2014 Summer Closures

As the summer heat and humidity begin to return to Copperleaf, many of you will be heading North or planning your summer vacations. As you make those plans, I wanted to remind you of the scheduled course closures for this year.

Beginning May 14, the course will be closed each Wednesday through to the end of September. Many smaller projects are completed on these days without the need to prepare the golf course for play or impacting golfers. These projects include spiking, verti-cutting and sanding greens and other cultural practices including aerification of tees and roughs as well as golf course enhancements and detail work.




Hole 1 Green before aerification (morning)




Hole 1 during aerification (midday)

During July and August, the course will be closed for 10 consecutive days each month. During this time, the greens are aggressively aerified to remove organic material and dilute the soil profile with new sand. All fairways are verti-cut and aerified to remove thatch thus providing a high quality surface to play from.


This amount of time not only allows for the work to be completed but importantly, allows time for recovery. When the course opens for play, it is in excellent condition for our full-time residents and reciprocal players.




Hole 1 Green after aerification (afternoon)

  

September also has a 3 day consecutive closure allowing for end of summer fertilizing and top-dressing of fairways. Applying sand to the fairways is a relatively new practice at Copperleaf and provides improved ball roll, improved drainage and superior turf conditions.

Verti-Cutting of Fairways

  


Aerification of Fairways

The end result of these closures is a course that has received the necessary remediation after a busy golfing season. The impact of over 43,000 rounds of golf and golf cart traffic has a dramatic impact on the ability to provide quality playing conditions.

 

Aerifying Approaches

Soil compaction that inhibits water, nutrient and root penetration; organic material build up that prevents fertilizer uptake, promotes turf diseases and provides "spongy" conditions and year round turf growth require aggressive cultural practices.

Fortunately, Copperleaf has an extensive Reciprocal Golf Course list that allows our Members to play at local area golf courses at discounted rates during these course closures and the summer months. For an up-to-date list, please visit the Pro Shop.

If you are planning trips either to or from Copperleaf this summer, please be aware of our course closing schedule and plan accordingly.

In summary, the course will be closed on the following dates:

Each Wednesday beginning May 14 ending September 25

July 8 - 17

August 12 - 21

September 16 - 18

Posted by David Dore-Smith

Director of Golf Course and Grounds Maintenance

Copperleaf Golf Club

Location:Copperleaf Golf Club