Oatlands Enews – Friday 5th July 2024
Content
This week’s Enews covers the following topics:
- From the Course
- Max Dakic School Holiday Clinics
- Captain’s Corner – Practice on Course
- Max Dakic and Sam Reece NSW Championship Fundraising Raffle
- Christmas in July at OGC, Saturday 27th July
- DeBortoli Wine Appreciation Dinner, Saturday 17th August
- Pennant Update
- Recent Trophy Event Winners
- Upcoming Golf / Trophy Events
- Upcoming Member Events: July & August
- Members Only Facebook Group
From the Course
Rainfall for the Week: 31.5mm, Rainfall for 2024: 883.5mm, Dam: 100%, Green Speed: 9.5 feet
The wet winter weather continues which is not only frustrating for members but also for staff, from the course staff through to the proshop and clubhouse staff. For the course staff, the wet course conditions limit what work we can perform, and also limits patronage for the proshop and clubhouse staff which means their roles can’t service the membership as they usually would.
The course team has performed drainage works on the 2nd and 3rd flyover areas this week which will see these areas cope better in rainfall periods like we are presently experiencing. For those on the Members Facebook Group, my video updates have shown the progress of the work and what is involved with this drainage work. The digging of the trench lines is being completed with our excavator, which is slightly slower than using the trencher attachment on the Ventrac machine, but the result is a much cleaner finish around the trench lines and doesn’t require staff members/volunteers having to shovel up dirt and clay and put into the course vehicles.
I also mentioned in one of the video updates this week that the large tree between the 2nd/16th fairways that died because of a lightning strike several years ago, would also be a factor in why the area around this delimbed tree is so much wetter during this rain period. While this tree was alive it would’ve used a large amount of moisture from the surrounding grounds to maintain itself, so now that this ground moisture isn’t being removed it is simply accumulating with nowhere to go. This initial drainage work will start to improve the areas where it is installed as it will enable the excessive water to get away.
The deciduous trees around the course are really starting to lose their leaves now as soil temperatures start to reduce with the colder overnight temperatures. It is too wet for the course staff to use the tractor vacuum on the course, so course staff and volunteers used backpack blowers and hand rakes to tidy up the leaf debris throughout the course for presentation, to make it easier to locate golf balls.
Fungicide applications have been completed across all fairways this week to prevent the usual winter patch disease developing on these surfaces. As I mentioned last week, this application requires the product to be lightly irrigated to place the fungicide where the disease lives, so we have used the rainfall to our advantage with this application.
Volunteers were on course Monday morning assisting with the drainage work on the 2nd flyover, helping with the tidying of leaf debris from the deciduous trees around the course, and performing further clubhouse maintenance tasks. Thank you to all those that attended on Monday, your help is always very much appreciated!
Greens will be rolled on Saturday morning and cut on Sunday morning.
Happy Golfing!
The Course Team.
Max Dakic School Holiday Clinics
In the upcoming school holidays, PGA Professional Max Dakic will be running four (4) Junior Clinics:
- Friday July 12th , 9am – 11am
- Friday July 12th, 12pm – 2pm
- Friday July 19th, 9am – 11am
- Friday July 19th, 12pm – 2pm
The clinics will cover all aspects of golf including Full Swing, Chipping, Putting & More!
Food and Beverages will be provided to the juniors following the clinic.
Cost – $90 per child
Bookings can be made on the Club website or by calling the Proshop on 9630 4444.
This is NOT only limited to Junior Members so if you have any friends interested in learning golf, please pass this onto them.
Good Golfing!
Max Dakic
PGA Professional
Oatlands Golf Club
Captain’s Corner – Practice on Course
The adjacent
picture was taken last Saturday morning before the commencement of the AM field. It is clear that the sand in the divots is fresh, and therefore, the player who created these divots was practicing on the course before commencement of play and is in breach of the Rules of Golf.
Rule 5.2 states that “practicing on the course” means playing a ball, or testing the surface of the putting green of any hole by rolling or rubbing the surface. The penalty for practicing on the course is a General Penalty for the first offence, and Disqualification for second or more offences. From the picture, it is clear that a number of practice shots have been made and therefore the member on the day should have been disqualified.
The players marker should also accept some responsibility for ensuring adherence to the Rules of Golf.
In addition to the above, concern has also been raised regarding a group who did not commence from their allocated hole, in the PM event last Saturday. The group started their game prior to the siren being sounded, and completed one hole before reaching their allocated hole. Was this “practicing on the course” or a code of conduct issue by not following directions of staff or respect for fellow members still on the course?
Can I please encourage all members to respect the Rules of Golf and make the day an enjoyable one for everyone.
Regards,
Colin McRae
Club Captain
Max Dakic and Sam Reece NSW Championship Fundraising Raffle
Max Dakic & Sam Reece will be competing in the 2024 NSW/ACT PGA Associate Championships in August. To assist them to contest this prestigious event, they will be selling raffle tickets in the Proshop with the funds raised going towards helping them pay for expenses such as Entry Fees, Accommodation, and Travel.
- 1st Prize – 1 Set of Titleist T200 Irons
- 2nd Prize – 18 Holes of Golf for 4 players with 2 Carts at a Private Members Country Club on Sydney’s Northern Beaches
- 3rd Prize – 18 Holes of Golf for 4 players with 2 Carts at Concord Golf Club (Midweek)
- 4th Prize – 1 Scotty Cameron Putter
- 5th Prize – 1 Pair of Footjoy MyJoys
Tickets $10 Dollars.
Thanks for all of your support!
Sincerely,
Max Dakic and Sam Reece.
Christmas in July at OGC, Saturday 27th July
Members and guests are invited to join the Club for our annual Christmas in July dinner prepared by Chef, Andrew Yang.
Come along and join the festivities of a northern hemi-sphere style Christmas meal in typical Australian style.
Includes: Three course banquet for $65pp.
DeBortoli Wine Appreciation Dinner, Saturday 17th August
Members and guests are invited to join us for the DeBortoli Wine Appreciation Dinner on Saturday 17th August.
Bookings can be made through the website by or by contacting reception.
Pennant Update
Men’s Master Pennant
Relegation Playoff.
Last Sunday we played Marrickville GC at the Coast GC in cyclonic rain conditions which were challenging to say the least..
A win was required to keep us in Division 2 and avoid relegation for 2025..
At the halfway mark we were in big trouble, with only two matches up and the rain and wind gaining in force and making the course almost impossible to play.
Conditions were so difficult that for parts of the day just finding your golf ball resulted in winning the hole.
Charlie Kim was again always in control of his match, winning 4/3.
Blair McDonald, who on one hole was the only player with the length to make the fairway, won 2/1.
Matt Seamons played the last hole in the dark and managed a crucial half.
Gilbert Im played his normal game and didn’t seem bothered by the wind to record a comfortable 6&4 win.
Peter Zann was the last player on the course, playing the last hole in complete darkness, crazy winds, and needing a win for the team. Under that extreme pressure he didn’t disappoint, with a great 2 up victory and a big hooray from his team to get Oatlands over the line.
Big thanks to Tony Groth who caddied for Charlie Kim and also to the Interclub Challenge players who stepped in to boost our team in this crucial match.
Regards Rod Butcher
Team Captain/Manager
Ladies Bronze I Pennant
Our Ladies Bronze I pennant side played their first game on Friday 28th June at Muirfield GC vs Ryde-Parramatta GC and came away with a narrow win 3 matches to 2.
Gab Donnelly won 2/1
Pauline Fallance won 4/3
Kate Crawford and Jill Vale squared
Rhonda Tresnan lost 2/1
The next match was scheduled for today, Friday 5th July, at Carnarvon GC vs Killara GC, however like many courses in Sydney, Carnavon was closed due to wet weather and the match was abandoned.
Next week, Friday 12th July, our ladies travel to Killara GC to play Carnarvon GC.
Regards,
Jill Vale
Ladies Captain
Recent Trophy Event Winners
Ladies 2Ball Knockout Matchplay
The semi-final of the Ladies 2Ball Knockout Matchplay was played on Sunday 30th June. With the draw pushed back due to a weather postponement the previous week, the final has been re-scheduled for Sunday 7th September, to allow the finalists to play in other upcoming trophy events.
Upcoming Golf / Trophy Events
Men’s
- Saturday 29th June – Foundation Day
- Saturday 6th July – Winter Medal and Southpaw Cup
- Sunday 7th July – Father & Son Trophy
- Saturday 13th July – Governor’s Cup
- Saturday 27th July – Legacy Cup
Ladies
- Thursday 4th July – Foundation Day
- Monday 8th July – Challenge Cup & Anniversary Salver (GolfNSW Jean Derrin event)
- Monday 15th July – Interclub vs Muirfield at OGC
- Thursday 18th July – Club Medal
- Thursday 25th July – Captain’s vs Presidents
- Monday 29th July – Veteran’s Teams Day
Mixed
- Sunday 7th July – Parent & Child Trophy
- Sunday 14th July – WS Targett Knockout Qualifying
- Sunday 21st July – WS Targett Knockout Quarter-finals
- Sunday 28th July – WS Targett Knockout Semi-finals
Upcoming Member Events: July and August
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 27th July, Christmas in July
- Wednesday 31st July, The Bettington Restaurant
- Friday 16th August, 500 Social Cards Evening
- Saturday 17th August, Debortoli Wine Appreciation Dinner
- Wednesday 28th August, The Bettington Restaurant
Note: Bar Account Credit and Birthday vouchers can be used for all of these events!
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.