Content

This week’s Enews covers the following topics;

• Message from the Club
• From the Course
• Act of Generosity
• Course Toilets – Rebuild nearing completion
• Pro Shop Open for Business

Message from the Club

I thought I would front end this weeks Enews with a quick message to all members. I haven’t published an Enews communication since 20th March due to the Covid-19 situation and the volume of communication required to keep members informed, and while the Covid-19 situation is a long way from being over it does seem that for the time being the Clubs operational capacity is known and we can settle in for a period of stability which fortunately allows golf to be played. With that in mind and in the interest of providing the wider membership with Clubs news that doesn’t solely relate to the Covid-19 situation, I will be restarting the weekly Enews to keep members informed of things going on around the Club.

Before we get into the Enews for this week, I would just like to thank all Club members who have rejoined the membership for the 2020-21 membership year and for the members and staff for the diligent adherence to the restrictions in place as a result of the Covid-19 health crisis and that have allowed the golf course to remain open but to be enjoyed by almost 800 golfers last week alone.

I doubt there is anyone in society who isn’t feeling the effect of this unprecedented situation, however due to your ongoing support of our wonderful Club, the Board and I are very confident that we will come out the otherside in a stronger position than many other Clubs in Sydney and our local area.

I hope and expect that we will all be able to enjoy the golf course without increased restriction in the months ahead. If any members have questions relating to any aspect of the Clubs operation I would like to let you all know that my door is and will always be open, and while the Clubhouse is closed for daily trade, I am on site most days and can also be reached on my mobile 7 days a week should you have any questions or concerns, 0412 502 888.

Good golfing, stay healthy and talk soon.

Sam Howe

General Manager

From the Course

Rainfall for the Week: 5.5mm Rainfall for 2020: 638.0mm   Dam: 100%   Green Speed: Renovation

The first cut of greens took place on Tuesday afternoon following the recent renovations, with the height of cut being lifted to 5mm so that we aren’t cutting too much leaf off with this initial cut. We started cutting greens around 11 am when they were nice and dry so that we didn’t pick up too much sand. The second cut was on Thursday morning, there was a little bit of moisture on surface from the morning dew but not enough to cause any issues. On Friday morning we rolled all greens. For the weekend we will be cutting greens on Saturday and sweeping off the dew on Sunday morning. Our greens are looking very healthy at the moment and we are happy to lover down high of cut from next week down to 4mm.

Today also I’m going to verti drain putting green with needle tynes. I’m going to roll green straight after I finish punching holes so it will be minimum disruption to putting surface.

The team has also started to verti-drain fairways. This is very slow process and we have so far completed the 12^th and 2^nd fairway’s this week. Verti-draining of fairway bare patches will continue again from Monday again. Both fairways (12^th and 2^nd) have blue line painted around them with the preferred lies available within the painted area.

All areas of the course have been mown this week, accept rough. Rough is still under control of growth regulator which was apllied in case of a forced shutdown. Now that we have some clarity on golf continuing we are letting the rough grow so that we can create fairway definition heading into the cooler months. The additional time provided by not mowing rough will allow for some of the smaller jobs that often don’t rank as high priorities against grass cutting to be addressed.

We have also started spraying tees and tee banks for winter grass. This takes time because the product we apply has to be watered in straight after application.

Our volunteer program has been suspended until the COVID 19 pandemic has passed.

Have good weekend  

The Course Team

Act of Generosity

There has been many outstanding acts of generosity in society amongst the uncertainty of the Covid-19 health crisis.

One of those acts that is worth of mention occurred at Oatlands Golf Club in the last month.

A member who wishes to remain anonymous, upon hearing that the Clubhouse was being closed and that the casual bar staff would be without work, and recognising that our small team of bar staff had donated their tips from January to the Club Rural Fire Service Fundraiser, decided they would like to donate the tips of more than $1,000 back to the staff.

While only a modest amount per staff member when divided up, the feeling of importance to the Club that this gave the staff was extremely special and really let them know what a key part they play in members enjoyment of this wonderful Club.

Course Toilets – Rebuild nearing completion

Following the extreme rain event in early February that resulted in a large tree destroying the course toilet facility between the 6th green and 7th tee, we are happy to report that the rebuild is nearing completion and we hope to have the amenity on the 6th green side of the block open towards the end of next week with the second amenity open the week after.

Thank you for your patience during this process.

Pro Shop Open for Business

Members will be aware that we have been opearting the Pro Shop from the front door of the building as our early response to the most recent indoor gathering and social distancing restrictions imposed by the NSW Goverment.

Subsequent consultation with Golf NSW has allowed us to open up access to the Pro Shop for up to 5 members at a time. This will allow members to browse the Pro Shop and utilise their competition ball prize credit.

Additional social distancing measures will be put in place over the coming days to open up the space inside the Pro Shop and ensure that 1.5 metre gap between people can be maintained at all times.

Next Week’s Enews

To include;

• 60 Seconds with Dave
• Rules Corner