Mens Captain’s Report
| Welcome to the August newsletter . The recent weather has caused some dampness on the course and members are advised to take care while practising and playing. Over the last few weeks various work has been completed around the course including the reshaping of the back of the 9th green. The back section will be out of play and members are requested to read the signs regarding the conditions of play. Two large trees have been removed from the 3/4th fairway and 7th tee. Long standing members would remember the large branch that used to hang across the 4th fairway. The hole is rather open now after the removal of the tree. The removal of the tree on the 7th tee will allow for works to remodel and reshape the pathway and do some work on the bare patch on the 6th fairway. Work has also been completed by John Hollebon on the edging of the second tee and I would like to thank John and F Troop for their work. A new drainage system has been installed in the bunker to the left of the 9th green. After the recent heavy rains the new work has proven effective. Members will have noticed the new fountain installed on the 10th hole. This fountain has been kindly donated by the estate of Les Arndell. The major course renovations are due to be held on the 26th and 27th October. The Ladies Foursomes has been played and won. Congratulations to Di Tomlinson and Sheena Asken. The Men’s Matchplay in handicap and scratch has commenced and nominations for the Mixed Team Series is in the Pro Shop. The Captains /President day scheduled for August has been cancelled due to Covid requirements that we cannot have shotgun starts. The Gosford Open Amateur has been changed from the 19th to the 20th of September The junior pennants is now completed and I would like to thank their Manager Richard Brien and all players for representing their club. The Encourage Shield will commence shortly and we will be fielding a team. The Match Committee has resolved that all current Covid requirements will remain in place until further notice. The match committee has agreed that presentations may commence but all attendees must be seated at all times. Members are reminded that we must be vigilant regarding hand sanitation and Social Distancing. This is the only way to protect and keep safe all our members and visitors. Members are also reminded that there is to be no gambling on the course as we do not allow the exchange of money and payments to individuals in the clubhouse. The match Committee has also adopted the “Course of the Day” which will be implemented for all competitions Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. This will mean that all players will play the course of the day for these days. All other days will be medley competitions. There are some special rules regarding the Ladies competition on Tuesday. All ladies wishing to participate in the ladies competition must have their names in the allotted team times. All other ladies outside of these times will be part of the medley competition. For Sunday competitions there will be separate competitions for Ladies and Male members. Members are advised of the concern that carts are causing additional damage to the course. Please remember to keep carts on the designated paths and behind the blue lines around the greens. Where there is no blue line, carts must stay a minimum of 10 metres away from the greens. Likewise, carts should not be driven near the edges of tees. Please be mindful of this and take care of your course by avoiding wet areas and following these protocols. After enjoying four hour rounds during the initial Covid period with 10 minute tee intervals we are now back to 7 minute intervals on both tees. There is concern that rounds are taking over four and a half hours. All members are reminded to keep up to the time on their scorecards and keep up with the group in front. I have now put in place a ranger for Wednesdays and will put further rangers on the course in the near future. When on the course members are reminded of the following: |
- All Social play is off the yellow markers. Members please do not practice off the plates or the blue, white or red teeing areas
- When playing AND practising please remember to take a sand bucket and fill your divots
- Please repair all divots and pitch marks on the greens
- Please keep up with the group in front
- Please stick to the ready golf principlePlease do not drive carts in areas where they are prohibited.
- Please stay on the designated paths and outside the blue lines
Graham Chee
Mens Captain
Ladies Captain’s Report
| I’m pleased to say that Ladies membership for 2020/21 looks good; our numbers are around 115/120 and most play regularly. Sadly we have lost some of the older members but we welcome a number of new faces, most of whom have come through the Rookies programme. The reinstatement of the two tee start on Tuesdays’ has been welcomed by the Ladies. Thursdays’ will remain as a medley for the foreseeable future. Grandmas & Great Grandma’s day was scheduled for the 14th of July but unfortunately, as has been the case on a number of Tuesdays, the event was cancelled due to the weather. The Foursomes Championships were played in cool but pleasant conditions on the 21st of July. The 27 hole scratch was won by Di Thomlinson & Sheena Asken & the 2nd division played 18 holes and Scratch was won by Lesley Gregory & Sandra Laybutt. Di Beechey & Lorraine won the 27 hole Nett and Fran James & Fiona Wales won 2nd division. Congratulations to all the winners & to everyone who played in the event. We were able to gather in the clubhouse after the Foursomes for presentation which made for a nice change. It was an opportunity to present a number of outstanding trophies for medal rounds, Patrons day & the event of the day Foursomes. The Singles Knockout is under way with a good number of entries in both divisions: 18 in 1st division & 14 in 2nd division. The finals are scheduled for the 13th of August. Please note that Pro Shop Day will be played on the 25th August. It will replace the Gosford Bowl which has been cancelled due to Covid 19. Age day replaces Vets day and will be played on Tuesday 4th of August. Unfortunately our golf programme has become a moveable feast with the unpredictable nature of Covid 19; however let’s continue to enjoy getting out on the golf course. Sheena Asken Ladies Captain |
F-Troop Report
For the month of July 2020 we had many varied conditions to work in including icy weather and rain. However, the Troops soldiered on throughout and completed many projects during the month. We have been averaging 12/13 volunteers every week which has been a great help with our long term projects. Projects worked on this month were the all important rubbish and loose timber pick up around the course; tree maintenance, pathway edges; hedge maintenance including hedges at the front steps; firewood preparation and delivery; removal of weed from the dams; garden weeding and tidying up; cleaning of the bush toilets; tidy up around the clubhouse and BBQ area; tidy up of pathways to the 1st and 10th tees including the wedding garden and practice nets; removal of seeding Camphor Laurel Trees; removal of seeding succulent plants; planting in of donated agapanthus and agave plants. Wood deliveries for the year are completed as we have run out of seasoned timber.We are always looking for more volunteers so if you have some spare time on Monday mornings to help out with our projects we would be happy to see you. The F-Troopers meet at the Green Keepers Shed at 7.00 am and work through until 10.00 am after which we have morning tea supplied. Please contact either: Peter Martin : 0437 325 207 Jan Martin: 0400 430 088 |
Superintendent’s Report
| July brought with it 167 mm of rain. All the rain arrived over 9 days. The course had dried out nicely just before the latest 100 mm of rain. Next week we will start renovating the tees, weather permitting. All 18 tees will be cored with a 12 mm solid tine going in 100 mm deep. The tees then will receive calcium and fertiliser to try and get some early growth and colour. The greens will be done the week after with the major renovation of the greens to be done after the club championships in October/November. The tier on the 9th green has been removed and we have blended the surrounds in as well. This job went better than expected and we are extremely happy with the outcome. Our next large project will be trying to beautify the 6th fairway, 7th tee area, as well as make it safer. Weather, other course commitments, and of course golfers will provide obstacles to this project. This will not be a speedy task, but I think it is a job that is well over due. Dave Nicholls Course Superintendant |
News From the Pro Shop
| Our Trainee Professional, Jake Kable has been playing very well in his trainee matches. He placed 4th in his match here at Gosford, tied for 12th at Twin Creeks, and tied for 5th at Campbelltown. We are very proud of his accomplishments and we wish him all the best in his upcoming matches. We have some very low priced golf gear on sale in the Pro Shop. Both clothing and shoes are on sale, as well as ex-demo golf clubs. Come in and have a chat and we will work out a price with the ex-demo’s. Ladies’ clothing is 40% off unless it is the newly delivered apparel which is all full price. FJ shoes are priced from $89. |
| Work out the riddle on the clothing rack outside the Pro Shop for a special bargain, and grab 3 Men’s polos for $99. We have new stock in Men’s logo’d winter jumpers as well as Ping, FJ and Island Green Winter apparel. You don’t need to freeze with those early morning hit offs! |
| Also, just a reminder that Membership Subscriptions were all due from July 1st 2020. If you have forgotten to pay your subscription, please call us and you can pay over the phone. Alternatively, you can pay via bank transfer or pay in the Pro Shop. Kind regards, Kieran, Tom, Mitch, Jake, Sam & Michelle |
Physio Golf Blog
Why Should I Warm Up Before Golf?
| By Russell Tuckerman, Physio at East Gosford Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Centre. Golf is a sport that has a lot of moving parts, long levers and rotational forces across the spine, all movements that “could” create an injury. I’m sure everyone reading this has possibly tweaked their back or neck with a poorly controlled swing in the past. Also, golf relies on control of these many moving parts to be successful and may mean the difference between wiping the first couple of holes or parring them. This is why you need to WARM UP before you tee off. “Warming up”, means different things to different people, as professional golfers spend hours warming up, where the average club player will mix this up with a few hits in the nets and a few putts on the practice green, and if lucky, a quick stretch on the 1st tee. Does this sound familiar? What I suggest as a physiotherapist who sees injured golfers, is to have a “smart” warm up and incorporate some neuromuscular patterning into your warm up. This will not only get the small joints in your spine moving better, but get your brain and muscles working with better co-ordination and synergy. It is this synergy of movement which creates that beautiful shot you can all do occasionally, and with the correct neuromuscular warm up, you will be more consistent from the first tee. Golf requires good weight transference, good core stability around your lower back and pelvis, good rotation through your thoracic spine (the part of your spine where your ribs come off) and chest, good across body shoulder movement. AND, I haven’t even mentioned wrist and forearms, we will get to these in future blogs. It makes sense that we should address these components in your warm up and that’s what a neuromuscular warm up helps you with. Once you are moving better through your chest and thoracic spine (rotating better), you will have a greater ability to transfer your weight and hit through the ball. This will also allow you to keep your head still as your chest can rotate between your lower back and neck, allowing better synergy in your golf swing. Now I know many golfers are time poor and tee off quickly after arriving at the course so I have put a quick video series together to show you what a quick neuromuscular warm up is all about. Part 1 of our video series gives you an example of a basic golf warm up. East Gosford Physio 3-minute Golf Warm up Part 1 https://youtu.be/QL4ZtOJuSVs *copy and paste into your browser if playback doesn’t work through hyperlink*Our lifestyle away from golf encourages tightness in the muscles in the front of our chest and weakness in the muscles at the back of our chest, leading to a rounded shoulder posture. In part 2 of the short warm up videos, you will see a neuromuscular solution to this problem and help you to rebalance your chest muscle activation pattern and warm you up for golf at the same time. East Gosford Physio 3-minute Golf Warm Up Part 2 https://youtu.be/07iUQGXQm5g *copy and paste into your browser if playback doesn’t work through hyperlink* Good luck and let me know how you go with these routines. Happy Golfing Cheers Russ |
Clubhouse & Bistro News
New Menu!
| Chef will be introducing a new Menu which will operate soon. Look out for some of his new dishes under “Chef’s Special” of the day. The menu will include sauces and condiments made in house, which will also be available for sale from the bar. Our $12 Daily Lunch Specials will operate Tuesdays through to Saturdays from 11 am – 3 pm. Tuesday – Fish & Chips Wednesday – Chicken Schnitzel Thursday – 200g Rump & Chips Friday – Beef Burger & Chips Saturday – Chef’s Special Pizzas are available from the Bar on Sundays & Mondays.The Bistro is open for dinner Thursday & Friday night from 5:30 pm – 8 pm. |
Happy Hour!
| We will be running Happy Hour 3 days a week in the Clubhouse. Thursday – 4 pm -6 pm Friday – 4 pm – 6 pm Saturday – 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm. Please remember to be responsible and to arrange for safe transport. The Clubhouse is open EVERYDAY from 10 am to 8 pm. Please make sure to sign in upon entry to the club as we need to adhere to Covid regulations to stay operational. Sign in and registration is at the entrance of the Bar area. We appreciate your continued support during this time. |
