Oatlands Enews – Friday 24th September 2021
Content
This week’s Enews covers the following topics:
- From the General Manager
- From the Course
- Member Vaccination Status
- Annual Report 2021
- OGC BBQ Ribs Night
- OGC Kitchen – Takeaway Menu
From the General Manager
Good Afternoon Members,
A short Enews this week as we are busy preparing for what we believe will be the re-opening of the Clubhouse and a return to groups of 4 (for those fully vaccinated) on Monday 11th October, (returning to groups of 4 may occur earlier, for those fully vaccinated, subject to NSW Health advice and collation of member vaccination status).
Eligible voting members have been sent details of the Club’s 88th Annual General Meeting (AGM) which will be held online on Wednesday 13th October at 7pm. Despite the likely scenario that the Clubhouse will be open prior to this date, the requirement for vaccination will mean that potentially not all voting members will be able to attend the AGM, and as such, the meeting will take place electronically regardless of whether the Clubhouse is open for fully vaccinated patrons.
The logistics of re-opening the Clubhouse after this lockdown period, as opposed to the lockdown of 2020, are considerably more complicated given the link to vaccination and as yet unclear requirements from NSW health. With that said, we are confident that even if the re-opening date was to be moved forward, we will be ready to welcome back all our members at the earliest opportunity.
Over 60% of our membership have communicated their vaccination status in response to the member wide communication sent on the 20th September. Detail of this communication is again listed in this week’s Enews. We thank those members who have already provided their information and encourage all members to do so at the earliest opportunity to assist in the smooth transition back to normal operations.
We will continue to provide members with updates on the NSW Health Orders, status of the Club operation, and most importantly access to OGC for our members, as new information comes to hand.
Sincerely,
Sam Howe
General Manager – On behalf of the Board, Management and Staff of OGC.
From the Course
Rainfall for the Week: 0.0mm, Rainfall for 2021: 768.5mm Dam: 95% Green Speed: 9.5 feet
We have nearly completed turfing around the bunkers in this stage of the bunker rejuvenation program, with the 8th, 10th and 11th bunkers completed this week and the 2nd bunkers to have turf laid around them on Tuesday next week. The team is working like a well-oiled machine at the moment, with over half the course staff working predominantly on these bunkers while the other staff members perform the cutting, blowing and vacuum of debris each week. This week alone we’ve already directed well over 100 hours of labour towards the laying of turf and preparation of the surrounds on 9 bunkers.
All the new couch on our collars around the course has established well and has been cut down to a height of 13mm. Regular fertilising and light topdressing over the next few months will ensure these areas blend in perfectly with the existing collar surfaces around them.
Fairway surfaces have improved this week but that slight improvement was slowed with a few colder days and nights that we experienced during the week. There isn’t a lot we can do about this slow growth as its all in Mother Nature’s control. We have laid all the groundwork for things to happen with the recent renovations, topdressing and fertiliser applications, and once the temperatures increase the soil temperature will follow and growth will increase.
Our greens remain in good condition with an increase in green speed this week after regular mowing down at our 3mm cutting height. No rolling of the greens is being performed at the moment, as no major events are being held whilst we have members who can’t access the course. Root development is a benefit of no rolling as the soils aren’t being compacted allowing new roots to grow into open pore spaces.
All areas of the course have been mown this week including bunker surrounds and roughs. The vacuum has been busy Thursday and Friday cleaning up all the leaf debris which as fallen from the windy conditions during the week.
Enjoy the weekend!
The Course Team.
Member Vaccination Status
The NSW Government has recently announced that those who have been fully vaccinated will soon have additional freedoms. To prepare, Oatlands Golf Club are asking members who have been double-vaccinated to provide the Club with proof of vaccination, by way of a copy of their certificate of vaccination.
It is our aim to try and accommodate all members in the return to normal operations, but in order to do that, and to adhere to the Government and industry regulations, we need to identify the vaccination status of our members. If the Club starts to collect the data now, then in a few weeks when we return to normal life, it will be a smoother transition if we already have your vaccination status.
We invite all members to send your vaccination digital certificate, or medical contraindication certificate (for people who are unable to get the vaccine for medical reasons), via email to vaccination@oatlandsgolf.com.au, so that the Club can record your status, thus making the transition back to normal life a lot simpler. Please place your Surname and Membership No. as the subject line of the email, eg. Howe 4920.
We understand that some members are not vaccinated, and some may intend not to get vaccinated in the future. We also need to know this information, so we can try to facilitate a way forward for you too.
The privacy of your information is paramount, and will be dealt with in line with all membership data that the Club holds. The Club will always follow the official health advice and government regulations with regards to operating the Club, but to make informed decisions going forward, we need to understand our membership. This vaccination piece is an unknown, so we need to ask for your help so that we can ultimately help you and the Club move forward.
The Club staff have already started to provide their information, with all staff having received at least their first shot, in readiness for coming back to work. If you have any questions about this data collection process, then please contact the General Manager, Sam Howe, for assistance.
At this stage, we will not be amending our time sheets to allow groups of 4. We are currently able to accommodate the players who are allowed to visit the course and wish to play. Whilst we have members who are unable to play due to the current restrictions, this gives us the capacity to keep current reciprocal arrangements in place so that those members can continue to play at other courses.
We will continue to monitor changes to the Public Health Orders and when we have a better understanding of the vaccination level of our members, we will advise any changes.
For more information on how to find your Digital Certificate please click on the link: Service NSW website – Proof of Vaccination
Annual Report 2021
Given the current status of the Covid-19 restrictions, and the forced closure of the Clubhouse, this year’s Annual General Meeting will held electronically. Details of the online meeting and registration have been sent to all eligible members today.
A copy of the Club’s Annual Report can be accessed by clicking on the link below, along with Director Nominations for 2021-22;
Oatlands Golf Club Annual Report 2021
OGC BBQ Ribs Night
OGC Kitchen – Takeaway Menu
