Summer of '49……inches

Without question, this summer has been a challenging one for golf course maintenance. Between May 1 and September 30, 49 inches of rain fell on the Copperleaf property with most of it in the afternoon.

The result of all of this rain has both positive and negative impacts. Our turf grass has remained green and healthy and our pump station and irrigation system have remained relatively unused for months. In fact, in August, we used our lowest amount of irrigation water; 2.8 million gallons (90,000 gallons per day) and received our lowest FPL bill, $600 in the Club's history. It's not surprising to see this data considering there were only 5 days of no recorded rain in August.

These rain events have kept our lake levels full; however, they have delayed the construction of the rock wall on hole 15, scheduled to have been completed in July, until June of 2014.

Future location of rock wall on hole 15

Despite the rain; there were many projects completed throughout the property including the elimination of several bunkers, new plantings and some comprehensive cultural practices.

The cultural practices carried out this year have included some aggressive verti-cutting of fairways followed by 4 applications of sand to help promote healthy turf, improved ball roll and improved drainage.




Verti-cutting on hole 1



Organic material and debris from verti-cutting














Using a Vacuum to remove the material

Another, more extreme practice carried out this year on our fairways was the contracting of a machine called "Big Daddy". This machine weighs over 6,000 pounds and has blades over 7 inches long to penetrate deep into the soil and relieve the compaction caused by over 40,000 rounds of golf each year.

 

There were areas on certain holes where even "Big Daddy" was lifted into the air due to buried rocks just below the surface. Another machine was used to break the rocks, this time called "The Beast". Incredibly, even this machine with its 8 inch solid tines, almost as thick as your forearm, had issues in certain areas. A great thanks to Jim Miller with Aerification Plus with their help this year.

 

All of this worked helped immensely with the rain events witnessed this year. There were several times where over 3 inches of rain would fall within a 24 hour period causing extremely wet conditions.

I can't thank the staff of the maintenance department enough. They have worked tirelessly throughout the summer and have taken great pride in presenting the golf course to the highest level possible on a daily basis. Please thank them as you see them on the course.

Posted by David Dore-Smith
Director of Golf Course and Grounds Maintenance
Copperleaf Golf Club

Location:Copperleaf Golf Club

Drainage Basin Leveling

Many of our summer projects have commenced over the past couple of weeks including the leveling of our fairway drainage basins.

Over time, the grass levels surrounding the drainage basins increase due to thatch and organic matter build up. The grass continually grows on top of this new material thus creating a more pronounced "dip" in the fairway contour. Please note that the basins themselves are not "sinking".

This change in elevation has a negative impact on our golfers shot making ability as well as the equipment used to mow the fairways.

The turfgrass surrounding the basin is carefully removed to allow for re-use, the metal grate is removed and then a new 12 inch riser is placed onto the existing PVC pipe. New soil is installed at the appropriate height and compacted. Excess pipe is removed at the new height with a cordless saw and the grate is replaced. To complete the project, the existing sod is placed onto the new soil.
















The sod matures over the next two weeks providing a smooth and level surface to play from and maintain.

Thanks to Ricardo and Carlos for undertaking the task of leveling all of the sunken drainage areas on the fairways this summer.


Posted by David Dore-Smith
Director of Golf Course and Grounds Maintenance
Copperleaf Golf Club

Location:Copperleaf Golf Club

Summer Closures

As the summer heat and humidity 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.




Hole 1 Green before aerification (morning)

 

Beginning May 15, 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.




Hole 1 during aerification (midday)



July and August the course will be closed for 9 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 new practice at Copperleaf and provides improved ball roll, improved drainage and superior turf conditions.




Verticutting 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 40,000 rounds of golf and golf cart traffic has a dramatic impact on the ability to provide quality playing conditions.

 



Aerifying Appoaches

  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 15 ending September 25

July 10 - 18

August 14 - 22

September 17 - 19

Posted by David Dore-Smith

Director of Golf Course and Grounds Maintenance

Copperleaf Golf Club

Location:Copperleaf Golf Club