Trading Times – Monday 19th December

Members are advised that the Clubhouse will close early on Monday 19th December as the club are 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 members club.

The golf course will operate as normal on this day.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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Christmas and New Year Office / Reception Shutdown

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.

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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.

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PING Fitting Day – Thursday 5th January – One Spot Remaining

The Golf Shop, in-conjunction with PING Australia, will be hosting another popular Fitting Day on Thursday 5th January.

These fitting days are limited to 6 fitting sessions, so get in early to avoid disappointment.

Booking through the website timesheets or by contacting the Golf Shop.

School Holiday Clinics with Max Dakic

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 10^th January – 10:00 am to 11:30 am (Full Swing)
• Wednesday 11^th January – 10:00 am to 11:30 am (Short Game)
• Thursday 12^th 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.

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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/

 

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Pennant Update

On behalf of Oatlands Golf Club I would like to congratulate the 2022 Encourage Shield Team on a very successful tournament.

Our team made it to the Final where we were defeated by Cromer Golf Club in a close match, 4 – 2. The match was played at Lakeside GC.

As the coach of these players, I am extremely proud of the golf they played throughout the tournament.

More importantly, I am proud of the way our Team represented Oatlands GC.

We made a point in our practice sessions that our behaviour before, during and after each match is a reflection on the club we represent, and our team didn’t let us down.

A special thank you to Max Dakic our Trainee Professional who came to all our matches. The comraderie, banter, and all-round positive vibe that Max brings to the team is extremely valuable. Not to mention his excellent knowledge on the game of golf.    

Its exciting times for the future of Oatlands GC and I look forward to being apart of this groups golfing journey.

Team list below.   

1. Christian Fong (Captain)
2. Jerry Qin
3. Ricky Fang
4. Alicia Luo
5. Jeremy Liew
6. Donovan O’Connor
7. Jonathan Le

Regards

Jeremy Ward
Golf Operations Manager / Encourage Shield Team Manager

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Upcoming Trophy Events

Men

December

• Sat 10th Dec – Presidents vs Captains

Ladies

• Mon 12th Dec – Ladies Summer Foursomes Final

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Recent Trophy Winners

Saturday 3rd December: 2022 Medal of Medals – Ben Mees

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