From the Course

Rainfall for the Week: 5.0mm,  Rainfall for 2024: 1,011.0mm, Dam: 90%,  Green Speed: 10feet

A busy week on the course for the team this week preparing the course for the Ladies Matchplay semi-finals on Thursday and Sunday and the finals of the Men’s Championships on Saturday, in and around a busy play schedule on the course.

Greens are in great condition at the moment with a very true roll providing players with confidence that if a putt is hit correctly, it will hold its line and disappear into the hole. After the warm day on Thursday and a possible thunderstorm, temperatures decrease into Saturday which will allow the irrigation to be reduced and therefore firmer putting surfaces for the finals. The forecast for Sunday is 37^oC so irrigation will have to be applied Saturday night to ensure the greens get through this increased temperature without any extra moisture stress being placed on them.

Greens were dusted Tuesday afternoon and finished off on Wednesday morning, so members playing on Wednesday may have noticed the greens were a bit sandy compared to normal. While this may create a thought that the greens will be slow, it actually increases the speed as the light covering sand reduces the grass cover on the green, so the ball is able to roll more freely.

The practice hole and 19^th green and tee complexes are yellowing up and dying out as planned. A 2^nd application will be made late next week to ensure all the turf in these areas have been killed off and won’t regerminate when we re-use this material in the new construction works.

Sam has been busy this week preparing the annual beds and planting new summer annuals on Thursday and Friday. He has chosen a mixture this time around including Marigold’s, Snapdragon’s, Impatien’s, Dahlia’s, Petunia’s, and Salvia. With some TLC from Sam over the coming week’s we should have some new blooms in these showpiece garden beds to compliment the course.

The autonomous mowers continue to go about their work quietly and regularly before, during, and after play. As I’ve mentioned, these two units are only on a trial from Husqvarna/Western Mowers but we’re lucky to have them for a few weeks for this trial. They shouldn’t be thought of as replacing course staff, but more as filling the void of the budgeted staff members that we can’t find to employ. Husqvarna also supply versions for residential properties, which could free up members to spend more time on the course!

Our volunteers were on course Monday morning completing a bunker run in front of the competition, lifting sprinkler heads on the 3^rd, 6^th, and 13th fairways, fly traps were installed around the course, testing/tagging electrical equipment down at the maintenance facilities, and divotting of fairways on Thursday morning. Another great contribution from this wonderful group of members that continue to improve the experience for their fellow members each week, thank you gentlemen! 

Greens will be cut and rolled on Saturday, with dew being removed from them on Sunday morning.

Happy Golfing!

The Course Team.

Course Works Update – 19th Hole and Practice Fairway Green

OGC will commence work on upgrading the Practice Fairway Green and 19^th Hole to ensure the commitment to members of a continuous 18-holes with no temporary tees or greens available for play during the Clubhouse Development construction.

This work has been scheduled to commence on 18^th November 2024.

A rendered image of the new 19th hole (which will eventually become the 7th hole) is shown below:

This render is for concept purposes only. Final design may change.

Detailed design of the 19th Hole and Practice Fairway Greens have been provided by James Wilcher (Golf by Design) and is available via the links below (PDF and JPEG format available);

Click here for the 19th hole plans in PDF

Click here for the Practice Fairway Green in PDF

Men’s Club Championships – Semi-finals

The Semi-finals of the 2024 Men’s Club Championships were played on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th October.

The Championship grade produced two upsets and will see former champion Luke Mason take on Nathan Wareham, who is playing his first final, for the 2024 Men’s Championship Trophy. Luke Mason defeated number one qualifier Wil Reece 2/1 to move through to the final while Nathan Wareham beat the in-form Charlie Kim (Charlie had won his previous two match 9/8 and 10/9) on the 38th hole.

The 36-hole Championship final commences at 10am on Saturday 2nd November (second 18-holes starts at approx. 2:30pm).

The Plate Championship semi-finals were a little more straightforward, with Matt Seamons beating Jack Chang 6/4 while Brent Smith defeated Danny Joukhadar 3/2. 

The 18-hole Plate final commences at 2:20pm on Saturday 2nd November.

The Middle-Markers Championship semi-finals saw Ben Mees get off to a great start against Dileen De Silva and hold on to win the match 1up, while in the other semi, Jason Bae battled through a back injury sustained in the warm up but was well beaten by Chuck Parker, 4/3.

The 18-hole Middle Markers final commences at 2:10pm on Saturday 2nd November.

The Long-Markers Semis were won by Rob Bechara and Craig Taylor, who defeated John Sarkis (4/2) and Dale Brimicombe (2/1) respectively.

The 18-hole Long Markers final commences at 2:00pm on Saturday 2nd November.

Members are encouraged to get out to the course on Saturday 2nd November and show there support for these fellow members contesting the finals of the Club’s premier Men’s trophy event.

Click here for a list of Semi-final results and Finals matches.

Ladies Club Championships – Semi-finals

The Semi-finals of the 2024 Ladies Club Championships were played on Thursday 24th October with the Sunday nominated competitors and their opponents to complete the Quarter-finals on Sunday 3rd November.

In the Championship grade, Linda Gyzen defeated Amy Kim 5/4, while Jenny Doherty progressed with a walkover defeat over Debbie Jepson.

The 36-hole Championship final will be played Thursday 7th November.

In the Bronze 1 division, Jean Lu progressed to the final with a walkover defeat of Lexi Grice, while Vanessa Chivers and Rhonda Tresnan will contest the other semi-final on Sunday 3rd November.

The Bronze I final will be played on Thursday 7th or Sunday 10th November, date TBC after completion of the second semi-final.

In Bronze II, Rosemary Jones won a very close match over Danielle Cordina on the 19th hole, while Kate Choi went through to the final with an equally close victory on the 19th hole over Jan Rankin.

The Bronze II final will be played Thursday 7th November.

Members are encouraged to get out to the course on Thursday 7th November and show their support for these fellow members contesting the finals of the Club’s premier Ladies trophy event.

Click here for a list of Semi-final results and Finals matches.

PING Fitting Day – Tuesday 17th December, Limited Availability

The Club will be hosting a PING Fitting Day on Tuesday 17th December 2024, with spaces limited to just 5 fitting sessions between 8am and 12pm.