The Course Team.

Barbara Koch Charity Day – Thursday 9th May

The annual Barbara Koch Charity Day, hosted by the OGC Ladies, took place on Thursday 9th May.

The Club has been raising money for ANZGOG (Australia New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group) for almost 15 years and is one of the largest contributors to the charity. The Barbara Koch Day is one of the main fundraising activities for ANZGOG hosted by OGC each year.

This year’s event saw 60 ladies take part in golf and over 70 in lunch and presentation.

Through a combination of the days proceeds and raffle tickets sold over the last week by our Ladies Committee, the event raised $2,355 for ANGOG.

Barbara Koch’s daughter Kate (pictured) was in attendance to assist with presentation and give those present an overview of the incredible work undertaken by ANZGOG.

The winner of the Barbara Koch Memorial Trophy was Margaret Furini with a score of 39 points.

Oatlands Senior Cup – Tuesday 25th June

Entries for 2024 Oatlands Senior Cup (a Golf NSW Senior Order of Merit Event) are now open.

This event is open to all male golfers over aged 50 years or above as of the 25th of June and with a GA handicap of 18.0 or less.

Last year’s winner of this event was Andy Hugill of Mona Vale Golf Club.

In the event that this event is oversubscribed, a ballot on handicap may be required.

Tee times are from 8am to 10am with entries closing Thursday 20th of June at 5pm.

Entry Fee: Members: $25 / Non-members: $80

Keith Riglesford Cup and Midweek Club Championships Rd1

The first round of the Men’s Mid-week Club Championships (Gross) and Keith Riglesford Cup (Nett) were played on Wednesday 8th May with the field of 120 golfers facing extremely difficult conditions given the rainfall in the preceding days and throughout play.

The second / final round will be played on Wednesday 15th May.

Special mention goes to Nathan Wareham (Open Division) and Neil Hardy (Long Markers) for their exceptional round one scores in the tough conditions.

The top 5 scores plus ties in each grade of the Championship and the top 10 plus ties of the Keith Riglesford Cup are listed below.

Captain’s Corner – Understanding the Rules: Taking Relief

One of the most misunderstood Rules of Golf is regarding relief that a player can take during the game.

There are many ways in which relief may or may not be taken and is covered in the Rules of Golf under many different rules.

In an effort to clarify or simplify the most common situations, I would like to start with an explanation of an Oatlands Golf Clubs current Local Rule 2(b) which covers;

Prohibited Areas of Play

2(b) Ornamental Trees and Shrubs identified with stakes are No Play Zones and are Ground Under Repair. If a ball lies anywhere on the course except in a penalty area and the tree interferes with the lie of the ball, stance or area of intended swing, relief must be taken under Rule 16.1b

The first thing the player needs to do, after identifying the ball is in a No Play Zone, is to establish the nearest point of full relief. This point is referred to as the Reference Point. It should also be mentioned that the Reference Point may be in a position that is not favourable for the player. The Reference Point may also vary depending on whether the player is a right or left handed player and cannot be nearer the hole.

Once the Reference Point has been determined the player may drop their ball within one club length of that Reference Point, without penalty. The area that is one club length from the Reference Point is called the Relief area. The ball must be dropped within the Relief area, and must not role outside the Relief area, otherwise the drop must be taken again.

It is suggested that the player mark the Reference Point with a tee, and another tee be placed within one club length to determine the extent of the relief area.

The diagrams below illustrate taking relief from a staked tree for both right and left handed golfers and will hopefully assist in clarifying the procedure. 

You should notice that our right-handed golfer (Sam) could not drop on the same side of the staked tree as our left-handed golfer (Wil) and vice-versa, as this would mean the tree would still interfere with their swing. Taking relief on the opposite side to what is shown would have to be further away and would therefore not be the ‘nearest point of relief’.

One of the important aspects of this Rule is that relief must be taken as outlined above which may not be in the most advantageous position.

Colin McRae
Captain

Titleist Golf Ball Education Day – Postponed due to Weather Forecast

The Titleist Ball Education event, which was originally scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 11th of May, has been postponed due to the likelihood of rain. This decision was made with our Members best interests in mind, ensuring that more members have the opportunity to participate when the weather clears up.

We will announce the new date once it is set in upcoming Enews.

Good Golfing,

Jeremy Ward
Head Professional

Junior Development Programme Fundraiser – Monday 10th June