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

April 2024 Update

The golf course is in excellent shape and primed for our final major event of the season, the Member Classic. 

We have been very busy over the past few weeks with detail work leading up to this event. Mother nature is likely to cooperate and offer some great weather allowing us to provide excellent conditions.

#13 Green - April 17th, 2024

Our putting surfaces are healthy and performing exceptional. Fairways, Tees, Approaches and Roughs are also in great shape. The El Nino weather phase that we have experienced this winter is seemingly over, as temperatures have been warmer with a reduction in rainfall observed. The extreme weather conditions have made things very challenging for us in terms of maintaining healthy turfgrass. This season in particular, we have modified maintenance practices and intensity levels in order to provide continued high-quality conditions without jeopardizing plant health.

We can enjoy the beautiful weather for the time being, however, the Climate Prediction Center has issued a La Nina Watch. This transition will likely take place over the next few months and into the summer, meaning less wind shear in tropical waters. This unfortunately means that an increase in hurricane activity this year is likely. 

With the warmer weather, we have been able to implement a more aggressive program on our putting greens. We have started to verticut and topdress greens on a biweekly basis, removing and diluting organic material, increasing turf density and promoting upright growth.

Fertilizing #8 Green in mid March

Our first closure of the year takes place on Wednesday, May 15th. We have a busy summer scheduled with small projects and routine maintenance practices. This summer, we will be adding bunker sand to numerous bunkers around the golf course to improve playability and aesthetics. We will also be focused on the removal of organic material in our putting surfaces through frequent verticutting and small-tine aerification. As putting greens age, organic matter accumulation must be addressed prior to becoming problematic. Our major aerification is scheduled to take place in July. Please see our 2024 Closure schedule below.

2024 Golf Course Closure Schedule

Our honey bee hives located behind Golf Course Maintenance are doing very well. We are hopeful to have our first honey harvest in the next few months. Once harvested, we will then bottle and sell fresh Copperleaf honey to our members. The proceeds from honey sales will be utilized to fund our continued environmental programs.

Our 6 honey bee hives are located behind the Golf Course Maintenance compound, in close proximity to the butterfly garden.

Hole #7 - April 5th, 2024

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

Copperleaf Environmental Sustainability

I was recently interviewed for a turf magazine and one of the questions was "What should I know about Copperleaf?" My answer consisted of a general description of the facility, location, membership, etc. I also added the following comment: "Copperleaf maintains its designation as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary with an operational emphasis on environmental sustainability". At that point, I wondered how much our general membership knew of these routine environmentally conscious maintenance practices and efforts.

While I could probably write a small book going over our programs and how our operation positively impacts the environment, I thought I would take this opportunity to highlight some of the initiatives and programs that make Copperleaf unique. 

As a segway into the nuts and bolts of our initiatives and efforts, below is our "Environmental Policy", which summarizes our involvement with Audubon International and goals for positive environmental performance as it relates to everyday Golf Course Maintenance practices.

The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf is an award-winning education and certification program that helps golf courses protect our environment and preserve the natural heritage of the game of golf. By helping people embrace the valuable natural areas and wildlife habitats that golf courses provide, improve efficiency, and minimize potentially harmful impacts of golf course operations, the program serves an important environmental role. Copperleaf has proudly held Audubon Certification for the past 18 years.

In addition to our Certification with Audubon, I wanted to share some specific environmental initiatives and practices that demonstrate our continued commitment to environmental sustainability.

➤ We have two osprey platforms located on the golf course. There is a camera located on the platform in between holes #3 and #4 with a 24/7 video feed. New hatchlings are typically observed in the month of February each year. 

➤ There are 17 Birdhouses and 6 Purple Martin houses found on property. Common residents found this time of the year include Eastern Screech Owls, Eastern Bluebirds, Carolina Wrens, Tufted Titmice, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Pileated Woodpeckers, Great Crested Flycatchers and Purple Martins. Additional birds found nesting include Bald Eagles, Osprey and Great Horned Owls. 

➤ Our butterfly garden is located between holes #3 and #4, just past one of our Osprey platforms. The butterfly garden includes dozens of pollinating plants and frequently produces many different species of butterflies.

➤ Recognizing the Florida Golf Course Best Management Practices Program, H.B. 967 was signed into law in 2022. We hold Certification with this program, and have also adopted our own Copperleaf BMP manual, which serves as a guide for us to conduct routine golf course maintenance practices while preventing contamination, waste, and habitat loss.

➤ We maintain a closed-loop water recycling system to wash off our golf course maintenance equipment. The recycled water utilized to wash equipment is filtered, free of grease, oil and contaminants. This provides a clean source for our equipment, keeping our operations in compliance with EPA regulations. 

➤ Our chemical mixing center consists of a self-contained area to mix and load chemicals prior to treatment. All spills are collected and managed using an in-ground sump pump basin. This prevents any pesticide leaks or spills from ultimately contaminating our water bodies.

➤ Aquatic plants can be found surrounding all lakes at Copperleaf. These beneficial littoral plantings provide habitat for fish and wildlife, serve as a filter by absorbing nutrients and contaminants, improve water clarity, stabilize our shorelines and enhance our overall aquatic ecosystem.

➤ Moisture meters are routinely used on the golf course to determine precise irrigation needs. Overwatering the golf course is an undesirable practice leading to less-than-ideal playing conditions. Greens are often hand-watered to ensure the correct amount of water is applied.

➤ Fertilizer applications are based on soil test results and plant needs. Overfertilization of the golf course is costly, environmentally irresponsible, and also produces undesirable playing conditions.

➤ We utilize Integrated Pest Management, which is a method of reducing overall pest management expenses and exposure by using a combination of tactics to control undesirable pests, such as cultural, biological, genetic, and chemical controls. Unnecessary applications of pesticides are costly, increase the development of resistance and can also present environmental concerns. 

➤ Wildlife Tours are routinely offered to our members and are led by Brian Beckner of Native Bird Boxes. Brian provides wildlife services to Copperleaf, including the care and upkeep of all bird boxes on property. 

➤ Lastly, Copperleaf will soon be utilizing the services of a professional beekeeper to manage honeybee hives on property. The location of our hives will be hidden from sight and completely safe for golfers and residents. Not only do honeybees provide valuable pollination services for plants on the golf course, but also provide honey that we will soon be able to sell, with profits returned to help sustain our environmental programs. 

Golf Course Superintendents are proud environmental stewards. We are fortunate to have a direct positive impact on natural resources, improving the environmental health of Florida. Copperleaf is a beautiful property filled with native flora and fauna. Our Golf Course Maintenance team remains committed to practicing environmental stewardship while continuously enhancing the overall experience for both our members and guests.

Below are some photos taken on property over the past few years.

Anhinga

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Tricolored Heron

Purple Martin hatchlings

Killdeer

Osprey

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Northern Flicker

Common Gallinule with hatchling

Osprey with hatchlings

Wildlife Tour

American Alligator

February 2024 Update

The golf course is currently in great shape and holding up to the increased amount of play very well. We have fortunately had some better weather over the past month, however, turfgrass growth remains minimal. Because of this, recovery from cart traffic, ballmarks, divots and all biotic and abiotic stressors remains slower than usual. 

Sunshine has been a warm welcome to 2024, but turfgrass growth is still limited due to the cooler temperatures.

I recently sent out an email blast to the membership outlining some proper golf course care and etiquette guidelines. The feedback from this email was overwhelmingly positive, so I thought it would be beneficial to share the highlights here: 

• Repair ball marks on the putting greens. Proper ball mark repair includes inserting the tool at the edges of the ball mark and pushing in from the outside instead of prying up.
• Fill divots with the mix provided in the golf carts. Our divot mix contains organic material utilized to help expidite the recovery process.
• Keep all four golf cart tires on the cart path around tees and greens. Cart traffic is the number one issue working against us in our turfgrass growth efforts this time of the year. Keeping four tires on the path around tees and greens help protect the turfgrass along the edges of the cart path.
• Utilize the 90-degree rule when exiting the cart path after your tee shot as you head toward your ball. Do not follow the cart in front of you and please avoid driving in the rough unnecessarily. Our fairways can withstand cart traffic and stress much better than our rough. This will also help maintain the definition in the fairway-to-rough interface.
• Be careful when removing your ball from the cup once it has been holed. The hole is only 4.25" in diameter, which does not leave much room to retreive your ball without touching the edge of the cup. The slightest interaction between your hand the edge of the grass around the cup will damage the grass edge, leaving a very unsightly scar. 
• Rake all bunkers after use and tap your shoes to clean them of sand before walking on the green. Enter and exit the bunker at the lowest point. After raking, place the rake with the "tines up" into the lowest point of the bunker, with a small portion of the bunker handle remaining on the turf. The handle should be facing down the fairway (parallel to play) to avoid interfering with incoming shots. 
• Lastly, always remember to leave the golf course as YOU wish it to be found.

We greatly appreciate your continued attention to these routine golf course course care practices, as they greatly help in continuing to provide the high-quality golf course conditions we strive to achieve.

This image captures the cart traffic after a full day of play on hole #9. Less than 10% of all golfers have appropriately observed the 90-degree rule. 

Over the next two weeks we will be gearing up for the club championship. The weather over the past few months has shifted our agronomic plan from emphasizing turf performance to turf health, however, we are confident that we will be able to deliver championship conditions for this marquee event. 

Putting greens have remained in excellent health this year, despite the challenging weather conditions brought with El Nino.

Our landscaping and irrigation installation around the new pool cafe has been completed. We look forward to opening Ospreys and showing off our updated facility in March! We are now working on the planning and design aspect of the clubhouse landscaping. We will completing our work in this phase of the project over the next several months.

We are currently adding bleachers at the tennis courts located between courts #1 and #2. This new viewing area will mimic the bleachers previously installed between courts #3 and #4. Once the area is prepped, a paver base will be added and the new bleachers should be installed sometime in the next month. There has been a tremendous volume of play at our tennis facilities. We do ask that you please sweep the courts after use so they are properly prepared for play at all times. 

The osprey nest located between holes #3 and #4 has been very busy lately, with three eggs that will hopefully be hatching sometime in the very near future. The link to access our live video feed can be found here: Osprey Cam. 

We are hopeful to see the three eggs in the osprey nest hatch sometime in the next few weeks.

We have also recently installed a new osprey platform located behind the back tee on hole #17. Within days, this platform saw activity and there is already an osprey building a nest in this new location. This platform is visibile from hole #17, hole #13, the fitness center, pool and pool cafe. We are hopeful to install an additional camera in this location sometime in the next year. 

Our newest osprey platform was installed on February 9th.

This new platform will have visibility from many different areas of the club. We are hopeful that the nest remains active, as it is located in a prime osprey nesting site.

Our wildlife tours have been extremely popular this year. They are led by local ornithologist and wildlife expert, Brian Beckner. The next tour is scheduled for Thursday, March 21st, so please be sure to sign up!

Our Wildlife Tours are a great way to see the birds/waterfowl and other wildlife found on property.

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