July 2024 Update - Aerification Closure

The golf course has now reopened following our 21-day July closure. This closure is critical to allow us an opportunity to execute our major cultural practices for the year. These practices are vital for long-term plant health and allow us to enjoy excellent year-round turf conditions. The weather fully cooperated and, although very hot, provided us with great working conditions.

As a quick summary, over our 21-day closure, the following practices were completed:

• Greens Aerified and Topdressed 2x and Verticut 4x
• Tees/Fairways/Approaches Aerified 2x and Verticut 4x
• Rough Aerified 2x

We also completed some work on the clubhouse renovation project during this closure. The mounding behind #18 green was reshaped and sodded. Landscaping and lighting were installed along the fence above the lake next to the clubhouse. Once the final grading and shaping of the clubhouse is finalized, we will complete the landscaping, irrigation, and lighting installation.

Bunker sand was added to numerous bunkers throughout the golf course. This was initially intended to be a 3-4 year project, which we now believe we can complete in 2 years.

All sabal palm trees were trimmed around the golf course and common grounds. We have over 2,000 sabal palms located on the golf course and common grounds. These are trimmed yearly during our closure.

I am incredibly thankful to have such a great crew, assistants and mechanics who all worked together to help accomplish all of our goals during this closure. 

Please enjoy the pictures below, with captions describing our work over the closure.

Greens were topdressed prior to each aerification. The Toro 648 aerifier was outfit with 3/4" tines and set at a depth of 3.5-4". 

Our goal at Copperleaf is to impact 15-20% of the surface area yearly. Both aerifications collectively impacted 14%. Each of our "small-tine" aerifications completed throughout the summer impacts an additional 1% of surface area. 

The Toro 1298 aerifier completed both fairway aerifications. Fairways were verticut following aerification and then cleaned.

The Toro 1290 and the First Products VC60 working in tandem on #6 fairway. Fairways were verticut 2x following each aerification. The cleaning process was as follows: aerify, verticut, drag, blow, vacuum, blow, brush, blow, mow, blow. 

Looking back towards the fairway behind #1 green after the fairway, approach and collar were aerified and the green was topdressed.

Our Roughs were aerified two times with the Toro 686 pull-behind unit. 

Greens were brushed and rolled several times to incorporate topdressing sand into the holes created by the aerifier.

The finished work behind #18 green after the surrounds were reshaped and the area was sodded with Celebration Bermudagrass. The new cart path was poured during the closure.

#18 Green on the Friday before reopening. Cutting heights were raised on all playing surfaces to aid in rapid recovery. Heights will be dropped as recovery progresses.

Greens were fertilized after all cultural practices were completed. The entire golf course was also treated with a complete fertilizer containing a preemergent.

An increase in root depth on greens was quickly observed. The roots can now more easily navigate downwards in fresh sand channels.

After organic matter is removed and replaced with topdressing sand, a fresh column of sand is observed on #6 Green. Aerification greatly improves oxygen exchange, reduces compaction, increases water percolation through the soil and enhances both stress tolerance and fertilizer uptake.

Hole #7 on our first day of reopening the golf course. Recovery will continue for the next few weeks until optimum plant health and playability is achieved.

As always, feel free to email any questions, comments or concerns to parkerf@copperleafgc.com.

June 2024 Update

It has been a busy June for Golf Course Maintenance, with many cultural practices and small projects underway. 

We have received over 12 inches of rain thus far this month, with 9 inches coming in a weeklong span in mid-June. While this seems excessive, many local golf courses received over 20 inches during this same time frame. Although the weather negatively impacted our productivity, it was much needed, and our lakes are now completely full. 

Over 9 inches of rain fell during the week of June 10th.

Our annual Curfew Soil Fumigant application was completed during our June three-day closure, and positive results have already been observed. Injected 5-7" below the surface, Curfew is an extremely effective product in controlling plant-parasitic nematodes. The rain we received following the application enhanced the product's efficacy and helped expedite turfgrass recovery from the injection lines. 

The annual Curfew application took place during the three-day closure in early June.

This photo was taken the day after the Curfew application. Injection lines typically take 2-3 weeks to fully recover.

This photo was taken 2.5 weeks after the application. Injection lines are nearly fully healed.

Our bunker sand replacement project is underway, and we will likely be able to address more bunkers this summer than originally planned. Over time, bunker sand loses its angular form and no longer performs to a high standard. New bunker sand reduces washouts from rain events, decreases the probability of plugged lies in the faces, and enhances overall aesthetics and playability.

The front right greenside bunker on hole #3 after replacing the sand. Nearly 200 tons of sand will be used this summer. We are hopeful to address 25-30% of the bunkers each year.

We are now developing plans for our major July closure, beginning on July 8th. This closure allows us to conduct our major cultural practices on the golf course and is critical to our success throughout the year. 

As putting greens age, more attention is required to address thatch, compaction and development of organic material. Our goal at Copperleaf is to impact 15-20 percent of the surface area yearly.

This 21-day closure will allow us to aerify all playing surfaces several times. We will also verticut and topdress as needed through the process. While many courses close several times through the summer to aerify, we have found it beneficial to address our major cultural practices in just one closure. Doing so only requires one major "surgical recovery" instead of several. This not only benefits the golfer but allows us to plan for rain days and focus more on the process than the recovery. I plan to provide updates with plenty of photos during the closure.

Hole #7 green following our cleanup efforts after the flooding in mid-June.

As always, feel free to email any questions, comments or concerns to parkerf@copperleafgc.com.

May 2024 Update

It has been a busy May for Golf Maintenance with the turfgrass growing at an accelerated rate and small projects beginning around the golf course.

#8 Green - May 21st

Our first Wednesday closure allowed us to perform some much-needed cultural practices to the putting surfaces after 8 months of heavy play. The greens were Verticut, Double Cut, Aerified, and Topdressed. This process will hopefully be completed every 2-4 weeks during the summer, with an obvious major increase in intensity during our July closure. 

Greens were Verticut in 2 directions and then Double Cut prior to Aerification.

The coring tines utilized during our Wednesday cultural practices are much smaller in size compared to what will be used during our major July closure. While much less surface area is impacted, small coring tines still greatly assist with thatch removal, alleviating compaction and improving oxygen exchange.

Greens are blown clean prior to rolling and dragging in topdressing sand.

With growth rates rapidly increasing, we have decided to put our brushes back on the fairway mowers. These brushes are mounted in front of the cutting units and are used throughout the summer to enhance playability and turf density, improve aesthetics, and help control the development of thatch by encouraging vertical leaf orientation and growth. 

Fairway brushes were purchased last year and have been a great addition to our toolbox in enhancing playability and improving overall turf quality.

We have been identifying irrigation coverage deficiencies throughout the golf course and have recently added supplemental irrigation to several areas. Over the past few weeks, we have addressed the blue tees on #10, the green slope on #14, and the green slope on #15. With additional irrigation heads, we are now able to reduce run times while greatly improving overall efficiency.

This new irrigation head was installed behind the blue tee on #10, where a lack in coverage was observed. Turfgrass quality has already started to improve.

The design and planning phases of the irrigation and landscaping installation around the new clubhouse have begun. Materials are being ordered, and once the area has been prepped and shaped, we will be ready to get to work.

Our honey bees have been working hard throughout the property and we will likely have our first honey harvest next month. As a reminder, the honey harvested from our Copperleaf hives will be sold to members, with proceeds being used to help fund our environmental programs.

Our hives located behind GCM will soon produce sweet benefits for our members, in addition to their pollination services to our native plant material.

The golf course root pruning will occur during our closure on Wednesday, May 29th. The pruning of tree roots is completed each year by an outside contractor. Tree roots compete with turfgrass for moisture and nutrients. By pruning below-ground roots, turfgrass quality improves without sacrificing tree health.

Our annual Curfew application is scheduled to take place during our closure from June 4th through June 6th. Curfew is a soil fumigant designed to control nematodes (microscopic roundworms) that cause tremendous damage to turfgrass by feeding on roots. Controlling these insects is critical for year-round plant health.

As always, please feel free to email any questions, comments or concerns to parkerf@copperleafgc.com. See you on the course! 

#5 Green - May 2024