Dochfour House credits Husqvarna

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Dochfour House credits Husqvarna: Standing at a height overlooking the impressive views of Loch Dochfour, lies Dochfour House, home of the Baillie family for over 500 years. Featuring immaculate lawns and gardens created in the 1880s, Alexander Baillie, estate director of Dochfour, credits 15 Husqvarna Automower® robotic lawn mowers for maintaining its impressive estate. 

First fitted in 2018, Husqvarna Automower® robotic mowers now cover approximately 7 acres of the estate’s formal lawns and landscaped parkland, encompassing ground of all shapes, inclines and textures.

Dochfour House credits Husqvarna

Dochfour House credits Husqvarna

Featured on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, the estate regularly hosts photoshoots and corporate events, requiring picture-perfect grounds and lawns throughout all seasons. During the summer months the estate experiences the quick speed of grass growth, while the winter months encounter the full force of the Scottish Highland weather, which has proved a perpetual problem over the years.

Alexander Baillie, estate director, explained Dochfour’s switch to Automower®: “For years we used the forest and groundcare department at MacGregor Industrial Supplies to service our mowers and chainsaws, and once they began selling Husqvarna Automower® we knew we wanted to test them out. In total we now have 15 robotic mowers across the Dochfour estate, including the 435X, 450X, 430X and 315X Automower® models.

“The unpredictable Highland weather was a big push into moving towards Automower®, as well as the many steep banks which have long proved a headache in terms of the health and safety issues they present.”

Ever since the first Automower® was introduced in 1995, Husqvarna has been known as the world leader in robotic mowing. With over 2 million sold worldwide, Automower® is renowned for its low energy consumption, zero emissions, low noise and high productivity. Covering everything from smaller urban gardens to challenging areas up to 5,000m2, Automower® can also handle difficult inclines up to 70%.

Alexander continued: “During our first year of using Automower® we tested it on a small area, but after seeing its remarkable results, we rapidly increased the working area and the number of mowers in our fleet. We’ve been immensely impressed by the all-wheel-drive X-Line model which have tackled our steepest banks with ease.

“Installation of the mowers has been very straightforward, and thanks to the generation of our own electricity using hydropower, our lawns require no fossil fuel-based inputs. The Husqvarna Temporary Fences have been a great help to cordon off bulbs and wildflower patches, while still achieving lush lawns on the rest of the areas.

“Automower® has made such a huge difference to the way we work, providing hours of free time to concentrate on other parts of the estate. No matter of the weather or time of day, our Automower® robots take care of the grounds without worry. We look forward to extending our fleet in the future.”

For more information on Husqvarna Automower®, visit: https://www.husqvarna.com/uk/products/robotic-lawn-mowers/

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Club Car & London GC extend relationship

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Club Car & London GC extend relationship: Club Car, the world’s largest manufacturer of small-wheel electric vehicles, has continued its long association with London Golf Club by delivering a new fleet of high-spec golf cars.

The fleet of 50 Tempo cars, famous for their industry-leading durability and premium comfort, feature Club Car’s innovative connected GPS technology which supports the maintenance of the club’s two Jack Nicklaus-designed courses as well as offering players a range of in-car services.

Club Car & London GC extend relationship

Club Car & London GC extend relationship

London Golf Club, a European Tour Destination and the host venue of this summer’s English Open, has chosen Club Car as its supplier for 22 years.

Stephen Follett, CEO of London Golf Club, said: “We decided to renew the fleet towards the end of last year following the huge amount of use the cars had last summer and with another busy season ahead. We viewed the reopening in March as if we were opening a new venue, and that meant reopening with a new fleet of cars. We also carried out renovations in various areas of our clubhouse, made upgrades in our IT and carried out refresher training with our staff.

“We wanted to show our members, guests, and visitors that we are a forward thinking venue that is committed to continuously investing in our product, services and people. This is our second fleet with the connected technology – we love it, our customers love it and it’s synonymous with London Golf Club.”

Kevin Hart, Director of Golf Sales EMEA at Club Car, added: “London Golf Club is one of the most prestigious venues in Europe and we are proud that Club Car has been its chosen supplier for so long.

“The club and its leadership are very much in tune with what the customers want and never fail to deliver an exceptional golfing experience. We look forward to this long relationship continuing in future.”

London Golf Club has hosted the European Open (2008 and 2009) and the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship (2018 and 2019), and will welcome the English Open from August 12-15 this year.

The newly installed fleet of Club Car vehicles marks the sixth that local dealer Bradshaw has delivered to London Golf Club over the duration of the 22-year relationship.

For more information about London Golf Club, visit: https://www.londongolf.co.uk

For more information about Club Car, visit: https://www.clubcar.com

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Fairways GM brings Jacobsen GP400 to Pitlochry GC

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Fairways GM brings Jacobsen GP400 to Pitlochry GC: A busy course manager to two golf courses in the central Highlands has raised over £9,000 in his spare time for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance Service.

Almost a year ago, a helicopter rescued Stuart Griffiths after an on-course accident left him trapped for nearly two hours under a machine. Emergency surgery and thirteen nights in hospital followed, with Stuart happily making a full recovery and back to work in October.

Fairways GM brings Jacobsen GP400 to Pitlochry GC

Fairways GM brings Jacobsen GP400 to Pitlochry GC

Stuart’s day job is split across two glorious Perthshire courses, eight miles apart. Pitlochry GC has 18 dramatic and scenic holes plus a tricky six-hole Pitch & Putt course while near neighbour, Blair Atholl GC has nine holes, also with stunning backdrops of the Cairngorms’ National Park.  Both courses are owned by Pitlochry contractors, RW Bell Electrical, which in the last five years has successfully harnessed positive community momentum and a resurgence of visitors from near and far, to win some prestigious tourism accolades.

“I joined Blair Atholl in 2010 as head greenkeeper. In 2015, when Stephen Carruthers, owner of Pitlochry, decided to merge the two, he asked me to manage them together, which frankly, took a lot of heat off me, as I was caring for a nine-hole course with a large expenditure,” explained Stuart.

“So, I became course manager of both; the first couple of seasons took a little bit of sorting, in respect of taking staff and machinery between two places, but soon we were in a better routine than before. We are very lucky.  Blair Atholl had a decent set of machinery prior to Pitlochry taking over, so actually, there is very little machinery swapping, only say, when we are spraying or top dressing.

“Staff wise, we work it out, essentially, everyone’s at both. We’re a team of five – full timers Billy Hoggins, Douglas Black, Sean Menzies, and Rob Coughlan, plus our long standing volunteer mechanic, and cutter of rough, Frank Brennan. Traditionally, there’s a big weekly Wednesday competition for visitors at Pitlochry, so on Wednesdays after set up, we all come to Blair Atholl.

To boost their fleet, in April, Stuart purchased a Jacobsen GP400 ride on greens mower, exclusively for Pitlochry’s greens. Mike Lindsay, Area Sales Manager, from local dealer, Fairways GM at Kinross, was on hand to provide sales support and demonstration know how.

“It’s May, there’s snow on the hills and we’ve been out cutting with it twice,” laughed Stuart. “That sorts of says it all for the season so far, but we’re extremely positive and excited for warmer temperatures. Feedback from the team on the GP400 is very good. The overall cutting experience is great. Technology-wise, it is a big step up from what we’ve had; it’s got great design, is precise and clean and we’ll be able to cut the greens so much quicker.”

Fairways GM’s, Mike Lindsay, said: “It’s such an all-rounder when you’re against time and got greens to prepare. The swing-out centre cutting unit allows easy access for changing height of cut and routine inspection.  For access, there’s a neat step behind the front wheel and for visibility, the angle of the curved steering arm gives the best view of the right-hand cutting unit. Also a steering arm clamp, lets your arm take up a really comfy position.  It’s a machine that makes life easier.”

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