Oatlands Enews – Friday 3rd February 2023
Content
This week’s Enews covers the following topics:
- Grooves & Greens – Free Outdoor Music Event for Members and Guests
- From the Course
- Ladies Opening Day
- 2023 Golf Programme – Soft Copy for Members
- Bar Tab and Visitor Vouchers – Expire 1st April 2023
- Elite Player Development Programme – Tax Deductible Donations via the Australian Sports Foundation
- Taylormade Fitting Day – Thursday 23rd February (Limited Availability)
- Golf Ball Education Day – Saturday 4th March, 7am – 11am
- Pennant Update
- Recent Trophy Event Winners
- Upcoming Trophy Events
- Join Our Members Only Facebook Group
Grooves & Greens – Free Outdoor Music Event for Members and Guests
-
Live Music adjacent to the 18th green (videos of the band and their sound below)
-
Outdoor BBQ and Bar available (BYO food and non-alcoholic beverage permitted, alcoholic beverages to be purchased from the Club due to license restrictions)
-
Multiple Par 3 shootout competitions on the 18th hole during the afternoon and evening
-
More activities to be announced
From the Course
Rainfall for the Week: 44.5mm, Rainfall for 2023: 219.0mm Dam: 100% Green Speed: 9.5 feet
The course is looking a treat this week with some very favourable weather for growing turf making things just that little bit easier, thank you Mother Nature! The humid weather is uncomfortable, but it certainly makes the grass grow.
It’s been a week of setting priorities with the scheduled maintenance, with the team down 3 staff members each day this week. Senior staff member Ray has had an operation this week and is on the mend, some annual leave and sick leave has also been taken by other staff members, and Penny has been down at Cobram Barooga Golf Club this week assisting with course preparations for the TPS Murray River golf tournament.
John Deere has sponsored a group of women to assist the normal Cobram Barooga crew in preparing the course for this tournament. Penny and our former assistant Martyna, along with 4 other young ladies from across Country, are participating as part of an initiative to promote the ‘Women in Turf’ strategy, which the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association (ASTMA) has developed to encourage a greater female participation in the turf management industry. This tournament is being shown on Kayo and Fox Sports, and Penny tells me that she has been interviewed by Fox Sports, so something to keep an eye out for!
Bunker sand has finally arrived this week and has been added to the RHS bunker on the 14th. More sand is still required to finish this bunker, but again we await for the sand to be delivered. The next bunker we are going to rejuvenate is the front LHS at the 1st. The weeds in this bunker have been removed, and excess material from the base and drainage trenches will be removed before the material linings and drainage materials are installed. The weeds in all the other shelled out bunkers have been sprayed this week, so they should start to die off over the next week.
The course team has also installed more of the Geohex material next to the path behind the 8th green. This is an area where carts park off the path when members are putting out on either the 8th or 9th greens, and because of this it has always been a worn area, with no free relief available if your ball was to finish in this area. Relief is now available, as this area is an extension of the path.
A full cut of the rough has be completed this week with areas in the tree line definitely requiring mowing this week after missing a cut last week. The growth regulator application is keeping our fairways under control, with the two cuts in the week presenting carpet like playing surfaces.
Our volunteers were on course Monday morning, missing the usual bunker run because of the ladies shotgun start. Tree guards were either removed or repaired, with around 20 being removed from trees that are now mature enough. Drainage pits were trimmed and cleaned out, and the 6th creek was weeded and cleared of leaf debris. It was a big effort by our volunteers on Monday in some very humid conditions. Thank you gentlemen for your assistance this week!
Have a great weekend!
The Course Team
Ladies Opening Day
The OGC Ladies Opening Day took place on Monday 30th January with over 80 ladies taking part in the 8am shotgun start.
The opening days signifies the beginning of the ladies trophy and pennant year, along with a number of charity fundraising events in-between.
We thank all the ladies who took part in Monday’s Opening Day and wish them all the best of luck for the year ahead!
2023 Golfing Programme – Soft Copy for Members
Due to Covid and wet weather changes to the annual programme in recent years, along with an increased focus on sustainability, the Club is no longer printing a hard copy of the Annual Golfing Programme.
As such, a soft copy is available via the link below and updated on the Club website under “CLUB DOCUMENTS”.
Click here for a copy of the 2023 Golfing Programme as of 30th January.
Members should check the Fixtures and Bookings listing on the Club website for any changes, as this will be the most accurate programme in the event of any unexpected changes.
Bar Tab and Visitor Vouchers – Expire 1st April 2023
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 and 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.
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.
Elite Player Development Programme – Tax Deductible Donations via the Australian Sports Foundation
Oatlands Golf Club has a Junior Development Programme with over 100 kids aged 5yrs to 17yrs, one of the largest in Sydney and most likely Australia. This programme has evolved in recent years under the guidance of Jeremy Ward to the point where just over 40 of the kids now have handicaps and 9 of those are on single figures. This is on the back of 10 JDP clinics offered per week during school term by our dedicated PGA Professionals. In addition, the Club has 25 members aged 18 years and over on handicaps ranging from +4 to 5.
In order to facilitate the continued development of these elite players, Oatlands Golf Club is aiming to expand the Junior Development Programme with the addition of an Elite Player Development Programme. This programme will target the top 20 golfers aged up to 22 years and assist their ongoing development via specialised coaching and training programmes. These will include: one on one coaching sessions, practice plan development, tournament preparation, tournament entry fee assistance, physical and nutritional guidance for peak performance.
Developing and successfully implementing programmes of this nature come at a cost. As an example, the Club’s Junior Development Programme costs approximately $40k per annum.
As such, the Club has recently applied for and had approved, the new Elite Player Development Programme as an approved programme through the Australian Sports Foundation. This approval allows for tax deductible donations to be made toward the programme, to help support and develop the Club’s evolving talent. It is forecast that the Elite Player Development Programme will cost additional $30k per annum, and therefore we are calling for donations through the Australian Sports Foundation to help fund this important aspect of the Club’s future.
Donations to the Elite Player Development Programme can be made via the Australian Sports Foundation by clicking here and as mentioned are fully tax deductible.
The video below from OGC Head Coach, Jeremy Ward, provides members with some additional insight into the Club’s growing development programmes.
For more information, please contact Jeremy Ward, or General Manager, Sam Howe.
Taylormade Fitting Day – Thursday 23rd February (Limited Availability)
The OGC Pro Shop will be hosting a Taylormade Fitting Day on Thursday 23rd February. Bookings are essential and space is limited with only 5 fitting slots available from 11am to 3pm.
Bookings available through the Club website or by contacting the Pro Shop.
Golf Ball Education Day – Saturday 4th March, 7am – 11am
Titleist Golf are running a “Golf Ball Education Day” on Saturday 4th March from 7:00am to 11:00am at Oatlands Golf Club.
This will be a fun and interactive experience for our members to learn what ball is suitable for them, and will take place on the putting green.
This day is open to all members with no booking required and lots of freebies to be given away.
Pennant Update
Mens Major Pennant
The Men’s Major Pennant season commenced on Sunday 29th January with OGC playing host to Fox Hills.
The opening match of the season is vitally important and was a contest between the two sides regarded as the strongest in our division.
The fixture was closely fought, with OGC winning 4 matches to 3, with player/caddy team of Grant Lomas & David Gaffaney winning the last two holes of their match to win 1up and ensure OGC opened the season with a win.
Full Match Results were as follows:
- Wil Reece – 1down
- Charlie Kim – Lost 2/1
- Nathan Wareham – Won 7/5
- Luke Mason (c) – Lost 6/5
- Sam Reece – Won 4/3
- Grant Lomas – Won 1up
- Roger Nakaad – Won 6/4
Reserve: Budd Frome – 1up
This week our side travel to Fox Hills for the return match, with the first tee time at 11:30am. This weeks side is as follows:
- Wil Reece
- Roger Nakaad
- Nathan Wareham
- Luke Mason
- Sam Reece
- Grant Lomas
- Brad Hooper
Reserve: Budd Frome
Recent Trophy event Winners
Men’s
- Saturday 28th January – AM Stanton Cup – Winner: Paul Day, 43pts
Upcoming Trophy Events
Men’s
- Saturday 4th February – AC Berk Rd1
- Saturday 11th February – AC Berk Rd2 / Club Medal
- Saturday 18th February – Captain’s Cup
- Saturday 4th March – Autumn Medal
Ladies
- Thursday 9th February – President’s Cup Rd1
- Monday 13th February – OLGA Rd1
- Thursday 16th February – President’s Cup Rd2
- Thursday 23rd February – President’s Cup Rd3
- Monday 27th February – Shirley Davies Trophy
- Thursday 2nd March – President’s Cup Final
Join Our Members Only Facebook Group
The Club’s members only Facebook Group is a fantastic way for members and staff to engage with each other.
We now have almost 350 members who have joined the group and we would love to see that grow to include all of our members.
Importantly, members are advised that this social media platform will not be used for the Club to communicate critical information, that will remain via the Enews, website and direct email however, it is a place that members and the Club can post interesting Club and golf related items to compliment this Enews.
To join the Members Only Facebook Group please click on the link below and then 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/
