John Spraggs, Course Manager at the Royal Wellington Golf Club in New Zealand, has reported excellent results from using a range of SISIS equipment to maintain the historic course.
Royal Wellington Golf Club is regarded as one of New Zealand’s finest courses. Situated alongside the Hutt River near Silverstream, the parkland course offers an enjoyable and stimulating golfing challenge in a beautiful setting.
A course of this stature deserves to be in good hands and that is where the highly respected and extremely experienced John Spraggs comes in. John, who started work in the turf industry in 1978, has been the Course Manager at Royal Wellington for 17 years. He oversees an impressive team of 11 Greenkeepers, 1 Horticulturist, 1 Equipment Manager and 1 Equipment Serviceman.
Also remarkable is the arsenal of turf maintenance equipment which is used to keep the Royal Wellington in superb condition. John claims that there is one brand which has, and always will, have a place in his equipment shed.
“I have been in the turf industry since 1978 and have used and seen many brands,” he said. “Due to its simplicity and robustness, the SISIS brand is known for its quality and performance, making our work easier.”
John and the Royal Wellington team are currently relying on two SISIS products – the Litamisa 1800 tractor mounted sweeper and collector and the Javelin Aer-Aid tractor mounted aerator.
“In regard to the Javelin Aer-Aid – we use this monthly on our sand constructed greens, tees, and greens approaches - to provide aeration and inject air into the rootzone,” said John.
As John says, not only does the Javelin Aer-Aid aerate with a vertical action but it also injects air into the root zone at a fast-working rate, creating thousands of fissures. The cam trigger mechanism ensures that the air is always expelled at the bottom of the tine penetration, enabling treatment to be targeted precisely and consistently.
10mm diameter 'tipped' tines are spaced at 75mm (3ins) with depth of penetration, infinitely variable, to a maximum of 127mm (5ins). These air injection tines are specially designed to use the maximum air available from the compressor and produces clean, fresh, air at a constant rate of 88 litres per minute, while surface disturbance is kept to a minimum.
“The Royal Wellington is a large parkland course with many deciduous trees,” continued John. “Therefore, leaves are an issue, and this is why we use the Litamisa. We also use it to pick up cores and debris following turf renovations.”
The SISIS Litamisa 1800 is ideal for sweeping requirements, from large sports fields to gardens and extensive lawns. It features a spiral design brush for improved collection, a hydraulic tip facility for easy emptying and a large capacity hopper. It follows ground contours and is simple to use and maintain.
John further explained the benefits from using these two machines.
“Gathering leaf litter, and clearing debris from turf renovations are simpler, and more productive,” he said. “Minimising surface disturbance from hole punching is critical to keep our players happy. The Aer-Aid does a fantastic job with the surfaces being playable following a light roll, straight behind the Aer-Aid.
“I would say that the simplicity of the SISIS equipment is the greatest feature; they are very easy to service and adjust.”
The two products were purchased though SISIS dealer Powerturf NZ, but John revealed that he also receives support from SISIS.
“The service from SISIS is absolutely first class - it has exceeded all expectations. I have on occasion gone direct to SISIS asking questions and the responses back have always been fast and informative.”
For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com
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