Lee Morgado is a well-known face within the sports turf industry, proving he has come a long way since he joined Campey Turf Care Systems in 2006 as a mechanic. His natural rapport and understanding of turf soon took him from demonstrator to full Product Support Specialist for Spain, France and Portugal.
What was your motivation to join Campey?
I was a mechanic before I joined Campey, so I wanted to progress and become a demonstrator for a company that’s a little bit niche, a little bit different. It has definitely met my aspirations so far.
How do you focus your activity within the golf industry?
We do demo tours for both golf and football. A lot of the machines cross over, but when you’re doing a demo on a golf course you tend to take smaller machines than you would on a football pitch.
You deliver two main items in Spain, the Air2G2 and the KORO® FIELDTOPMAKER®. Why do you think those are both so successful?
The main feature of both machines is solving problems that greenkeepers and groundsman have. Because they stand alone and there is nothing else quite like them. The Air2G2 is the only true form of aeration, and the surface is playable straight after, and there is no other aerator that can decompact down to 12-inches and leave the surface completely playable.
The KORO® FIELDTOPMAKER® is ideal for fairways, for levelling off tees, taking thatch out of fairways, doing things quickly and effectively and you can leave the surface playable or you can go the whole hog and take the top off.
The Air2G2 is a device clearly focused on, among other points, creating healthy greens without disturbing golfers. Club managers are always looking to increase or keep golfers on their course, is this a machine they must pay attention to?
You can carry on playing so you don’t have to close the course for a week for maintenance. That’s not to say you wouldn’t have to do maintenance, but if you do it often enough you’ll keep a healthy root system and that’ll improve the course and increase the hours that it can be played on because healthier turf is more playable.
You have travelled to many countries and know the worldwide golf industry, what do you think about Spanish courses?
There are some nice courses in Spain. They’re blessed with the weather down in the south and they’ve got great food there, so resort golf is quite inviting in Spain. The course quality isn’t far removed from the rest of the world, and I’d say in a lot of cases they are in front.
The weather over there offers more problems to do with heat stress whereas we look more at drainage. Using products like the Air2G2 helps with heat stress because if you keep a healthy root system and leave the surface open then the water can get to where it needs to so it can be more durable during the heat.
Your position in the UK is getting stronger every year and is also growing in Spain. What are your goals for the coming year?
In Spain, we want to help and support Deltacinco and be present in Spain to encourage more demonstrations, I know they are very active when we’re not there but it’s always nice to go and assist them and give them the support they need.
Article courtesy of golfindustria.es
