From the Course

Rainfall for the Week: 0.0mm,  Rainfall for 2023: 332.5mm Dam: 100%   Green Speed: 10feet

Herbicide applications to fairways and roughs have begun this week with growth regulator being applied with a pre-emergent herbicide also in the tank mix. The pre-emergent herbicide is in preparation for the winter months ahead and should keep our fairways and roughs free of Winter Grass. We have sprayed half the holes on the course this week, with the remaining holes to be completed next week. Once all fairways are completed, we will then spray all tee complexes but remove the growth regulator from the mix, so that our tees continue to grow as strongly as possible into the colder months of the year, in the hope that we maintain as much cover on these surfaces for as long as we can.

Reduced staff numbers again this week caused by sick leave, annual leave and TAFE, has meant we haven’t been able to start the work on the back left bunker at the 1^st green. Numbers should improve next week so work will begin on this bunker on either Monday or Tuesday.

Fairways have been double cut this week in and around the herbicide applications, and a full cut of the rough has also been completed. Our greens remain very healthy and we have been able to push them in regards to moisture this week due to milder conditions, which has meant they have dried down and become firmer. We will needle tine all greens with the solid tines before the autumn greens renovations next month, to continue to relieve soil compaction and allow better air and water movement through the profile and down to the plants root systems.

Our volunteers were on course Monday morning, raking bunkers before the competition, trimming fairway sprinkler heads, weeding tee gardens, trimming the Protea shrubs between the 3^rd green and 4^th tee, and clubhouse maintenance work. These same volunteers came back on Thursday morning and started installing new speed humps on Oatlands House driveway in an effort to slow the vehicles down that enter and exit across the 11^th hole. Thank you to all those involved over these two days, we are all very appreciative of your assistance!

We will be cutting greens on Saturday and Sunday.

Have a great weekend!

The Course Team

Members are reminded that their annual Bar Tab credit, and Visitor Vouchers (Visitor Vouchers allocated to Full Playing and 6-Day members only) will expire on 1st April 2023 at the commencement of the 2023-24 Membership year.

Bar Credit can be used for clubhouse and takeaway beverage purchases, along with attendance at Club dining events such as The Bettington Nights.

Visitor Vouchers can be used to bring non-member guests during competition or social play with no green fee payable.

Members are encouraged to visit the “MEMBERS ACCOUNT” section of the Club website to confirm the status of their Bar Tab and Visitor Voucher accounts for 2022-23, and utilise the remaining credit on or before 31st March 2023.

Husband & Wife Trophy – Sunday 26th March – Advanced Bookings

The Club’s Annual Husband & Wife Trophy is scheduled for Sunday 26th March.

This 4Ball Aggregate event is open to Husbands & Wives along with de facto couples.

 To encourage participation, the Club would like to offer all eligible couples the opportunity to book for this event prior to the timesheet opening at 4:30pm on Saturday 18th March.

To make an advanced booking, please email Sam Howe on gm@oatlandsgolf.com.au prior to the timesheet opening with your preferred tee time and playing partners, if applicable.

The Husband & Wife Trophy was first played in 1971 and won in that year by Mr & Mrs Lentfer.

The most prolific winners have been Bill & Judy Tunks with 3 wins to their credit.

New Ladies Weekend Matchplay Events

The Ladies Committee is pleased to announce the introduction of two new trophy events for our lady members.

The two events will consist of one singles handicap knockout matchplay and one 2ball handicap knockout matchplay.

The dates for each event are set out below:

Oatlands is fortunate to have a quality team of course maintenance staff who prepare the course for us to enjoy. In addition, we have one of the most productive volunteer programmes in golf. But there is a limit to how much they can do, and a large amount of responsibility falls to the golfer to repair the damage they do to the course during normal play to ensure that players behind can enjoy the same conditions.

The image below was taken in the middle of a competition field this week on the 11th hole.

97% of all golf at Oatlands is played by members, so it is statistically likely that this bunker has been left unraked by a member playing in a members competition.

I am sure all who are reading this would agree that it is extremely disappointing and not up to the standard our members expect of one another, nor does it show any respect to the course staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to present Oatlands in a condition that many longtime members are saying is the best they have ever seen it.

All members are encouraged to repair pitchmarks (more than one), fill divots, and of course rake bunkers, and if you see a fellow member showing the obvious disregard that has led to the bunker image shown, then please let them know they need to repair the damage and show respect for their fellow members.

Lifeline Book Fair Raises $155,500

On the weekend of the 18th and 19th February, the Chatswood Concourse Lifeline Book Fair raised $155,500 for Lifeline.

This is an incredible feat when you consider the money raised is entirely from donated books and as a result of volunteering.

This is being noted in the OGC Enews as over the course of any year, many, many members drop in unwanted books to the General Manager’s office to be collected by Lifeline and sold at the Book Fairs to produce fantastic results such as this.

Members who would like to donate books for sale at future Lifeline Book Fairs can drop them into the Club anytime.

The image below shows the number of volunteers required to maintain the Lifeline book warehouse.

Out of Bounds Register – QR Code now Installed

In late 2020, the Club introduced Out of Bounds Registers on the 1st, 6th and 12th tees. These have been well utilised by members and we thank you all for taking the time to record balls that have gone Out of Bounds and potentially caused property damage.

All would agree that the paper system was less than ideal as it needed replenishing on an unpredictable cycle and absorbed water during sustained wet periods. As such, these registers have now been upgraded to a QR Code Register as picture adjacent.

These QR codes will take members to a short series of questions to record the Out of Bounds shot. They have been produced in a durable weather resistant material so will not need regular replacement.

All golfers are reminded of the need to record any errant tee shot into these registers. Even if you are unsure if the ball has gone out of bounds, we ask that you record an entry. As a general rule, if a provisional ball needs to be played then an OOB Register entry should be made.

The Club has insurance for all members / golfers against personal and property damage when playing on the course. In order for the Club to make a claim against this insurance, we simply need to be able to identify who hit the errant shot. Importantly, a claim made on this insurance does not effect an individuals insurance cover in any way.

We thank you in advance for your co-operation!