Juniors

Member update 14 September – getting closer……

Published on 14th September 2021 in Club News, Golf News, Juniors, Members Only, Womens golf

Members

This is really just a holding post until we know more. You may have heard that the ACT Government will allow  social golf as of Saturday morning. We are waiting on some more detail before we open any time sheets. We need to know things like….can golf be played in groups of four or do we need to be playing as two, can Murray have the shop open to manage players onto the course, what restrictions do we need to have in place and what does Ainslie expect of us, as the course owner. We expect further information during the course of the afternoon from both Ainslie and the DGA. Can I ask you to hang in there for a short while until we know a little more and as soon as we do, we will further update you via Facebook and the Website.
 
Richard Oliver/President

Member update 2 September – no golf yet but, some good news.

Published on 2nd September 2021 in Club News, Golf News, Juniors, Members Only

Members 

I spoke with the CEO of Ainslie earlier today and his view is that we will get back to playing golf, as soon as this is possible.  He is very keen to see members back on the course and he is committed to re-opening the course as soon as it is permitted by the ACT Government.  In his view, this will likely not be until around the 17th of September or possibly later.  We are also in contact with the District Golf Association who are talking regularly with ACT Sport and Recreation as the Government’s key point of contact on sport. So far we understand all other ACT golf clubs are giving their members similar advice.

I am in the process of finalising the membership fee arrangements for the 2021/22 golfing year and together with Ainslie we are looking at options that are take account of the current no-play situation and how we can reward members for their continued support.  I am hoping to provide a more detailed update for you on membership fees next week and for membership letters to go to members in the near future.

On the better news side, renovation of the Greens is well underway with the Greens being cored and fertilised over the last two days and with the sand top-dressing to be applied over the coming couple of days.  Rain is predicted on the weekend which will see the cored Greens begin to repair very quickly.  Although we would all like to be playing now, at least when we are able to play we will be playing on a course that has had the yearly renovations work done early and quickly readying itself for the upcoming club championships.

On the club championships, the dates are currently set in the playing schedule but the Match Committee is mindful that we need to give players time to fine-tune their game and their preparations, post time away from the course due to the lockdown.  In this context,  we will keep members informed should there be any serious consideration of moving the dates.  At this stage, the playing schedule in the Members Handbook is your guide.

Stay safe and here’s hoping we can be back on the course in the very near future.

Richard Oliver/President    

 

 

Care of the Cup

Published on 7th July 2021 in Club News, Golf News, Juniors, Members Only, Womens golf

Taking Care of the Cup

 

We have a very busy golf course, and many of us plead with members, guests and the general golfing community to repair divots and fix plug marks.  Its these small acts that help maintain our playing surfaces.  LETS KEEP DOING THIS.

 

Another aspect is caring for the cup – that’s right, the little hole in the green that normally has a flag in it that we all try and get the small, round, dimply thing in, in as few shots as possibly.  LETS TAKE CARE OF THAT.

 

Did you know that when we putt with the flag in, and we sink that putt it is important to remove the ball with your hand.  By ripping the flag out at such a rate that the ball flicks out considerable damage is done to the lip of the hole, and can also cause the actual cup to become lose and move.  LETS ALL STOP DOING THIS.

On the same note, it may look cool to remove the flag and drain that 6 foot putt for triple bogey…but to then put the putter head to the bottom of the cup and flick your golf ball out…that’s right – it damages the cup.  LETS ALL STOP DOING THIS.

 

It’s the little one percenters that we can all do that ensures the playing surface is maintained to a high standard.  Remember, its your course – lets look after it.

 

Mark Hynes

 

Greens Chair

25 years old on Tuesday….drop in to the club and have a piece of cake to celebrate the occasion

Published on 5th July 2021 in Golf News, Juniors, Members Only, Womens golf

Members

Our 25th birthday is formally on Tuesday (6 July).  In celebration of the occasion,  Ainslie will have a cake in the ‘front of house’ area of the club to celebrate.  Please call in, if you have some time and enjoy a slice of cake with a nice cuppa or cold drink .  The cake will arrive at around 12.00 noon and will be sliced so that it is easy for those coming into the club to pick up a piece on their way through to where you are planning to sit.

All that is left to say is ….Happy 25th Birthday and may we all be here to celebrate the club’s future milestones, as the years roll on.

Richard Oliver/President  

Player Withdrawal

Published on 24th May 2021 in Club News, Golf News, Juniors, Members Only, Public, Womens golf

Player Withdrawal form

With the popularity of the MiScore app, an issue has been brought to our attention and the Match Committee has decided on the following:

Player withdrawal:

If a player withdraws from a competition round for any reason, they are to abide by the following procedure.

Most importantly, inform your playing partner that you intend on withdrawing, and the reason why.

If you are using the MiScore App

  • Finalise your round in MiScore by scoring P on the remaining holes and submit your score (your playing partner will continue to score their own card for the remainder of the round). 
  • Complete a “player withdrawal form” (either yourself or your playing partner on your behalf) and place it in the score card box. The form can be obtained from the Pro Shop or outside the Golf Committee room.

If using a paper scorecard:

  • Write the reason for withdrawal on the scorecard, write your markers name on the scorecard and place in the score card box.
  1. If the person closing out the competition receives the withdrawal form/score card before the competition is closed, and the reason for withdrawal is due to events of reasonable significance such as illness, injury, emergency bad weather or other reason considered valid by the committee, your score will be entered as “no score – approved” and the round will not be counted toward your handicap.

If no form/scorecard is received, or your reason for failing to complete the round was not due to an event of reasonable significant your score will be entered as “no score – not approved” (NSNA).

In accordance with current procedures, any player having 5 or more NSNA results within your last 20 golflink rounds will have their handicap set to “provisional” and no prizes can be won during this time.

Celebrations to mark our 25th Anniversary…..

Published on 17th May 2021 in Golf News, Juniors, Members Only, Womens golf

Members

This year we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club. This special milestone will be celebrated over the weekend of 2-4 July.

We have invited several former members and people that played a special part in making the club what it is today.  Some of these members will be travelling from afar and they are looking forward to playing some golf and attending our 25th Anniversary Dinner on Saturday 3 July.

Our 25 Year History Book will be launched at the dinner. This book has been put together by Norm Loughton and a team of volunteers. The book is filled with information and photos across the past 25 years of the Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club and could be a great addition to your coffee table or bookshelf.

The schedule for the weekend will be:

  • Friday 2 July – 9 hole competition
  • Saturday 3 July – July Monthly medal, followed by the 25th Anniversary dinner at 6:30pm
  • Sunday 4 July – Annual Lake-ball event followed by a sausage sizzle in the spike bar

We expect some of our interstate visitors and special guests will play in some or all of these events.

 The dinner will most likely be held in the Function Room at the Lakes, however if bookings exceed the capacity of the function room, we may need to relocate to the Ainslie Football Club.

If you wish to attend to dinner and/or purchase a copy of the History Book, please go to the invitation using this link –25 Year Anniversary Dinner Invitation (final May 21) .  When you have opened the invitation, please use the link within the invitation to book and pay for the dinner and your copy of the 25-year History Book.   If you plan to attend the dinner, please book as soon possible so we can assess numbers and determine if we need to move to the Ainslie venue. Bookings are required by COB Friday 4 June at the latest.

If you would like to organize a table of 10, please make a note in the booking comments who is on your table.  If you do not have a table organized, we will happily allocate you to a table.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Fiona Wicks at wickscanberra.family@gmail.com

The committee looks forward to welcoming you all to our celebratory weekend.

Regards

Richard Oliver/President

 

Members Update 1 April 21 – Where are we up to with the irrigation works?

Published on 1st April 2021 in Club News, Golf News, Juniors, Members Only, Womens golf

Members 

Earlier in the week, if you played on the course, you might have noticed that additional sprinklers have been installed on the blue tees on holes 14, 15, 16 and 18.  This will give the back of each of these tees better water coverage.  Thanks to the care bring taken by the Waterland folks, the trenching necessary for the new sprinkler heads and the associated pipes and wiring has been carefully repaired to the extent that is hard to see where the work has been done.  Great work by Waterland and our thanks to them for looking after our course.

There was no actual installation work was done today.  Today time was spent marking the next set of adjustments to the out on the course.  Members will see that there are flags and spray paint on the 1st fairway, 2nd Green surrounds, 3rd fairway, 6th Green Surrounds, 7th fairway, 13th fairway – before and after the bridge as well as the 18th fairway.  These are the areas on the course where additional sprinklers will be installed with work starting on Tuesday after the Easter holiday period.

On Tuesday work will commence on the 7th fairway.  This will see three new sprinklers on the right hand side of the fairway/rough after the water crossing and before the first set of trees.  The tees for Tuesday will be moved forward to the fairway to ensure the safety of workers.

Wednesday will see the completion of the work on 7, and then the “walk off” area on 6 will see the installation of two new sprinklers.

Below the front bunker on the 2nd will see three sprinklers installed on Thursday – there has been preliminary work in this location during this week.

Friday will see an additional sprinkler be installed on the 3rd hole in the area short and left of the green.

We urge all golfers to be patient during this period and to not hit up on any workers – please wait for a signal from the staff.

Projects like this take lots of coordination and careful management.  Our thanks to Mark Hynes, Shane (our Super) and Norm Loughton for together coordinating the work and ensuring the work is done to the necessary standard.

Have a great Easter and play well on any of the four days that we have competitions running.

Regards 

Richard Oliver/President

 

Tree stump grinding Temporary Local rule

Published on 1st April 2021 in Club News, Golf News, Juniors, Latest News, Members Only, Womens golf

Temporary Local Rule:  Tree stump grinding areas.

Due to the tree stumps on the course being ground down, the Match Committee has implemented the following temporary local rule.

Local Rule:

“Any ground affected by recent stump grinding, including temporary accumulations of stump grindings in the general area is to be treated as GUR from which free relief is allowed under Rule 16.1”

Member’s update – 29 March – Workers on the course over the coming days.

Published on 29th March 2021 in Club News, Golf News, Juniors, Members Only, Womens golf

Members 

Waterland Irrigation have commenced the upgrade to a number of areas of the irrigation system on the course.  This week, there will be workers on the 14th, 15th, 16th and 18th blue tees where additional sprinklers will be installed to ensure adequate and efficient delivery of water to these locations on the course.  There may also be works around the green on the 2nd and 3rd holes this week, depending on how smoothly the works proceed.  

Additionally, there will also be stump grinders out on the course over the coming week/s.  Their precise whereabouts will be fluid, with no ability for us to pinpoint exactly where they will be, apart from somewhere in the rough.  There are in the order of 100 stumps to be attended to. 

We ask that you be patient during these works, and try to be as safe as possible whilst playing near the workers.

Richard Oliver/President

Members update 22 March 2021 – time-sheets

Published on 22nd March 2021 in Club News, Golf News, Juniors, Members Only, Uncategorized, Womens golf

Members

I thought it was a good time to update members on some issues regarding the time-sheets.

As you have hopefully read in ‘Splash’ and some of my recent posts, our membership numbers are continuing to grow which is great for the club.  This helps to give us a strong membership base into the future, something that all clubs hanker for.

With the increase in numbers comes some additional tightness in the time-sheets and the ability for our regular players to get the exact time slot they have been used to being able to book. I have been monitoring the timesheets and am comfortable that, at about the time they want, players can still get a slot.  Over the last month or so there has always been vacant slots on Friday night, across the time-sheets. I ask that you be patient and if need be add your name to the Waiting List for a game at the time that you wish to play, a slot (possibly two) will come up.

There has been some commentary about those with early book in rights.  This privilege is afforded to your Committee members, Life members and the volunteers who do closeout of the competitions.  Committee members and Life Members can book themselves and one other.  Volunteers can only book-in themselves.  This is small recompense for the work put in by these folks, all of which is on a volunteer basis. 

In regards to managing weekend time-sheets you will notice that that the ability to pre-book has been removed and that bookings for a social game will go back to being done through a call to the Pro-shop.  Primarily this being done to: to get all players to tee off at their correct time (managed through the Pro-shop); to ensure Social players tee off the correct tee (namely the 10th); and that the two weekend windows for social players (which are in Murray arrangements with Ainslie) are adhered to.  We think this will help fix some of the recent issues experienced by our members.

Murray has recently talked with all of his staff about these challenges in an attempt to ensure that both competition and social players play smart golf and don’t impinge on the enjoyment and pace of play of others on the course.

Finally, you will notice that we have agreed that there be some women’s only groups hitting off the 10th on weekend competition days.  The Committee considered this matter in the context that we have a number of new women members who need some assistance and encouragement in their early competition days and this can be gained by playing with our more experienced women members.  We are trialing this but, to date the results are very positive.  In terms of bookings for these groups, bookings can be made by our Women’s Captain and other Committee members.

Just for your information.

Richard Oliver/President.