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Vice Captain's Report

Since the last newsletter we have seen a glimpse of normality return to Long Reef with groups of 4 playing for the first time together since late June. While many in 2 balls had plenty of time to consider their next shot, the staggering of 2's and 4's throughout the day helped at least 40 more tee times open up compared to the previous weekend. We hope that everyone enjoyed their round(s).

A big thank you to all those involved in the logistics of moving back to 4 balls and we look forward to continually opening more timeslots as we receive more and more vaccination certificates.

On the note of vaccination certificates, please send your vaccination certificate to reception@lrgc.com.au at the earliest opportunity. We cannot promise restrictions to categories being lifted (to enable booking a 4-ball timeslot) unless the golf team receives your certificate before 12pm on the day of the timesheet opening. i.e., for Wednesday's bookings, certificates should be received by the golf team by 12pm on Monday.

Changes to timesheets

Introducing groups of four has increased the field size considerably and timesheets will be adjusted according to the demand each day. The 10 hole competition will only be held on Wednesday and Saturday mornings to accommodate those who miss out on the 18 competition. This will also give the Course staff an opportunity to remain in front of the Members competition and minimise any delays in preparing the Course for the competition.

The current booking rules will remain in place as demand on some days outweighs the availability. Over the next two weeks, the bookings rules will be reviewed.

If you are ineligible to book in a group of four and there aren't any groups of two remaining, please add your name to the waitlist and the golf team will do their best to find you a game. If you are fully vaccinated, please book in to a group of four of where possible and save the groups of two for those who aren't able to book into a group of four.

Green Renovations - What Green Renovations??

If you have not played over the last 4 weeks, you'll hardly be able to notice the green renovations that were undertaken a few weeks ago. Pete and his team have done a stunning job getting the greens to conditions that they are in now after only a few weeks of recovery. As a result, we are all set to enjoy the greens back to their true best in only a few more weeks.

For those interested, the coring was undertaken with 14mm solid tines down to a depth of 160mm! Proof that our greens are healthy and well looked after.

Course Care Hole

Many will have noticed the Black and White signs on various holes these last two weeks. While we have seen mixed results, we'd like to emphasise that together we can help to bring the course up to the best standard possible over the coming 'growing' months. Particular parts of the fairways see more use than others so be sure to have a full sand bucket when you leave the tee and fill in two or three more divots than your own after taking your shot.

When fixing your pitch mark on the green, take a moment while your playing partners are getting ready to putt to fix another. Be sure not to lift and break the roots when fixing your pitch mark, this undoes the recent green renovations and causes uneven growth.

Tees

As the warmer months arrive, the tees are going to see plenty of action and it is important that we give them as much love as we give our greens. Over the coming months, the golf team are going to take some time to audit the tees to look at ways of improving their performance and use. Much like we recently did with our bunkers, the tee audit will shine some (much needed) light on each tee individually and we'll report back to the Members with our plan.

Rubbish on the course

With the windy season upon us, it is more important than ever before to be sure that rubbish generated on the course is disposed of in bins. There is a very good chance of any rubbish blowing away ending up in the ocean and with views of the water from every tee and green, let's not spoil the wonderful location where we play golf.

Cigarette butts are being seen more around the course than normal as I'm sure players are enjoying their time relaxing out on the course. There's no reason to step on any cigarette butts as they too are likely to end up in the ocean; so please, take a moment to dispose of them as you would any other piece of rubbish, in the bin.

Easing of Restrictions

The end to golfing restrictions are on the horizon and while it is great to be out and about playing, we must remember that COVID protocols are still in place. We are looking forward to welcoming back all Members, both playing and social, to the Club in the coming weeks so let's not drop the ball now. We have set a great example for the community by adhering to the rules throughout the last 18 months and we'll continue to do so as life returns to normal.

Memberships during Lockdown.

As many have been restricted from playing during this last lockdown, the question of compensation has been raised a number of times. This will be discussed at this month's Board meeting and we will advise thereafter.

Great Scores & Performances

Brian Ferguson - 45 points
Tanya Heber - 45 points
Russell Smylie - 44 points
Louise Millward - 44 points
Damien Moore - 44 points
Ross Trewartha - 44 points
Chris Breach - 44 points
Phil White - Hole in one at 13th

Thank you again to all Members and staff for their hard work throughout the last 3 months. We have all shown the wonderful spirit that makes Long Reef the Club it is, and it will be wonderful to see everyone back in the Club soon.

Don't forget. When it's breezy, swing it easy!

In Golf,

Cam Gillespie | Vice Captain

From the Women's Committee

Welcome to the first fortnightly newsletter.

Congratulations to Vanessa Murphy (22) who on Friday 10^th September achieved an Eagle on the 16^th hole.

Over the last couple of weeks we have seen some amazing scores, Tanya Heber (13) scored 45 points including 4 birdies and 7 pars, fantastic round Tanya.

Louise Millward (29) 44 points, Ji Cheng (30) 41 points and following players all scored 40 points, Robyn Lyon (29), Carol Savage (41), Penny Ware (43). Moira Rowland (25). Jill Hensman (35)

In the 9 hole competition both Carol Cummins (41) and Faye Sinnott (29) scored 19 points.

On Monday 13^th Mother Nature was not kind to quite a few players who were still out on the course, so it was very hard to find your ball on the 17^th green, well done to everyone who played in that weather (image courtesy of Karen Smith).

Thank you to Ben Russell, Laura McCahon and their team for their hard work in keeping us all informed regarding the changes to the booking system. Please adhere at all times to the Covid-19 protocols that have put in place.

As mentioned in the previous newsletter due to Covid-19 the September events for the Weekend Premiership are postponed. The Premiership dates are being reviewed for the Weekend and Weekday Open, Bronze and C Grade Qualifying, the Match Play rounds and also the Club Championship in all 3 grades. The Medal Winners Cup dates are also being looked at and we will advise all of the revised dates as soon as possible. This information is also on the Members Portal on the club's website.

We will keep you informed as soon as we know any updates regarding the postponed fixtures.

Wendy Thomas | Women's Captain

Ryder Cup | Giveaway Competition!

The Ryder Cup starts on Friday 24^th September, with Europe taking on the USA at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

Each of the first two days includes one four-match session of fourball and one four-match session of foursomes. The final day is reserved for 12 singles matches.

Each match is worth one point, with matches ending in a tie worth ½ point to each side. The first team to reach 14 ½ points wins the Ryder Cup. If the matches end in a 14-14 tie, the team holding the Ryder Cup retains it.

Send in your prediction to office@lrgc.com.au by 5pm on Thursday 23^rd September to be in the running for a $50.00 Oceans Voucher.

Entries must include name, Membership number, either USA or Europe and the final score (28 points in total) Click here for previous scores.

From the Course

GREENS
The greens renovations in late August went well, with only a short window due to the predicted east coast low which came on Monday night / Tuesday. Luckily we had a dry morning with no dew or moisture on the greens which allowed the course staff to get started at 6am. We worked non-stop all day to try and get as much done as possible in the end after a late finish we managed to get all the playing greens and the putting green completed. Wind during the day caused some issues with the top-dressing sand being blown off the greens in some areas. The last few greens that were done late in the day the sand was not able to dry sufficiently for them to be rubbed in properly. The coring machine was set up with 14mm solid tines and we punched holes 160mm deep into the greens. Recovery has been great with the greens back in reasonable condition within 2 weeks.

9 days after renovations the greens were lightly dethatched in 2 directions using the Thatch Away units without catchers, and again the following week. This helps smooth the surface and redistribute the sand which is then followed up with brooming the surface to rub the sand back in. The greens have been also been dusted with sand to help fill any minor imperfections.

The chipping green was renovated separately to the playing greens. This green is not performing as well as expected for a new green. We are having difficulty growing a decent root system and when we try to renovate this green using the same technique as the other greens it causes the surface to lift and tear up. We cored this green using 10mm hollow tines going in 50mm followed up with running the Maredo Heads over the green in various directions. (the Maredo heads have 5mm hollow tines only going 16mm into the surface at very high speed) The green was cleaned up and left to recover without top-dressing with sand. I plan to do this whole process again in about 3 weeks followed by top-dressing.

A number of green surrounds have been reshaped to allow for a shorter surface further out from the greens. These areas will take some time to recover from the change of cutting height.

The back right bunker on the 4th green has been filled in shaped and turfed. To complete the job we require to use turf from the course as there is no Kikuyu turf available from suppliers, who are still recovering from flood damage earlier in the year.

TEES
The tees have had a difficult winter with very high traffic / wear and tear and quite cold conditions. All the tees have been fertilised and once the fertiliser has been washed in we plan on coring the tees with 10mm hollow tines going in 60mm to help relieve compaction and aerate the soil. They will then be lightly top-dressed with sand after coring. I am hoping they will respond favorably but it will take some warm weather and warmer ground temperatures for them to really start growing properly. The couch is a very robust grass and they should recover well once the weather warms up.

FAIRWAYS
All the fairways have been reshaped and cutting heights have been lowered to 12mm. Fairways have not yet started growing properly after winter but with some warm weather and hopefully regular rain they should start to get going soon.

Fairway renovations will go ahead but with 2 teams and limited time this may have to wait until things are back to normal.

BUNKERS
Most bunkers are now replenished with sand and we are now going around giving some bunkers minor sand top ups to keep them consistent. A number of bunkers which are earmarked to be changed or filled in have not been done we also plan on installing drainage in some bunkers.

Drainage repairs on bunkers with existing drainage have been very successful and are working really well. After a number of heavy rain events no water is puddling in these bunkers.

IRRIGATION
Rainfall in the last month has been 60mm Dam levels are at 90%.

Peter Donkers | Course Superintendent

From the Archives

The scorecard and pencil are two very simple pieces of golf equipment. From a plain piece of paper where a scoring notation could be made with scratch like stokes possibly as far back as the mid 1700s by the 2020s the card had become a sophisticated record of the game with detailed information about the club and competition. Now the mobile phone has arrived!

The golf card is a vital and the most popular item for the golf mad memorabilia collectors. It may be that no other sport has so many items from the game itself or illustrations of it. The simple card can be historically interesting because of the art work or the on the course details of a game played. Long Reef has it most recent course records framed. It must be the cheapest of all things to collect along with tees, trophy cards, markers, balls, clothing and books all a long way from the cost of trophies, framed cartoons, golf clubs or famous golfing sketches and paintings that are also advertised, shared and sold both privately and at auctions.

Over the years cards were developed to provide a great deal of information. The committee at a club was obliged by the rules to provide a card for a competition with a space for names of players, the date, the handicap and a place for a marker's signature as well as the space for countersigning. The player, with confirmation by the marker, would be responsible for the handicap and for the correct gross score on each hole. In more recent times players at Long Reef had use of a card with a guide to the length and layout often with a course diagram There would be a space to show the par of the course, describe the game to be played, the local rules printed on the back, there would be the Match index, course ratings for each hole for men and women, space for 4 ball scoring or adding the number of putts. We might even see a logo, photo of the course or an advertisement. The card could be easily be cross checked against the marker's card and if worthy framed and displayed.

Score cards reflect the rules of golf. The history of the rules of golf is a subject on its own of course, but for our purposes in summary it is interesting to note, that during the 18th and 19th centuries many sets of Rules were developed by individual clubs in Scotland. Almost all of them related to the original 13 rules created for playing the game of Match Play. In 1891 St. Andrews produced a set of golf Rules which was acceptable to the golfing fraternity. Changes were made over time between 1891 and the opening of Long Reef in 1921, but for this story the major changes in 1952 are particularly relevant.

Sandra Mellowes, Les Browne & George Wing | Archives Committee

REEF BREEZES