Current Maintenance Activities

Aeration continues to be the main focus of the Currie grounds staff during the week of September 22.

Aeration of the East Course greens has been completed and topdressing has been applied to fill the holes created by the aeration process.  An unfortunate result of aeration performed on putting greens is the temporary disruption of the smooth putting surface. This condition is the result of removing a portion of the putting green (aeration cores), and filling these holes with sand topdressing. This condition usually lasts approximately 10 days to two weeks. The warmer the temperature, the faster the aeration holes will grow over.

Aeration is a critical maintenance activity that pays dividends the following golfing season by encouraging deeper rooting of the grass as well as allowing air, water, and nutrients to be absorbed by these roots. Core aeration and overseeding has begun on East Course fairways. About one third of the fairways have been aerated, with overseeding to begin on September 26. The goal of the Currie maintenance staff is to have all East Course fairways completed by October 3.

Aeration - Currie golfers may notice areas of soil compaction in some fairways and greens. To relieve soil compaction and ensure a well-maintained turf, aeration is required. This process involves opening up channels in the turf to allow water as well as nutrients into the soil. Aeration helps combat severe compaction of soil due to high volumes of traffic on the greens and equipment used to maintain the grounds. Currie staff also overseeds and fertilizes damaged areas of the turf as necessary, to ensure that the turf is in good playing condition.

Topdressing - Topdressing refers to the application of sand or a sand/peat mixture to the surface of the green. Greens maintained properly will receive regular inputs of fertilizer and chemicals to encourage optimum growth to resist damage from regular golfer play as well as environmental and disease stress.

Regular fertilizer inputs will create a zone of thatch and mat just underneath the putting surface. The build-up of this thatch layer must be closely monitored to ensure that it doesn’t get too thick, as a thatch layer that's too thick will inhibit root growth and restrict chemical, water and fertilizer inputs to the root zone. Topdressing will help to keep this layer of thatch at a manageable level.

Greens are also subjected to repeated indentations (ball marks) that disrupt the smooth surface and affect the playability of the putting surface. Topdressing greens frequently with a relatively light application of sand helps to reduce this thatch to a manageable level. Other benefits of topdressing are smoothing and firming of the surface for better ball roll.

Chemical Applications - A necessary maintenance procedure for golf courses is the application of chemicals to prevent or eliminate disease, weeds and insects. Most chemical applications are applied to prevent a disease from reaching a threshold that would effect the playability of the golf course.

While most chemical applications are applied to the greens, all areas of the golf course will receive chemical applications to maintain optimum health of the turf.

Currie is required by law to allow chemicals applied to the grounds to dry completely before the grounds are reopened to players.