Pastures Golf Club in Derby no longer need to rely on a contractor to aerate their fairways after they recently purchased a SISIS Maxislit.    

Set in the grounds of the old Pastures Hospital, Pastures Golf Club is a well-established course built on meadowland. 

It is a well-known fact, that in the 52 years the course has been open, not one golfer has ever broken par. It is for this reason that golfers come from far and wide to play the course and attempt to beat the record.  

Therefore, it is essential that the course is kept in impeccable condition and that’s where Head Greenkeeper Paul Smith and his assistant Roger Spalton come in. 

Paul and Roger explained the reasons behind purchasing a SISIS Maxislit.  

“For numerous years we have had problems with drainage on the course,” said Paul. “We have had times when we have been shut for 2-3 months which has caused issues.  

Ultimately, the members are paying a fee to play golf for 12 months and we want to make sure they get that.” 

“We were also paying a lot of money to a contractor who would come out and aerate the fairways,” added Roger. “We just thought that it would be better for us to be able to do the work when we wanted with our own manpower.  

“We had a demo of the SISIS Maxislit and purchased it straight away.” 

The SISIS Maxislit is a tractor-mounted deep slitting aerator for sports field maintenance, golf course maintenance and amenities, with deep, clean penetration. Suitable for maintenance of football, rugby and cricket pitches and golf courses, it can also be used for lawns and formal garden areas. 

Aeration is needed to improve drainage, reduce turf compacting, thatch build up and boost the health of turf.  

The Maxislit produces outstanding underground cultivation due to the angle of the tines and spiral design of tine shaft assist penetration and its simple design requires little maintenance.

“As a minimum, our aim is to use the Maxislit twice a year in spring – to help get the grass ready to grow and also in autumn – to open it up ready for when it needs to hold moisture,” said Paul. “We’ll use it on the fairways and approaches initially and then eventually look to use it on the greens.  

 “We’ve had great results,” said Roger. It is very easy to use, very efficient, and it doesn’t take any pulling – a small tractor doesn’t struggle with it. Long-term, we are confident that the Maxislit will improve soil condition and help root growth which will improve our drainage at surface level. It is very flexible, and we can adjust the length of the tines and go even deeper if we want to. 

“It has been a good investment for us.” 

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