Bobcat Introduces All New XRZ & XRZ Pro Zero Turn Mower

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Bobcat introduces all new XRZ & XRZ Pro Zero Turn Mower: To ensure Bobcat and its customers are competitive in the Utility and Budget Priced zero turn market Bobcat have introduced the XRZ & XRZ Pro models.

Bobcat introduces all new XRZ & XRZ Pro Zero Turn Mower

Built for lawn mowing professionals who put affordability high on their shopping list without compromising quality. Price range XRZ- £6800-7150.  XRZ Pro £7350-7800. ROPS £338. All plus vat.

Equipped with 22” rear Drive Wheels for a smooth ride over undulating terrain also giving increased traction on slopes and overall stability. Available in deck sizes 48”,52” and 61” there is a model for most needs. Adjustable deck from the sitting position with cutting heights from one and a half inch to four and a half inch.

Powered by reliable Kawasaki FR engines with Hydro Gear ZT3100 Transaxles that allow operators to mow at groundspeeds of up to 8 mph, coupled with a large 6 gallon fuel tank the XRZ has plenty of cutting hours in the tank. With operator comfort a priority some models are equipped with a premium high back elastomeric vibration control (EVC) seat to ease out the vibrations on undulating terrain.

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Second Toro Agreement For Sherborne

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Five Years Trouble-Free Mowing Sees Second Toro Agreement For Sherborne

Second Toro Agreement For Sherborne

Five years of trouble-free mowing sees Sherborne Golf Club on the border of Dorset and Somerset embark on its second five-year partnership agreement with Toro.

Coinciding with an extensive re-landscaping project, Toro has earnt its position at the club by being able to cope with the tough work involved with course improvements and the daily year-round cutting the free-draining, grass-factory course demands.

Course manager Chris Watson says: “When we made the decision to first partner with Toro, it wasn’t the most logical decision logistically, nor the cheapest. Devon Garden Machinery [DGM], the Toro dealer for the area, is about an hour and a half away, and there are closer dealers for competitive machinery, one just nine miles away, and Toro’s premium turfcare machinery isn’t the cheapest available. However, it is the best for a precision cut with an unsurpassed after-cut appearance and that trumped everything for everyone involved in the decision.

“DGM has proved distance doesn’t matter. For example, I recently alerted my contact Elliot Wellman about a hydraulic breakdown at 6am and by 3pm a replacement machine had been sourced and delivered. This kind of support and service – trouble-free! – is so reassuring to have.”

The parkland course can be challenging to maintain. The soil is sandy, the grass grows quickly and the terrain is hilly. All of these factors put machines to the test, as Chris, who has been at Sherborne for 14 years and leads a greenkeeping team of four, confirms: “We’ve recently taken delivery of a Reelmaster 5610-D, which is a replacement machine. We did consider an alternative, but with a course like this and the potential to have a repeat occurrence of the inordinate amount of rain seen over the summer of 2012 meant we went with the machine we knew could handle extreme conditions. Even with grass growth regulators we are cutting every day! Plus, the power-to-hill ratio of that machine is perfect for this course.”

Adding to the day-to-day is a landscaping project which has been ongoing for over the five years. Four holes have been redone, new back tees have been created and some have been moved, the course has been extended and now work has moved on to the practise areas. All the work is sympathetic to and reflective of the original James Braid design of the course and the results are being warmly received by members.

“Our landscaping project is self-funding,” says Chris. “The landscaping materials come from local housing developments. 14,000 tones of soil have been used to rebuild a tiger tee and give moulding around the green on the eighth hole. The other tees have been mounded into the landscaping to create tiger tees and the landscaping around the first four holes have been enhanced. When we were in the initial stages of designing and planning we took into account the Toro fleet and subsequently the machines have done a great job on the new surfaces, especially the rough decks.”

This deal makes Sherborne a 100 percent Toro club and includes the purchase, rather than lease, of the club’s handmowers including the latest delivery of two Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian mowers. Combine the flexibility of these new machines with the club’s 125th anniversary year approaching, and there’s plenty for Sherborne and Toro to look forward to together!

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Fleet Upgrade Pays Dividends

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Fleet Upgrade Pays Dividends: When Potters Point holiday resort in County Wicklow, Ireland replaced its golf course maintenance equipment fleet, it carried on a 20-year association with John Deere.

Fleet Upgrade Pays Dividends

This exclusive luxury mobile home park was established in 1957 and is situated in rolling parkland on a stunning headland overlooking Brittas Bay. Resort members have free use of Potters Point Golf Club; established in 1987, the nine-hole parkland course is also open to green fee paying non-members. Both the resort and the course were developed by Malachy McDaniel Stone.

“We bought our first John Deere machines in 1997,” says manager Irene Lacey. “John Deere machines last for ages – we’d had nothing new since 2008, so the fleet was getting old. This time, rather than replace the machines individually and pay for ongoing repairs, we decided to change all the equipment at the same time. The benefits were a better trade-in price and all the new machines being up-to-date and equipped with the latest technology.”

The new fleet includes three PrecisionCut cylinder mowers – an 8700A for the fairways, a 2653B for tees and surrounds and a 2500B for the greens – a JX90 walk-behind rotary mower, a 1200A bunker rake, two 3038R compact tractors equipped with mid-mounted rotary mower decks plus one front loader, and three 6×4 diesel Gator utility vehicles.

“We opted to replace two quad bikes with an extra utility vehicle, as the Gator is far more versatile,” says Irene. “In addition to the cargo bed, it can pull a trailer and carry two staff. The Gators are used as general purpose materials and staff transporters, and for jobs such as emptying the bins on the course. They’re four-wheel drive and fitted with heavy-duty all-purpose tyres, as it can be wet at times. The 3038R compacts are also used to mow the grass areas in the mobile home park.”

Whereas other makes have been demonstrated and test-driven in the past, this time Potters Point went straight to its long-time supplier, John Deere dealer Dublin Grass Machinery. “I have been on a number of John Deere courses, so I know the equipment better than other makes,” says head greenkeeper Eamonn Delaney. “We’ve dealt with Dublin Grass Machinery for the past 20 years and know that they provide a high level of after-sales service.

“I also have a good working relationship with their chief technician Roger Ingles. We carry out regular maintenance on-site, while Dublin Grass Machinery takes the machines in for winter servicing and blade changing, and provides a 24 hour turnaround. As the equipment is serviced regularly, we’ve very little downtime and it means the staff are not having to sort out machines when we could be doing something else around the resort.

“As far as the latest technology is concerned, compared to our older fleet, the quick-release system on the compact tractors’ mid-mounted deck is a fantastic piece of engineering. Setting up features such as the single-point height of cut adjustment on the mowers are a massive improvement too – they’re much easier and save a huge amount of time,” Eamonn adds.

“Engine noise has also been reduced considerably on all the machines and there are a lot more safety devices – the health and safety aspect has improved greatly.”

For more information, visit: www.JohnDeere.co.uk

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Reesink Turfcare Service Branch In East Anglia Expansion

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Reesink Turfcare service branch in East Anglia expansion: Reesink Turfcare has concluded a recruitment drive to expand its service branch in East Anglia with five new members joining the team in St Neots, Cambridgeshire.

Reesink Turfcare service branch in East Anglia expansion

Stuart Hall joins the company as service manager and Andrew Carpenter comes on board as parts supervisor. Both appointments further strengthen the philosophy of the brand to provide knowledge and expert advice while also giving customers direct access to maintenance, servicing and parts support.

In joining Reesink Turfcare at its East Anglia service branch, Stuart is fulfilling a long-held ambition to work for the company and brings to the role 16 years’ experience servicing and maintaining Toro‘s turfcare machinery. He says: “As workshop manager at John O’Gaunt Golf Club, where I worked for 25 years, I have been on the ‘other’ side of things and know exactly how important it is to be able to rely on distributor and manufacturer back-up and prompt parts delivery.

“I have worked through the preparation and hosting of major events including the 2010 Ryder Cup and can vouch that in order to keep to deadlines and tight schedules having direct access to factory-based technicians is essential.”

And that’s exactly what the teams at all Reesink Turfcare service branches offer and it’s also exactly why Reesink prides itself on recruiting those who understand that level of requirement and can confidently deal directly with customers, adding value and building strong relationships.

A couple of years as a service manager for a machinery dealership in Bedfordshire confirmed to Stuart that this was an area on which he wanted to focus his career.

Similarly, Andrew Carpenter is well aware of the high level of service expected from a distributor. Having worked for nine years with Lely Turfcare, this move continues a successful career during which Andrew progressed from temporary warehouse team member to parts sales supervisor. It was in this role that Andrew became the company’s first point of contact for technical parts queries and developed into the company’s TYM tractor product specialist.

Stuart and Andrew will be supported by a team that includes three newly appointed technicians. Matt Thomas, a mechanical engineer, and Liam Pindred with five years’ experience as a workshop technician and production workshop supervisor at Reesink, join the mobile technician team; and Keith Knight brings two years’ experience in the Reesink assembly and service department to the branch in his new role of internal workshop technician.

The Reesink Turfcare East Anglia branch operates from Reesink’s headquarters, supporting the region’s professional grounds maintenance customers, including golf clubs and sports clubs, leisure sites, local authorities, landscape maintenance contractors and large estates and private gardens.

Stuart concludes by saying: “The East Anglia branch provides its customers with access to experts in their fields, offering advice and guidance straight from the manufacturer and distributor, but with a local understanding. This recent expansion demonstrates the importance the company places on its local networks and why the region has developed a strong Toro and TYM customer base. These are exciting and busy times!”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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18 Cub Cadet Infinicut™ Units At Wimbledon

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Mower fleet replaced at Wimbledon with 18 Cub Cadet Infinicut™ units: MTD Specialty Turf Products (formally ATT) has completed the order of 18 Cub Cadet Infinicut™ mowers to The All England Tennis Club at Wimbledon. 

18 Cub Cadet Infinicut™ Units At Wimbledon

The Cub Cadet Infinicut™ is a visually striking machine and has one of the shortest footprints of any walk behind mower on the market allowing ultra-low heights of cut.  The order comprised fifteen 21” models and three 30” variants and just 3 weeks before the tournament commenced, the grounds team took time out to line them all up for a photoshoot.

The Cub Cadet Infinicut™, with LiPo battery power, was supplied on trial for the 2016 tournament and was so successful with the grounds team, and for that matter the BBC because it made no noise during their daily briefings to air, that a firm order was placed.  They had them on demo before and during the 2016 tournament and were really impressed with the build quality of the units.  Says Head Groundsman Grant Cantin, “The new Infini mowers leave us a quality cut that is paramount to our operation here at Wimbledon.”

The Wimbledon venue is in close proximity to housing, and the site itself is compact with lots of closed structures within it, so switching over to a mower that produces extremely low levels of noise has been welcomed by all.

Tennis courts need a mower of 21” width in order to facilitate equal striping over the courts, and the 22” Infinicut™ was easily adapted to accept 21” cutting reels.  The reel motor position was also an issue but again switching it over to the opposite side, in order to present a clean side of the mower to the edge of the court, caused no problem.  Adaptations of this kind are possible because of the ‘state-of-the-art’ design of the unit where most other products on the market haven’t changed much in forty years.

They also took delivery of a number of SMARTUltraGroomer cassettes to go into the 21” units.  These cassettes remove huge amounts of debris, resulting in a smooth surface, with no detrimental effects on the surface.  The cassette will also remove seed heads in Poa annua turf and on newly established courts, it can help reduce the ingress of Poa annua by “grabbing” individual plants before they get a chance to take hold.

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