Daniel Spencer, Head Greenkeeper at Letchworth Golf Club, has praised the reliable ISEKI TG6507 for its performance and versatility, adding that the IQ gearbox was a big factor in his decision to purchase the unique compact tractor.
Located on the edge of England’s first ever Garden City, Letchworth Golf Club is set in beautiful undulating countryside, which is well renowned for its firm fast greens and tight tree lined fairways. The 18-hole parkland course was extended and updated in 2003 to its present form and length, and it is an on-going improvement process, guided by renowned course architects, arborists, and ecologists.
Head Greenkeeper Daniel Spencer inevitably plays an integral role in shaping the future of the club. First and foremost, though, Daniel’s priority is keeping the course in impeccable condition and to achieve this, it is essential that he has the right tools for the job.
“The time had come to replace our old tractor,” said Daniel when discussing equipment. “We needed something reliable which would allow us to combine our existing implements such as the aerator, the leaf collector, and the blower. We looked at a lot of options and decided that the ISEKI TG6507 would be the best fit for us.”
Ideal for high specification aeration and turf maintenance on sports turf, the TG is the most advanced tractor in the ISEKI range with 40-67hp engines.
Features of the ISEKI TG range of tractors include:
- Water- cooled 3-cylinder and 4-cylinder diesel engines with displacement of up to 2,434L
- Engine performance from 40 – 67 HP
- Hydrostat with electro servo control
- IQ models with innovative IQ dual-clutch gearbox
- Intuitive operating controls
- Spacious cabin with excellent all-round view and driver comfort
- Loader joystick and valve fitted as standard
- Supplied with two double-acting auxiliary valves
“One of the main reasons, we went for this tractor was because of the IQ gearbox, which gives us a larger selection of gears,” continued Daniel. “The auto PTO is a huge benefit because when we get to the end of a run, when spiking for example, the PTO shuts off by itself, we turn the tractor around, lower the spiker back down and the PTO restarts again.
“In addition, the lift capacity is a great feature – being able to lift over 1.5 tonnes is huge for us.”
As Daniel says, users of the TG6507 benefit from the innovative dual-clutch IQ gearbox, combining the ultimate comfortable automatic operation with the advantages of manual gear changes. Specific to the IQ range of TG tractors the Headland management controls are also perfect when working with turf maintenance implements. The PTO Stop/Start function allows you to stop the PTO when the link arms are raised for ease of operation. PTO Stop in reverse lifts the arms to a pre-set height if reverse gear is selected to prevent any damage to implements. These are fully adjustable.
Also impressing Daniel is the TG6507’s superior lift capacity of up to 1600kg, offering users the opportunity to run implements without the need to increase the size or horsepower of the tractor.
Daniel further explained how the ISEKI tractor fits into his maintenance programme.
“Most of the time the tractor has the spiker on it, certainly at this time of year because we are frequently spiking tees, fairways, greens, and approaches. We spike a lot in the summer too and when we hire a scarifier, this will also be attached to the tractor. In autumn we have the leaf collector on there, as well as being able to swap over quickly to the blower when we need it.
“Reliability wise, the tractor has been brilliant. It has done everything we wanted it to, and I would highly recommend it.”