Blaby Bowling Club Invests in Turf Health with the SISIS Autoslit
For nearly 80 years, Blaby Bowling Club has been at the heart of its local community, providing a welcoming environment for bowlers of all ages and abilities. Established around 1947, the club's first clubhouse was famously an old Leicester tram – a reminder of its proud heritage that still greets visitors today through the preserved tram door displayed in the clubhouse foyer.
Today, the club is thriving.
With more than 80 members and numbers continuing to grow, Blaby Bowling Club has earned a reputation as one of the friendliest and most progressive clubs in Leicestershire. Alongside investing in its facilities and clubhouse, the club remains committed to maintaining one of its greatest assets – a bowling green widely regarded as among the finest in the county.
For Chair Gary and Greenkeeper Brian, the quality of the playing surface is central to everything the club does.
"When you walk into Blaby Bowling Club and open the gate, the first thing you see is the green," explains Gary. "Visitors come here for the first time and immediately comment on how fantastic it looks."
The visual appeal is only part of the story.
"It plays exactly how it looks," he continues. "It makes a huge difference for our members, for new bowlers learning the game, and for visiting teams. When you're coaching beginners, you want the bowl to run true and consistently and that's exactly what happens here."
The green's reputation extends throughout Leicestershire's bowling community. League teams regularly praise the surface, while the club hosts county finals for both men's and women's competitions, along with county training sessions.
"People love coming here because they know they're going to play on a really good surface," says Gary. "I think it's highly regarded throughout Leicestershire and many people would consider it the best bowling green in the county."
Investing in the Future
Maintaining a high-quality bowling green requires year-round commitment, particularly during the winter months when essential renovation and aeration work takes place.
As part of its ongoing investment in turf maintenance equipment, Blaby Bowling Club recently expanded its machinery fleet with equipment from the Howardson Group. Having previously purchased Dennis machines, the club attended a demonstration event to evaluate SISIS equipment and quickly recognised the benefits it could bring to its maintenance programme.
"We looked at the SISIS Autoslit during a demonstration day and saw how well it performed," explained greenkeeper Brian Hawkins. "We felt they would be a very efficient addition to our maintenance programme." The SISIS Autoslit is a pedestrian deep slitter, a machine designed to reduce compaction and improve soil aeration on fine turf surfaces.
The Importance of Winter Aeration
While much of the attention falls on the green during the playing season, winter maintenance plays a crucial role in determining how the surface performs throughout the year.
"It's important to slit and spike the green from an aeration point of view," explains Brian "Getting air into the ground promotes healthier growth and helps maintain a stronger, healthier surface."
The SISIS Autoslit is specifically designed for this purpose. Its deep, clean slitting action penetrates through the turf and rootzone to a depth of up to 150mm, creating narrow slits that encourage air movement, improve water percolation and stimulate deeper root development.
By reducing compaction and encouraging stronger root systems, the process helps improve drought tolerance and supports quicker recovery from wear and play.
Importantly for fine turf surfaces such as bowling greens, the Autoslit achieves this with minimal surface disturbance.
"The slitting machine is purely a winter machine," explains Brian. "If you use it during the summer, the slits don't close up properly because of the dry conditions. During winter, however, it's an important part of keeping the green healthy."
Practical Performance
Although robust in appearance, the club has found the SISIS Autoslit straightforward to operate.
"It looks a bit cumbersome, but in actual fact it's quite easy to use and manoeuvre," says Brian. "The controls make it very easy to operate, particularly when turning at the ends of the green."
The machine's design incorporates several practical features, including a patented cantilever lift system that allows operators to easily lift the machine out of work, interchangeable slitting tines to suit varying ground conditions, and a rear smoothing roller that leaves a clean finish after operation.
Powered by a reliable Honda GX160 petrol engine, the Autoslit combines performance with durability – qualities that were important factors in the club's purchasing decision.
"All the machines use Honda engines, which are arguably among the most reliable available," says Brian. "Based on what we've seen at demonstrations and our experience so far, we've been very pleased."
Securing the Club's Future
As membership continues to grow and improvements to the clubhouse continue, Blaby Bowling Club remains focused on preserving the quality of its facilities for future generations.
"We're continually developing the clubhouse and investing in the club to make sure it's secure for the future," says Brian. "We want people in 20 or 30 years' time to still have a bowling club here in Blaby."
With a thriving membership, a strong commitment to greenkeeping excellence and the support of equipment such as the SISIS Autoslit, the club is well positioned to achieve exactly that.
For Blaby Bowling Club, maintaining one of Leicestershire's finest bowling greens starts beneath the surface.
