OGC NRL Footy Tipping Competition – Be in It to Win It

With the NRL season only a few weeks away, all members are invited to join the OGC NRL Footy Tipping competition.

Registration is available by clicking here or by scanning the QR code on the image below.

1) Go to https://www.iTipFooty.com.au
2) Click the ‘REGISTER’ button if you don’t already have an account with iTipFooty.com.au
3) Once you have successfully registered login and, click the JOIN COMP button.
4) Enter Comp # 113770 and Comp Password Oatlands4Ever!.
5) Click join comp…..DONE!

Dominic Yates gives an overview of the prizes and registration process in the video below.

Drinks Cart / Hot Weather Policy

We have had a number of enquiries in recent weeks as to why the drinks cart has not been on the golf course. In summer 2021-22, we had started to have the drinks cart on course more regularly on our busier competition days, and that remains our objective, however, the industry wide staffing difficulties in hospitality have prevented the Club from providing this service in 2022-23.

OGC has been fortunate to have had very little staff turnover in recent years, however we are still short of our ideal number of hospitality staff and the order of priority requires staff to be allocated to the clubhouse before the drinks cart. The drinks cart is also a skill that needs to be trained so that the driver of the cart does not get in the way of golfers on an active golf course and also so they do not put themselves in harms way. We are in the process of training all bar staff on the correct procedures for the drinks cart and also looking at ways we can utilise Pro Shop staff to assist.

Going forward, we will endeavour to have the drinks cart out as often as possible, but at this stage this will be quite irregular.

As an interim step and to assist members when temperatures rise, such as those forecast in the coming week, we have instituted a Hot Weather Policy whereby eskies of ice will be placed on the 1st tee, 12th tee and in-front of the Pro Shop whenever the temperature is forecast to exceed 30 degrees.

We thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through the complexity of getting the drinks cart on course more regularly in the current difficult labour environment.

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 at 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 such as the Bistro on Bettington Nights.

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.

From the Course

Rainfall for the Week: 24.5mm,  Rainfall for 2023: 250.5mm Dam: 100%   Green Speed: 9.5 feet

Another busy week on the course for the team with plenty of growth across all surfaces keeping us all on our toes. Moisture management in greens is critical at this time of the year and with the continued humid weather creating ideal conditions for disease development. High moisture levels in the soil profile aids the development of root diseases, so staff will be out and about on the course on weekend afternoons ensuring that greens aren’t drying out too much in the warm weather. 

The new turf that was laid last week survived the warm weather last weekend, and the rain fall on Tuesday was ideal. Green plastic reinforcement mesh has been installed on the entry and exits of the 16^th Geohex path, with more to be installed along the exit edge of the path, that is more narrow to stop these edges wearing away from the high use that they will receive. Some leftover couch was installed on the 6^th tee, and the 17^th flyover area just off the end of the pathway for a smoother ride for our cart users.

The broken wire to the 14^th green has finally been located and repaired (Hooray!) on Thursday afternoon. After using a cable locator and a wire fault locator, the break in the wire was 1.4m down in the ground. The new excavator was very handy for this job, and we will hopefully have all the excavations backfilled for the weekend. A sprinkler on the 6^th green was also found not to be working this week, possibly as a result of the recent lightning strike in this area, and this sprinkler has also been repaired.

Growth on tees was starting to slow up this past week, so a fertiliser application to all tees is being made this week. Fairways have been mown twice this week, and roughs have also been mown again this week. Our greens remain in great condition, with the dusting program contributing to their health and very true roll at the moment.

Our volunteers were on course Monday morning, raking bunkers ahead of the competition, trimming the hedge along the fence at the 6^th tee, and painting of the tee markers. The volunteers have organised to get a set of the tee markers sand blasted by Luke Bradshaw, and then they apply a coat of primer, and two coats of paint before they are returned to the course, saving the Club many hundreds of dollars while keeping the tee markers in top condition. Mike Cumming has also offered to help out with the maintenance of the rose garden, to get this area back into great condition as well. I know I’m very fortunate to have such a great group of people willing to volunteer each week on the course, and all members should also be very appreciative of all their efforts.  

We will be cutting greens on Saturday and Sunday. Jack will be setting pins on Saturday, and Garry will be setting them on Sunday.

Have a great weekend!

The Course Team

Out of Bounds Register – QR Code now Installed

In late 2020, the Club introduced Out of Bounds Registers on the 1st, 6th and 12th tees. These have been well utilised by members and we thank you all for taking the time to record balls that have gone Out of Bounds and potentially caused property damage.

All would agree that the paper system was less than ideal as it needed replenishing on an unpredcitable cycle and absorbed water during sustained wet periods. As such, these registers have now been upgraded to a QR Code Register as picture adjacent.

These QR codes will take members to a short series of questions to record the Out of Bounds shot. They have been produced in a durable weather resistent material so will not need regular replacement.

All golfers are reminded of the need to record any errant tee shot into these registers. Even if you are unsure if the ball has gone out of bounds we ask that you record an entry. As a general rule, if a provisional ball needs to be played then an OOB Register entry should be made.

The Club has insurance for all members / golfers against personal and property damage when playing on the course. In order for the Club to make a claim against this insurance, we simply need to be able to identify who hit the errant shot. Importantly, a claim made on this insurance does not effect an individuals insurance cover in any way.

We thank you in advance for your co-operation!

Short Game Clinic with Max Dakic – Tuesday 21st February

OGC Professional, Max Dakic, will be hosting a Short Game Clinic on Tuesday 21st February at 8:30am.

The clinic is limited to 8 people with a cost of $60pp.

As a precursor to the clinic, Max has prepared a short video where he talks us through hitting one of the hardest shots in golf, the high lofted chip.

To book for Max’s Short Game Clinic on Tuesday 21st February, or a private lesson with with Max or any of the OGC Professionals, visit the Club website or contact the Pro Shop.

Course Staff Priority – Right of Way at All Times

Members are reminded that course maintenance staff have right of way at all times.

Course staff do their best to keep out of the way of golfers, however with the high level of participation and ideal growing conditions currently being experienced, the windows for course staff to maintain the course without impacting golfers is very narrow.

As a result, it is especially important that all members give course staff right of way at all times.

Thank you for your understanding and assistance!