October 2023 Update

 It has been a very productive month for Copperleaf GCM as we gear up things for our busy season and prepare to take on the many rounds of golf that come with it.

The turfgrass on the golf course is in excellent health. The cooler temperatures that we have recently experienced have slightly reduced the growth rate on both our turfgrass and landscape material, which is a nice change. Keeping up with all of the mowing and trimming on our property is extremely time consuming, and a nice break in the intensity allows us to focus elsewhere and complete small projects and detail work to enhance aesthetics around the property.

Looking back at a sunrise from #4 green. The muhly grass is in full bloom and the course is currently in excellent playing condition.

We recently completed our biannual soil testing of the putting greens, which gives us a clear picture of soil pH, salinity, and nutrient levels. This is similar to getting bloodwork completed on the human body. Any deficiencies or issues are identified and subsequently remediated. In addition to soil testing, root depth is monitored on a monthly basis. During our October inspection, we observed deep, healthy roots, validating the success of our cultural practices and overall agronomic program.

Healthy, white roots are observed in this soil sample. When temperatures and daylight decrease, a reduction in root depth soon follows. It is critical to enter the cool season with healthy roots and a thriving plant. 

Root depth is routinely monitored and logged as a data parameter used to evaluate turfgrass health.

During the fall and winter months, the intensity of our cultural practices are greatly reduced and primarily consist of light surface grooming and biweekly topdressing applications. These methods will provide us with optimum green speeds and a healthy playing surface.

Topdressing #18 green in early October.

One of our summer projects included the reshaping of the greenside bunker on hole #7. Over the years, there has been an accumulation of sand on the grass face at the top of the bunker. This is a common issue with greenside bunkers, specifically those located in front of greens, mostly due to excessive sand splashing from bunker shots. As a result, the bunker becomes much more difficult to play out of. Additionally, approach shots that barely clear the top of the bunker will take an aggressive bounce, oftentimes rolling over the green. The reshaping process consisted of removing the turf around the bunker, softening the slope, and replacing the turf. Fresh bunker sand was then added to finish the project. The end result is a bunker that is much more aesthetically pleasing with an improvement in playability.

The process consisted of removing the existing turfgrass, pulling the sand back, lowering the soil around the bunker and placing the sod back.

A view of the greenside bunker on hole #7 after the work was completed. Notice the top edge was lowered and softened and more of the green is now visible. 

We recently added new material to all of our tennis and bocce courts. This is completed to replace any clay lost through the year from heavy play, winds and rains. Each fall, the courts receive a fresh dressing of new material which ultimately provides us with an optimum playing surface through our busy season.

Over 3,000 lbs of Hydroblend surfacing material was added to our tennis and bocce courts in early October.  

Lastly, I want to thank our members for their continued adherence to the lead group pace of play policy. As a reminder, lead groups are permitted to play no faster than 1 hour and 45 minutes for 9 holes, and 3 hours and 30 minutes for 18 holes. This policy provides the Golf Course Maintenance staff with sufficient time to set the golf course up each morning prior to play. Our team begins working each morning at 5:30 am in order to fully prepare the golf course for play each day. When the first groups of the day play faster than what is deemed to be appropriate, our course setup operation is rushed and the golf course is not properly prepared for play. For example, bunkers may not be raked properly, debris and leaves may not be blown off greens, etc. Additionally, if the first groups of the day happen to pass our fairway, tee, or approach mowers and blowers, our team then becomes sandwiched in between play, extending the time it takes to complete their assignment by an hour or more. While closely monitoring speed and not playing too fast may seem counterintuitive, our ability to properly set up the golf course each morning creates an opportunity for all golfers of the day to fully enjoy their experience.

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

September 2023 Update

It has been an extremely busy past few months at Golf Course Maintenance as we have been working hard preparing for season and wrapping up our summer cultural practices. 

In early August, we were almost fully recovered from our major aerification when a main line irrigation leak was observed underneath the road crossing between holes #13 and #14. The repair was extremely problematic and took 8 days to fully complete the repair. Unfortunately, we were left without irrigation water for 8 days in the heat of the summer while the system was shut down during the repair. I am incredibly thankful for my staff in persevering through the challenges and successfully executing the repair. 

In the early stages of the repair, the existing pipe was removed from the 15" sleeve located underneath the road.

The removal process of the existing pipe proved to be very challenging as there was not much room between the sleeve and the existing 10" pipe. Several different pieces of equipment were required to dislodge the pipe and remove it from the sleeve.

Once the pipe was removed, a new 10" pipe was inserted into the sleeve and the appropriate fittings were installed.

The repair consisted of many days working sun up to sun down.

Once the new 10" pipe and fittiings were installed, the system was slowly repressurized and operational following an 8 day shut down.

While we were fortunate not to have any long-term negative effects as a result of this leak, there have been several areas that suffered from the dry conditions needing some extra TLC, specifically in the fairways and greens. We have been diligent in our recovery efforts and these areas are slowly showing signs of new growth. We are confident that the golf course will be in pristine shape by early October.  

It pains me to post a picture like this, but it is important to recognize the stress observed throughout the golf course without the appropriate irrigation.

This photo was taken 25 days later. New growth has been observed and these areas are fully recovering.

Our September, three-day-closure allowed us time to deep tine aerify all fairways with 3/4 solid tines. This allows for additional compaction relief and oxygen exchange at a depth of over 8 inches. During this closure we were also able to catch up on much needed trimming, edging and detail work. 

All fairways were deep tined during our September closure.

Additionally, on September 13th, we completed our annual Dryject application to all putting surfaces. Dryject is a technology that uses high pressure water to inject columns of clean sand into newly created aeration holes. The benefits of this process are compaction relief, an increase in water infiltration and percolation, and amending the organic layer of the rootzone with sand. Furthermore, this is an extremely non-invasive procedure that hardly affects playability. 

The Dryject machine is loaded with kiln dried sand. Three machines in total were used. Each machine required three of our staff members to keep the hoppers full of sand at all times.

#1 Green immediately following the Dryject procedure.

#1 Green after rolling, dragging, and mowing. Picture was taken 24 hours after the photo above.

The Dryject process fractures the soil and inserts a column of sand into the soil profile diluting the organic layer and creating a healthy growing medium for new root growth.

2023 Aerification

Despite the record setting temperatures experienced over the past several weeks, the weather has cooperated and allowed us to successfully carry out all necessary cultural practices during our aerification closure. 

Our final week of closure will consist of some final cultural practices, fertilization, and putting the golf course back together so it is ready for play upon reopening on July 31st. 

Here is a breakdown of the major cultural practices that will have been completed upon reopening:

Greens - Verticut 4x, Aerified 2x, Topdressed 2x

Fairways and Approaches - Verticut 4x, Aerified 2x

Tees - Verticut 2x, Aerified 2x, Topdressed 1x

Rough - Aerified 2x

The most time-consuming part of the process is cleaning up after each of these practices. The cleanup process consists of numerous tractors, utility vehicles, sweepers, vacuums, brushes, mowers and blowers. This ensures the playing surface is as clean as possible for sufficient recovery. 

Prior to reopening, the entire golf course will have been fertilized to encourage new growth and expedite the recovery process.

While the golf course was in excellent shape prior to our closure, it is vital that we carry out these major cultural practices each year. Aerification and verticutting both offer numerous agronomic benefits, such as compaction relief, thatch removal, improved air exchange, deeper rooting and enhanced nutrient and water uptake.

We are incredibly fortunate to have such a hard-working maintenance staff at Copperleaf. The team has endured extreme temperatures, late hours and a myriad of different tasks necessary for us to successfully complete all of our aerification practices.

Below are some pictures highlighting our work over the closure.

Prior to the greens being aerified, a layer of topdressing sand is applied to the surface.

Once topdressed, greens were then aerified with 5/8" coring tines. The cores are collected in the rectangular box mounted behind the machine and dropped at the end of each pass, where a crew will remove and haul off the debris.

Once the greens have been aerified and cleaned, they are rolled and brushed in several directions to help incorporate sand into the channels created by the aerifier.

Finished product of our putting surfaces after two aerifications.

First mow on greens following both aerifications - Friday, July 21st.

Our Toro Procore 1298 in action aerifying #9 fairway.

Fairways were verticut immediately after being aerified. They were verticut a total of 4 times during the closure.

Our two VC60 Fairway verticutters are seen on hole #6 with the 1298 aerifier finishing in the background.

Aerial view of our three vacuums cleaning debris on hole #4.