Designed to sand slit down to a depth of up to 150mm, the Imants Sandcat follows a pretty simple design.  This includes relying solely on gravity to feed sand to the coulers.  So how does it work?

If you are familiar with the Imants Shockwave decompactors you will immediatley recognise its similarities to the Sandcat.  Think Shockwave with a hopper on the back with coulters following the rotary blades and you are pretty much there.

In practice the Sandcat also operates similarly to the Shockwave in that its blades have an in-built offset that 'shuffles' the wedges between the blades to laterally relieve surface compaction.

The sand coulters slot into the slice cut through the turf by the Sandcat's blades which 'opens up' the slit.  The unit's rear roller lightly irons the surface to produce a level finish, leaving it playable immediately.

Those who have used the Sandcat on their playing surface will readily confirm the immediate benefits they've observed.  Course Manager of Romiley Golf Club, Martin Thompson, has had first hand experience using the Sandcat employing it specifically to tackle a serious drainage issue on the 10th green.

"The green was poorly formed from day one and suffers particularly from excess thatch," he explained.

"Despite there being a main drainage system in place, it is invariably the wettest on the course.  We used the Sandcat and a vast improvement was noticeable within a day.  Being tractor mounted the whole process only took two hours and the green was immediately useable afterwards.

"Even the members commented on the instant recovery.  It is now our driest green.  Kiln-dried sand is not cheap however and would have to be built into my budget for next year for the volume of sand required to treat all the greens.  On balance though, for the extrausage and quality of play obtained, a worthy investment."

As a result of its work in both the UK and Europe, Campey are now well placed to help those interested in the Sandcat get the best from the device.  Rule one is to use kiln-dried sand.  The hopper and coulters have no vibration to help the sand flow through the coulters and into the ground, so well sieved, dry sand - or other free flowing material.  The next issued relates to the ground to be treated, Campey advise it is best suited to fine turf use.

Actually operating the Sandcat itself it pretty simple.  The rear roller is used to set the working depth, a slotted top link mount allowing the Sandcat to follow the ground.  A tractor of around 40hp should be enough to both power and lift the Sandcat - hopper full weight will be around 950kgs.  Running at 540rpm PTO speed, the Sandcat is designed to operate at speeds of up to 0.5 - 1 km/hr.

To set off, the operator engages the PTO, lowering the Sandcat into work before opening up the hopper and enabling sand to flow to the coulters.  About a metre before the end of the run, the sand feed should be closed, this typically enabling the sand within the coulters to feed into the slit, running out just ahead of the unit being raised out of work. 

In practice, operators will usually adjust their forward speed to suit conditions and the work depth.  The key is to keep an eye on the work done, with a check to ensure the sand is filling the slit completely.  The Sandcat is not suitable for use on wet areas.

Once slitting has been completed any follow up work will relate to the turf being worked upon.  On a golf green, Campeys recommend firstly micro hollow tining the surface and remove the cores to break the surface tension.  Operate the Sandcat over the area before using a rubber drag mat to disperse any remaning sand.  Play can resume at that point or over-seeding can be carried out if required.

There are of course alternatives to the Sandcat, most notably the Blec VibraSand Master model.  A key advantage these units have over the Sandcat is their claimed ability to operate with ordinary screened sand.  But the counter argument is that these tools are much more complex, more costly to buy and less suited to fine turf use.

"As is always the case, choosing any item of equipment will be down to specifying what you need it to do," says Richard Campey.  "The Sandcat is a simple sand slitter that does a very good job.  The key is to operate is using kiln-dried sand.  Stick to the basics and the tool will work day in and day out with the minimum of attention.

Article courtesy of Turf Business.

To download the press release as a pdf please click here - WILL THIS CAT GET ITS CLAWS INTO YOUR TURF?