EYE OF THE EAGLE – Autumn 2014
Doesn't the course look just great? Grateful thanks to Wayne, Fred and the many volunteers. I also want to thank the merry band of members who change the tee and pin positions on Friday afternoons and those who mow the greens early Saturday mornings, come fair weather or foul. New members might not be aware how the course comes to be presented in such a fine way for the Saturday morning competitions.
The recent heavy rain came just in time to promote vigorous grass growth pre winter. But now poor Fred will be run off his feet trying the keep the rough under control!
A. News from the Management Committee
1. Policy for mist and lightning
We have adopted a policy and set in place procedures to be followed by Andy andthe other members of the match committee (Todd Blocksidge and John Staffsmith) when mist and lightning are about and may pose a danger to players. Please cooperate when asked to leave the course, after all it is for your own,and other members' safety. Leave the ball as is or mark it for later return.
2. Smoking Management Plan
There is now an expanded Smoking Management Plan in place to control the actions of the smokers in our midst. As inspectors from the Department of Health may issue fines to transgressors, and unfortunately also possibly $15,000 for the club, it is in all our interests to comply with the rules. Simply put, smokers may smoke in the two Designated Outdoor Smoking Areas (DOSAs) only and consume drinks they purchased themselves at the bar and carried to the DOSA . No food may be taken to or consumed there. No smoking, drinking, eating,or even sitting would you believe,are allowed in the buffer areas between the white lines and food may be eaten only in the non-DOSA areas remaining.
Please observe these requirements to avoid putting pressure on Toni or Andy and the Management Committee members who must police the requirementsunder legislation and we don't want any unsavoury incidents. The Smoking Management Plan is displayed on the committee notice board in the clubhouse, as is a map of the DOSAs.
3. The club's financial position
We are ahead of Budget for the financial year to date because of the continued fine weather and promotional efforts by Roger Wilson in particular and others who put our little club out there. Income has increased while expenditure to date is almost as budgeted for.
4. Capitation fees (fees paid to "parent" associations)
These were recently paid with funds being disbursed to Golf Australia, Golf QLD (which receives the biggest share) and the Gold Coast DistrictGolf Association. These fees increase substantially each year, more than the CPI, and eat into our annual subscriptions. The renewal sheets to be sent out to members in June for the next financial year will show the breakdown of the amounts for your information.
5. Rules for playing ambrose competitions
There are still some members who do not know that we have adopted a sheet on "how to play ambrose competitions" (see the end of this newsletter). Please note the opportunity to tap in a close putt of a few inches to save time with the agreement of your team members. But don't miss the short putt for that will count as a shot if you do! If you don't trust yourself, it may be better to mark the ball, just in case.
6. The new program of events
This is finalised and can be found on the club's website. Some hard copies are being made.
7. New score cards
These will have the new hole index and will be printed soon. We may use up the stock of the current score cards first to satisfy the sponsors who paid for advertising on the cards.
8. Reindexing of the 18 holes
After analysing thousands of scores over some years, the following table for men results. It is slightly modified from a list of hardest to easiest holes as there needs to be a consideration for count backs so there is an evening out across the front and back nine holes.
Hole / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18Par / 5 / 4 / 4 / 4 / 3 / 3 / 4 / 3 / 5 / 5 / 4 / 4 / 4 / 3 / 3 / 4 / 3 / 5
Index / 10 / 2 / 6 / 4 / 16 / 14 / 18 / 12 / 8 / 9 / 3 / 11 / 1 / 13 / 5 / 17 / 15 / 7
Have fun adjusting to your new stableford counting.
9. New butcher vouchers for prizes
The new vouchers for the Eagle Heights Butchery are now being given to the appropriate winners, and don’t forget that all purchases from the butchery will be discounted 10%, if you show your GOLFLINK card. Please consider purchasing your meat there for if we support local businesses, they are more likely to continue their sponsorships of the club. And please present your vouchers soon after winning them rather than saving them up.
10. Have you met our newest members?
Please seek out the following new members and make them feel welcome - Joshua Smith, Heath Bratley, Ray Reid and Eric McCay. Ask if they have someone to play with or need help in assimilating into the club. To the newbies, I hope you have a fantastic time as part of our great little club.
11. Generous sponsors
The Escarpment accommodation has recently joined the ranks of our generous sponsors and you might have seen the article in the Tamborine Times explaining the mutual benefit that we hope to each receive.
The club recently held an ambrose event with invited sponsors who could play on the day and we will repeat these days at regular intervals throughout the year to get to know our sponsors and to thank them on our turf, so the speak, for their generosity.
12. Hole in one achievers
This is supposed to be a rare event would you believe. But four of our members have achieved the ultimate in the last month. Tony Cole, Fred Bakker, Rod Schulte and lastly Bob Woodberry have joined the ranks of the elite (some might say lucky!) golfers to hit the jackpot. Isn't that just amazing? Well done to the four of you.
13. Sunday Swingers group
The Sunday afternoon social games (first and third Sundays of each month) are enjoyed by all who participate. This format gives a chance to those members and visitors who would like to improve their games a little before being confronted by a more formal competition. If you want to try it out and join us, turn up before 2 pm for 9 holes and a BBQ and drinks afterwards. Guaranteed to have a good time.
14. Juniors’ Development Program
I quote from Graeme Andrews the coordinator of the Juniors' program, "Thank you to Roger Wilson and his great team at Quadrant Creative. Without Roger’s help, I don`t know, we just wouldn`t look quite as professional as we do now."
Thanks to Roger, Graeme Andrews, Graham Nipperess and Glenn McAtamney for their efforts in running the Juniors’ program. Also thanks to Andy for providing coaching.
We have many new Junior members which just goes to show that a good program and advertising works. Here they are, starting on their way to golfing fame, just like the local lads Adam Scott and Jason Day who are doing so well internationally.
B What’s happening around the clubhouse?
1. Solar system installation
A photovoltaic array (solar system) will be installed in early Aprilon the cart shed roof at a cost of about $10,000 to the club. Energex will only allow us to install a 5 kW array which will contribute aboutone third of the cost of electricity for the clubhouse facility. At the moment under Andy's contract, he pays the electricity for the clubhouse area.
2. The new WARM UP NETS
Completed at last! Many thanks go to the hard-working members who put in very many hours to finally bring the whole process together. The cost to completion was about $3,500 which is much cheaper than the $9,000 that David Golf charges for equivalent prefabricated nets. Most of that money came from donations and raffle income so the cost to the club was minimal.
Please note they are for warm up only and not for blasting bucketfuls of balls, particularly with drivers. Use them to stretch the old joints and to bring back your swing memory. But if you use them as a practice driving range equivalent, the net material will wear out very quickly so please limit your time in there. Besides, there will be many others, especially at the start of a competition, who will want to use them at the same time so please be considerate and share.
Many thanks to you all for supporting the raffles held to purchase the necessary gear. They are an asset for the club and many members and juniors are also reaping the benefit.
3. Scott Legge's bring a plate night
Scott is planning to hold a social night in the near future, probably on the night of the second State of Origin game. Some members have volunteered to bring a plate and non-cooks will pay a little more to participate in a fun and exciting night. Money raised will probably go towards a sail for the front deck. Please keep this event in mind and put it in your diary when it is announced.
C What’s happening around the course?
1. The Thursday volunteer pruners club
You will have noticed many changes round the course. John Halpin has been busy refurbishing the very many stakes around the course.
The rest shed at the 6 th teehas been repaintedand the front deck reoiled.
The trees to the left of the ladies 18 th tee have been trimmed, as have the red cedars on the right of the 6 th fairway.
Lastly, to the delight of right-handed slicers, the gum tree on the left of the 8 thefairway has been felled.
2 Greens renovation on Monday April 14
The greens will be scarified on Monday 14 th April and we will be using the new Ryan Mataway dethatcher for the first time. Jon Krause, the local member will be there for the event as the machine was purchased with grant money from the State Government.
3. Changes at the 4 th/13 th tees
The 4th and 13th tees are being reshaped to allow flexibility and repositioning depending on circumstances.
4. New red, white and blue tee markers
And as for the new red, white and blue tee markers, aren't they just schmick? We plan to repaint the tired-looking seats andbenches and refurbish the log borders soon too.
5. Garden beds are now in play
The Management Committee, on the advice of the Match Committee, decided to change the existing rule that allowed a drop from a garden bed. This matter arose from a request to clearly define what are garden beds. The easiest solution is bring all garden beds into play and require players to play the ball as it lies, or alternatively, declare an unplayable lie for a penalty of onestroke. In summary, garden beds are no longer GUR and are now integral parts of the course so no free relief is available.
6. Ant hills
Visitors might not be familiar with funnel ants and the serious obstruction their hills/mounds can cause, particularly at certain times of the year. So for their benefit, the management committee decided to publicise the R&A position on the subject - the loose upper dirt on ant hills constitutes a loose impediment through the green. The loose granules/dirt may be brushed away but the ball must not be moved in the process. An advisory note has been put on the local rules board saying that the hills are loose impediments.
WHAT TO DO IF A PLAYER HAS A SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST
If the person does not respond to shaking, is not breathing normally or is turning bluish, a sudden cardiac arrest in which the heart ventricles stop beating in the normal rhythm may be the cause. Immediately start CPR, call 000 and rush the person to the Automated External Defibrillator (AED)unit which will be housed near the fifth tee in a locked secure box. Keys will be made widely available.
The defibrillator can be used by lay people without training but the better you know the unit, the more rapidly you will be able to use it should the need arise. The first three minutes are critical according to literature on the subject and the chance of survival is increased markedly if the AED is used quickly. It really may be a case of the quick or the dead! If applied quickly, particularly following CPR,the AEDcan give a much better chance of survival from ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. But it can't fix a heart attack involving a blood clot.
To use, pull the handle from the unit exposing the pads,remove the sticky backing and apply the two pads to the bare chest. The AED then analyses whether a shock is necessary or not. The unit gives instructionsand if the application of a shock is needed it tells you to press the yellow lightning button. Do not touch the person while all this is happening. An appropriate electric shock may restore a normal heart rhythm. See the more detailed instruction sheetat the end of the Newsletter.
Latest on handicaps and scoring
The expected problems seem to have passed without too much trouble and we all have settled into the new way of finding our daily handicap for the day from the Golf Australia handicap produced by GOLFLINK then looking up the relevant table.
Members in the main have been diligent in completing stableford point scores to assist the handicapper in entering the scores into Golf Link. Many thanks from Kay, Mike and Maurie.
Scores from 9 hole competitions will be used for handicapping purposes and will be held by Golf Link then merged with the next 9 hole score (from any course) for calculating the GA handicap.
Management Committee's plans for the future
The following items are still in our sights:
1. A sail or some cover for the front deck.
2. There are about 20 remnant stumps around the course that need to be removed for various reasons. We have a quote for the job and as soon as funds allow, we will have them ground and removed. Fred Bakker will be very pleased as there will be fewer objects of which to be aware to dodge as he mows the roughs.
3. We would like to relocate the septic pump out sprinklers from their current location.
4. The gum tree roots impinging onto the first green need to be chopped off by a ditch witch or equivalent.
Lastly, would the person who keeps taking the printed Newsletter copy from the clubhouse PLEASE STOP. The folder cover says "Do not remove", yet someone keeps taking the new (and old copies too would you believe!) editions as they appear. I put the hard copies there for people who don't have computers to read on the spot only.
Regards in golf
Leon Radunz
President and acting Newsletter editor
Under the regulations of the Office of Fair Trading the management committee is required to inform the membership that the club has a public liability insurance cover of $10 million.
See the two attachments on the Rules of Ambrose and how to use the Automated External Defibrillator.
TMGC
Rules for AMBROSE Competitions (as of March 2014)
As there are no “official” rules for playing Ambrose events the Match Committee members have agreed to the following rules for all Ambrose games played on this course which are subject to change at any time. Scores may not count towards any eclectic event.
HANDICAPS
Sum the individual stroke handicaps then take:
For a two-ball event - one quarter
For a three-ball event - one sixth
For a four-ball event - one eighth
NUMBER OF TEE SHOTS PER PLAYER
Mark on the card for each hole the name of the player whoseshot from the tee was selected.
For a team of two players - six tee shots each
For a team of three players - four tee shots
For a team of four players - three tee shots
CARDS
Record each team member’s name and handicap on the card which should be signed by two team members for four person teams and the opposing team captain for two or three person teams. Gross and net scores must be shown and the team with the lowest net score is the winner.
RULES OF PLAY
Any team member may drive first from any tee. Select the ball that provides the best advantage for the team. The player whose ball is selected does not have to play first and players may play in any order. Balls may be cleaned before placing or dropping.
PLAY FROM THE FAIRWAY