Oatlands Enews – Friday 11th March 2022
Content
This week’s Enews covers the following topics:
- From the Course
- Golf NSW Flood Relief Fund
- Clubhouse Cleanup following Recent Rain Event
- Husband & Wife Trophy – Sunday 27th March – Advanced Bookings
- Australia Declared Second Most Successful Country in Golf
- Pennant Update
- Members Only Facebook Group
- Upcoming Trophy Events
- Recent Trophy Winners
- Upcoming Events
From the Course
Rainfall for the Week: 291.5mm, Rainfall for 2022: 819.0mm Dam: 100% Green Speed: Closed
In my letter that was sent out to members earlier this week, I made a comment that “with some long-term members saying it’s the wettest they have ever seen the course”. I should’ve said that this is the wettest the course has been for quite some time, as I was informed that around 1990 the course was closed for a period of approximately 3 months, with some members taking bus trips up to the Hunter Valley on weekends just to get a game! I remember I was playing junior rugby league that year on very muddy fields whenever the local council would allow a field to be destroyed.
Nevertheless, the rain has stopped, and the course is starting to dry out under ideal conditions on Wednesday, Thursday and today. As such we will be opening the course for the weekend with no carts, preferred lies in the General Area, and all bunkers out of play. This is a great recovery after the course received 568.5mm over 17 days!
Course staff again took Annual Leave on Monday and Tuesday, to assist with controlling expenses which I and the membership should be very thankful for. Greens, tees, collars, and aprons have been cut today, and roughs between the tree lines has also been started with just under half of this rough cut at the time of writing. The rough mowing is marking up surfaces but these areas were extremely long so we had to perform this work which will evitable help them to dry out quicker with the sunlight and wind being able to hit the ground instead of being blocked by the long grass.
Skelton’s Pond along the left hand side of the 15th continues to be pumped out for the 3rd day straight as water continues to fill this area. Our older bunkers on holes 12, 13, 14, 17 and 18 have all naturally drained after holes were dug through the sand bases to allow the water in them an unobstructed passage to the drainage lines beneath.
Needle tyning of greens has also begun to allow oxygen to enter the soil profile after the greens have been so waterlogged for an extended period.
With the decision being made to open the course over the weekend for play, please follow any signage or directional ropes and posts to protect wet areas as much as possible. It is even more important during periods such as these to repair all divots and picthmarks to give the course the best chance of recovery, particular as we head into the cooler months.
Enjoy the Weekend!
The Course Team.
Golf NSW Flood Relief Fund
In recent weeks it has been extremely hard to watch and fathom the magnitude of the damage and destruction caused by flooding across many regions of NSW. In many instances, the floods have been the worst on record.
Whilst many clubs in these areas are once again refuges for the local community in times of need, sadly, in many cases, golf clubs have suffered directly with extensive damage and loss. Based on the sheer volume of water, the true extent of damage will take some time to ascertain.
To assist golf clubs in NSW with the recovery and rebuilding process, the Golf NSW Flood Relief Fund will provide resources directly to affected clubs. The NSW Golf Foundation has contributed $100,000 to the fund to launch this initiative.
All donations are fully tax-deductible, and every dollar raised from the Golf NSW Flood Relief Fund will directly assist golf clubs to repair or rebuild damaged infrastructure property and replace destroyed equipment.
“As an outdoor sport, golf is unfortunately always at the whim of mother nature, and in this instance, raging floodwaters have wreaked havoc and destruction across many regions of eastern NSW. Foremost, our thoughts and best wishes of safety go out to all the people and communities directly impacted by this disaster.
In recent times the industry has endured drought, bushfires, and now floods for the third time in three years, which shows the resilience of the golf industry. As such, now once again the golfing community seeks your support in assisting the many flood-ravaged golf clubs in getting back on their feet”, said Stuart Fraser, CEO – Golf NSW.
Personal and business donations are also welcomed and fully tax-deductible.
To make a donation to support clubs in need, please follow the link below:
Click here to being taken to NSW Golf Foundation Flood Support donation page
Clubhouse Cleanup following recent Rain Event
While much focus has been on the golf course over the last two weeks of torrential rain, it is worth noting the damage that this rain has caused to the Clubhouse.
Every section of the Clubhouse has experienced a degree of leakage through the roof, and the residual damp in the roof, wall spaces, and under the carpet, are quite evident visually and by a lingering odour that will take some time to eliminate.
A large number of foam ceiling tiles (see photos) have collapsed in and will need replacing, as will those that have held water but remained in place and are the main source of the odour.
Much of the restoration work on this is undertaken by the Clubs volunteers who will also be a valuable asset in ensuring the golf course makes a full recovery from this extreme weather event.
A such, we ask members to please be patience as we work through all the aspects of restoration from the rain, mush of which continues to unveil itself as we open more crawl spaces.
Husband & Wife Trophy – Sunday 27th March – Advanced Bookings
The Clubs Annual Husband & Wife Trophy is scheduled for Sunday 27th March.
This 4Ball Aggregate event is open to Husband & Wife along with de facto couples.
To encourage participation, the Club would like to offer all eligible couple the opportunity to book for this event prior to the timesheet opening at 4:30pm on Saturday 19th 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.
Australia Declared the Second Most Successful Country in Golf
Article from Golf Australia newsletter dated 10th March.
A new research study by money.co.uk has found Australia to be the second most successful country for golf behind the United States.
The study analysed men’s and women’s major tournaments, and World Cups, and looked at the amount of times an individual or team from each country has won one of those prestigious events to reveal the most successful countries for golf.
The United States were way out in front with a total score of 504 and a normalised score out of ten of 9.14, however Australia’s ability to produce major champions across generations ensured our nation’s proud golfing history was rewarded with a total score of 34, a normalised score out of ten of 6.67.
Australia’s five multiple major winners – Karrie Webb (seven times), Peter Thomson (five times), Jan Stephenson (three times), Greg Norman and David Graham (both two times) – played a significant role in the ranking as did five men’s World Cup wins.
The team event has been off the golfing calendar for four years now, but Australia’s success at the tournament is not to be forgotten with Kel Nagle and Peter Thomson (1954 & 1959), Bruce Devlin and David Graham (1970), Peter Fowler and Wayne Grady (1989), and Jason Day and Adam Scott (2013) all lifting up the World Cup.
Major victories to Minjee Lee, Hannah Green, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Steve Elkington, Ian Baker-Finch, Wayne Grady, Kel Nagle and Jim Ferrier also ensured that Australia finished above England (third), Sweden (fourth) and South Korea (fifth).
PGA of Australia Chief Executive Gavin Kirkman said the research confirmed the notion of Australia’s prominence in the international game.
“We bat out of our weight division,” said Kirkman. “In fact, from a playing point of view, we’re a powerhouse in the game internationally. At a professional level, we provide a significant percentage of the fields at most major golf events around the world and that’s a contribution that we’re proud of.
“So many great players have established themselves on the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia and the WPGA Tour of Australasia. We continue to build strong alliances and relationships with all Tours within the golf eco-system that gives our players both men and women the best pathway and opportunities to make it onto global tours, win majors and play for their country.
“Australian Golf continues to produce talented young players who become superstars on global tours, inspiring young girls and boys to play our sport.” Golf Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland said Australian Golf should be proud of what it has done and ambitious about what it could do in the future. “It’s an eye-opener in some ways to see Australia ranked at No. 2 in such a truly international game,” said Sutherland.
“But in other ways it is just a reminder of Australia’s status in the game. We’re committed to producing more amazing male and female players through our high-performance system which exists to nurture the best Australian golfers to ultimately win majors and olympic medals. It’s been incredible to see the rise of the likes of Minjee Lee who has just moved to fourth in the World Golf Rankings as one of four Australian women in the Top 50, along with the likes of Cam Smith and Lucas Herbert who make up eight of the Top 100 male golfers in the world, all graduates of our high performance program.
“Golf’s in a great place right now and we have an important and exciting year ahead as we align even closer with the PGA of Australia to create a summer of golf that provides opportunities for our young players, and connects Australians with our Aussie heroes who’ve been dominating overseas.”
England (44) and South Korea (35) recorded greater totals than Australia, however as some competitions are played more regularly than others, each country was given a normalised score out of ten for each sporting event, referencing the number of times played.
This allowed an average score to be determined, revealing which countries have had the most sporting successes.
You can view the research in full here: https://www.money.co.uk/mortgages/sporting-capitals
Pennant Update
Men’s Major Pennant
Happy Friday Ladies & Gentlemen!
Firstly, I hope everyone is safe & well after the craziness of the last few weeks. Wow what wild weather!
As we know golf was cancelled, as with nearly every other course in Sydney, last weekend.
We finished the season top of our section, which is awesome and a huge credit to the team…. Players, Caddies, supporters & the club itself!
We are now in the semi-finals & play Lakeside golf club. It was supposed to be at a neutral course, Cronulla, this Sunday but has been postponed by Golf NSW till further notice due to Cronulla GC, being unplayable due to the weather & their course condition.
As soon as I have confirmation of a new date, I will post it here.
Thanking you all!
Ken
Ladies Grade
Our ladies grade team were one of the few matches that could be played across any pennant competition this week given they were being hosted by The Lakes Golf Club (a course built on sand) being open to play for much of the last week.
After the first two rounds were cancelled, today’s match (Friday 11th March) was the first hit out for our ladies, and they certainly didn’t disappoint, defeating The Australian Golf Club 4 matches to 1.
- Linda Gyzen won 3/1
- Debbie Jepson won 3/2
- Isabella Myeong won 7/6
- Paula Skelton lost 3/2
- Joon Kang won 2/1
Well done ladies on a great win.
The Ladies Grade side is scheduled to play Cronulla at The Australian GC next Friday 18th March at 8:10am.
Mixed Pennant
Update from the Mixed Pennant Hon. Secretary
The continued drenching of the Sydney Metropolitan area continues to play havoc with the scheduling of the 2022 Mixed Pennant season.
Only 5 of 18 scheduled Round 5 matches were completed and only 1 contested in Round 6.
Whilst the heavy downpours have affected every course and team in the competition, that is relatively minor compared to the flooding experienced in various parts of the state.
The decision has been taken to postpone the remainder of the season until further notice.
Ladies Silver II Salver
The ladies Siver II Pennant was cancelled agin this week with Concord GC closed today, Friday 11th March.
Our ladies are scheduled to play Concord GC at Killara GC on Friday 18th March at 8am.
Ladies Bronze II
The opening match of the ladies Bronze II was cancelled today, Friday 11th March, with Avondale GC closed for play.
Our ladies are scheduled to play Avondale GC at Ryde-Parramatta GC on Friday 18th March at 9am.
Members Only Facebook Group
OGC Members are encouraged to join the Club’s Members Only Facebook Group which is approaching 300 members.
This social media platform allows members to engage with each other and with the Club, in addition to the traditional communication channels already in place.
To join the Members Only Facebook Group please click on the link below and the 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/
Upcoming Trophy Events
Men’s
- Saturday 19th March: OGC Memorial Bowl
- Saturday 26th March: NB Carlton Qualifying (top 16 pairs)
- Saturday 2nd April: NB Charlton Matchplay Rd 1
Ladies
- Thursday 17th March: OLGA Cup Round 1, Club Medal Round 2, GNSW Medal Round 2, Veterans Medal Round 2
- Thursday 24th March: Presidents Cup Matchplay Rd 3
- Thursday 31st March: Club Medal Round 3, GNSW Medal Round 3, Veterans Medal Round 3, Veterans Challenge Brooch
Mixed
- Sunday 27th March: Husband & Wife Trophy
Recent Trophy Winners
The wet weather has delayed the completion of any club trophy events for the last week.
