Oatlands Enews – Friday 14th June 2024
Content
This week’s Enews covers the following topics:
- From the Course
- Ladies Club Championships – Conditions of Play
- Junior Development Fundraiser – A Huge Success!
- Junior Development Programme – Australian Sports Foundation
- Anne Stanfield appointed AM on Kings Birthday Honours List
- OGC make JNJG History with Dual Hole in Ones
- Captain’s Corner – Local Rules on MiScore App
- Clinic with David Ecob – The Perfect 7-iron
- Ball Prize Credit – Expires 30th June 2024
- Re-scheduled Southpaw Cup – Saturday 6th July 2024
- Pennant Update
- Recent Trophy Event Winners
- Upcoming Golf / Trophy Events
- Upcoming Member Events: June and July
- Members Only Facebook Group
From the Course
Rainfall for the Week: 0.0mm, Rainfall for 2024: 796.0mm, Dam: 100%, Green Speed: 10.0 feet
The course team has been dealing with a very wet course this past week, which isn’t enjoyable for the staff members or our playing members. We have protected the surfaces as much as possible by having to restrict carts and installing all our ropes and posts to protect certain areas from foot traffic. Surfaces are taking longer to dry out at this time of year as the daytime temperatures are mild, so we need some wind to speed up the drying process. The winds do create a lot of leaf debris, but I think we can live with this if it means we have a dry course in the end.
New couch turf has been laid around the perimeter of the putting green to complete the irrigation upgrade work on this green and the chipping green. We now have automatic control of the sprinklers on these greens like we do on all other sprinklers around the course, which is peace of mind in a hot summer season when irrigation is vital for turf survival. New couch turf was also laid on the area in front of the 11th ladies tee, and to the washed out area at the end of the path leading up to the 8th and 9th greens. The new turf recently laid around the path near the 9th pond will remain roped off for another fortnight, so we please ask that members and their guests stay off this new turf and use the path on the lefthand side of the 9th pond to access the 9th green (carts and foot traffic).
The turf that was removed from the putting green has been transferred across to the nursery green to restore the full coverage to this green, with staff spending more time on the nursery green this week levelling up this new area to ensure a quicker establishment of this turf.
Bunkers that were out of play over the weekend have all been repaired and were back in play on Tuesday. Pigment and fertiliser applications to fairways were started this week, with these applications to continue next week and will also include tees pads, collars, and aprons.
Recent herbicide applications on collars and aprons to control kikuyu in our couch turf has worked well with the kikuyu turning yellow and dying. This work was continued on the 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th holes last Friday while the course was closed. With no players using the course, the chance of this herbicide being walked onto the putting surfaces, was eliminated.
Volunteers had the week off due to the King’s Birthday public holiday.
Greens will be mown on Saturday and Sunday morning.
Happy Golfing!
The Course Team.
Ladies Club Championships – Conditions of Play
We wish to advise members that the recent review of changes and updates to the Conditions of Play for the Ladies Club Championship have been completed and approved by the Ladies Committee and Match Committee.
The Conditions of Play are in line with Golf Australia’s strategic direction to promote the participation of women and girls in golf, by providing opportunities for those eligible members that are unavailable midweek due to work, school, or other commitments, to participate in our premier trophy event.
The annual Ladies Club Championship will continue to alternate each year between 54-hole strokeplay and 36-hole qualifying followed by matchplay.
The guidelines from Golf Australia now allow for participants to play concurrently on different days, either a nominated weekday or weekend day (Thursday or Sunday for OGC), and for matchplay, rounds to be played on either a weekday or weekend.
These changes reflect our commitment to inclusivity and accessibility, and we believe they will enhance the overall experience for our female members. Creating Conditions of Play while trying to meet the unique preferences of the majority of individual members is complex, and we believe the updated Conditions strike the best possible balance under the Golf Australia guidelines, however they will be reviewed each year and updated as required to continue to improve that balance wherever possible.
The full Conditions of Play can be accessed in the Club Documents section of our website.
Junior Development Fundraiser – A Huge Success!
The annual Junior Development Fundraiser took place on the Kings Birthday public holiday and saw a near full field of 122 members and guests take part in the 12pm shotgun start 4-person ambrose. What a great day it was!
With the event being disrupted in recent years by weather and Covid restrictions, this years event was a wonderful celebration of the ongoing success of our Junior Development Programme which now sees 50 kids with GA handicaps representing the Club.
The driving force behind the programme, PGA Professionals Jeremy Ward and Max Dakic were on hand at presentation to discuss the recent success of the programme, with OGC winning the 2023 Metro and State Encourage Shield competitions, and to provide some insight into how much goes into the programme and what’s ahead for 2024.
Preliminary figures are that the event raised approximately $5,000 from entry fee contribution, raffle tickets and donations.
This money will go toward the ongoing development of our juniors through daily clinics during school terms along with tournament activities through the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation and Golf NSW. Members who were unable to participate and would like to contribute to the Junior Development Programme (JDP) can make tax deductible donation via the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) by clicking here. More detail on the ASF and JDP tax deductible donations is available in the article below.
The winners of the days 4-person ambrose event (pictured with Max Dakic and Jeremy Ward) were: John Ryan, Jonathan Bell, Brendan Hough and Richard Garlach with a nett score of 54.875.
Junior Development Programme – Australian Sports Foundation
The rapid growth of our Junior Development and High Performance Programmes in recent years under the guidance of Jeremy Ward will be extremely beneficial for the strength of the Cub’s membership long into the future, however, it also has increasing costs to deliver in keeping up with the growing demand.
This is why the Club has registered the Junior Development and High Performance Programmes with the Australian Sports Foundation which allows for fundraising to occur, with all donations being tax deductible.
Donations toward the programmes will be used for the activities below: (this is not an extensive list)
- Increased JDP clinics (we currently offer 9 clinics a week during school terms)
- Specialised school holiday coaching programmes
- Private coaching for High Performance Squad members
- Engagement with third party sports professionals, such as; golf specific exercise specialists, physiotherapists, nutritionists, etc
- Tournament entry and travel costs for JDP and HPS members and coaches
The continued growth of our Junior Development and High Performance Programmes also allows us to resist our elite talent being poached by other Golf Clubs, (an unfortunate and all too regular scenario in the golf industry), and to retain our exceptional PGA professionals who implement the programmes.
As such, the Club is calling for donations to support the growth of our programmes through the Australian Sports Foundation with tax deductible donations possible via the website below:
CLICK HERE to donate to the Oatlands Juniors
For more information, please speak to Golf Operations Manager and Head Professional, Jeremy Ward, or General Manager and PGA Professional, Sam Howe.
In the video below (filmed in early 2022), PGA Professional Jeremy Ward outlines the Development Programmes and Australian Sport Foundation funding.
Anne Stanfield appointed AM on Kings Birthday Honours List
OGC Member Anne Stanfield was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) on the Kings Birthday Honours List on Monday 10th June for significant service to community social welfare organisations.
Congratulations Anne on the recognition of the tremendous contribution you make to society.
The full Kings Birthday Order of Australia Honour’s List for 2024 is available by clicking here.
OGC make JNJG History with Dual Hole in Ones
OGC 12 year olds Ricky Fang and Donovan O’Connor created Jack Newton Junior Golf history when they both scored Hole in One’s on the same hole at Campbelltown Golf Club on Sunday 9th June. The pair both securing the amazing feat on the difficult par 3 6th hole which measured roughly 160m on the day.
Well done to both Ricky and Donovan.
Captain’s Corner – Local Rules on MiScore App
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Club Captain
Clinic with David Ecob – The Perfect 7-iron
David Ecob will be running a two week clinic serieds over the coming two Friday’s focusing on how to hit the perfect 7-iron.
In the video below David provides and overview of what the clinics will focus on.
The cost is $80pp for the two sessions.
Bookings can be made through the Clinics and Lesson section of the Club website under David Ecob Lessons.
Ball Prize Credit – Expires 30th June 2024
Members are reminded that ball prize credit accumulated up to the 31st March 2024 will need to used by 30th June 2024.
Credit not used by this time will automatically expire.
Credit accumulated after 31st March 2024 will remain available for use until 30th June 2025.
Balances are available on the Account section of the member page of the Club website or by contacting the Pro Shop.
Credit can only be used at the Pro Shop.
Re-scheduled Southpaw Cup – Saturday 6th July 2024
With the golf course closed on Saturday 8th June, the annual Southpaw Cup has been re-scheduled for Saturday 6th July in-conjunction with the Winter Medal.
Pennant Update
Men’s Interclub
The Men’s Interclub side had a week off for the Kings Birthday Long Weekend ahead of their semi-final this Sunday 16th June at Terrey Hills GC against Bonnie Doon GSC.
Semi Final at Terrey Hills: Oatlands (2) vs. Bonnie Doon (3) at 7.32am
Good luck to a side who are looking to progress to the final for the second consecutive year.
Men’s Master Pennant
Our Master Pennant side incredibly recorded their third draw of the season last Sunday, in a tough match against one of the stronger sides in our division, Lakeside.
Another Great win to Charlie Kim with birdies on 7,8,9,10 making a tough course look easy.
David Osborne was 4 down and out after 4 holes and managed a fantastic comeback to win comfortably 3&2.
Mike McKechnie just keeps getting better and better, showing practice does make perfect, winning 3&2.
Blair McDonald kept everyone on their toes with a great win on the last hole.
Mark Robinson played a tough match and even though it wasn’t a win he played great golf and some days the opponents just get the breaks.
This week (Sunday 16th June) we play Bayview at Bayview needing a strong win and a bit of luck from the other teams to remain in contention as we currently sit in second position with Twin Creeks out in front leading by 5 games.
Regards Rod Butcher
Team Captain/Manager
Recent Trophy Event Winners
There were no trophy events decided in the last week with the Southpaw Cup being postponed after the course was closed on Saturday 8th June.
Sunday 9th June saw the qualifying for the Ladies 2Ball Knockout Matchplay with 8 pairs qualifying.
Click here for a copy of the draw.
Ladies Oatlands and Long Markers Cup
The quarter-final of the Oatlands & Long Markers Cups were played on Thursday 13th June.
Click on the links below for a copy of the draws and the quarter-final results.
Upcoming Golf / Trophy Events
Men’s
- Saturday 22nd June – Governor’s Cup
- Tuesday 25th June – Oatlands Senior Cup (Golf NSW Senior Order of Merit)
- Saturday 29th June – Foundation Day
Ladies
- Sunday 16th June – Ladies 2Ball Hcp Matchplay Quarter-finals
- Monday 17th June – Grandmother’s Trophy
- Thursday 20th June – Oatlands Cup and Long Markers Rd2
- Sunday 23rd June – Ladies 2Ball Hcp Matchplay Semi-finals
- Thursday 27th June – Oatlands Cup and Long Markers Finals
- Sunday 30th June – Ladies 2Ball Hcp Matchplay Final
Upcoming Member Events: June and July
The Club has lots of fantastic events coming up for members and guests, and we encourage members to take part in the Club’s diverse event offering over the coming months:
- Saturday 15th June, The Bettington Restaurant
- Friday 21st June, 500 Social Cards
- Wednesday 26th June, The Bettington Restaurant
- Thursday 4th July, Ladies Foundation Day
- Saturday 27th July, The Bettington Restaurant
- Wednesday 31st July, The Bettington Restaurant
Note: Bar Account Credit and Birthday vouchers can be used for all of these events (excludes JDP Fundraiser)
Members Only Facebook Group
If you aren’t already part of our Members Only Facebook Group, join up now and join in the conversation.
This group is where members can share their experience of Oatlands Golf Club and chat to one another about interesting things happening in the world of golf and society as a whole.
Importantly, members are advised that this social media platform will not be used for the Club to communicate critical information, which 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.