THE CLUB

Dear Member,

THANK YOU

Randpark Club wouldn’t be a Club without our members. It’s really as simple as that. Thank you to all our long-standing members, especially to Gavin Wahl for 56 years of dedicated loyalty! Each and every one of you have played a huge part in the success of the Club throughout the years! Thank you for your continued support!
Click here to listen to Derek McGowan, our Club Captain’s podcast where he has a chat with Roger Innes, the Head Greenkeeper about the courses and specifically the impact hollow-tining has on golfers.

Happy golfing,
Francois

We always encourage communication between our members and the Club. If you have any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to either contact our CEO, Francois Swart at ceo@randpark.co.za or our Club Captain, Derek McGowan at captainslog@randpark.co.za.
JACK BRILLARD – MEMORIAL SERVICE

Below is the link if anyone wants to be part of Jack Brillard’s service on the 26th of March at 17h15 (local time). Please note the webcast can only be viewed by 150 people maximum. You will, however, be able to view it up to 28 days after the service. 
Website: https://www.obitus.com/
Username:  Sazo9164
Password: 659616

Please use username and password exactly as above. You can login to the website at any time to view a test connection (and we strongly recommend you do this), but you'll only be able to view the Live Webcast approximately 5 minutes before the service start time. Please be aware this is a public building and the timing of the Live webcast is semi-automated to allow for services running early or late – please use your discretion if you can see activities not applicable to the service you are here to watch. Once the service has finished, it will take us up to three working days to get the 28-day Watch Again onto the website.
As we welcome new members and their families to Randpark, we also had to say goodbye to 18 members during the month of February, who unfortunately resigned.
The new Playing Handicap was implemented on Monday, 1st of March. We are well aware that there is no column on the scorecard to include the Playing Handicap as yet and we will add this once we order our new batch of scorecards. Currently, the scorecard has the options of adding the Handicap Index/HI and the Course Handicap/CH and we kindly request that members add their Playing Handicap/PH next to the Course Handicap as per the image below.
The Handicap conversion tables are available in the Golf Shop and with the starters on the tee box. Members can also make use of the HNA mobile app and if members require any assistants, please feel free to chat to the Golf team and we will gladly assist.

The Handicap Allowance for all CGGU members will remain as per the league rules and conditions. Betterball League will be played off 75% and Junior League will have to play off 90% of their Course Handicaps.

Click here for more information on obtaining your Course Handicap and Competition Playing Handicap.

COURSE CARE

Course care will remain our biggest focus this year. We have noticed a big improvement over the last couple of weeks and we believe that we can still improve on this. Raking of bunkers are still a concern at the moment and we would like to remind our members that our rakes are sanitised and are safe to use while playing, so please rake the bunkers when you have played your shot. Please sanitise your hands at all times and wear your mask where possible. A kind reminder to all our members:

With every brand releasing new equipment in the next few weeks, we have decided to get them all together to let you try them all out. We will be at the Driving Range from 1pm to 7pm on Friday, 5th March. No need to book, just pitch at your favourite brand and ask to hit their clubs. We are excited to see you there!
Firethorn greens have been hollow-tined. This is a very necessary evil and is long overdue as we never hollow-tined Firethorn last year. Although golfers will curse the slow sandy greens for the next two weeks, it is a vital procedure to ensure greens are healthy and continue to perform well, especially with the dramatic increase in foot traffic.

Hollow-tining is used to relieve compaction, improve drainage and remove excess organic matter. It also gives us the opportunity to get a good thick sand layer on the greens, which further improves firmness and smoothness and helps dilute any thatch that is building up.

Although only about 5% of the green is disturbed, the extra oxygen available to the plant and soil organisms will encourage the natural breakdown of organic matter and improve root growth. We have changed the way we brush the sand into the holes this year and instead of using a mechanic brush to push the sand into the holes, we are doing it by hand. This is more labour-intensive, but provides a far superior and even finish, which hopefully improves the putting surface during the green’s recovery. There is also an added benefit of less turf injury that can be caused by the mechanical brush.

Pitchmarks are an issue on newly hollow-tined greens as they are soft and it can be difficult to spot where your ball has landed. Please take extra care finding and repairing these marks.
Have a great weekend
Stay Safe, Healthy & Happy!
The Randpark Team