Kubota rises to the maintenance challenges at Hellidon Lakes

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Kubota rises to the maintenance challenges at Hellidon Lakes: Located at the highest point of Northamptonshire, Hellidon Lakes Golf Club boasts 27-holes of challenging parkland play, a hotel and a range of other facilities. Behind the pristine fairways and manicured greens is a small, dedicated maintenance team led by Golf Course Manager Gary Armstrong and an L2-622 and RTV-X1110 from Kubota.

A long-time Kubota user, Gary and his team have relied on the brand for both reliability and versatility. “I’ve worked with Kubota equipment for years so was pleased, when I started here seven years ago, to find Kubota was already part of the fleet. Our Senior Management at Hellidon Lakes loves the Kubota brand and the equipment is also favoured at our other venue course in Shropshire.” Gary explains.

Kubota rises to the maintenance challenges at Hellidon Lakes

Kubota rises to the maintenance challenges at Hellidon Lakes

This year, Hellidon Lakes upgraded its fleet through local Kubota dealer George Browns, replacing their previous compact tractor which had served the club for over 20 years with a higher-horsepower L2-622 which was delivered in April 2025, alongside an RTV-X1110.

“Our grounds here are steep and undulating so we needed something that could handle these ground conditions and power a wide array of implements. The L2-622 is now our main workhorse – running our trailed mower, sprayers, trailers, side-arm flails… basically anything that requires a tractor, the L2 is there to provide the power!” He adds, “The greater capacity and capability of the L2-622 gives us scope moving forwards to utilise other, more power-hungry implements that will bring further benefit to our maintenance programme, particularly on the fairways.”

“The RTV-X1110 has been brilliant for moving materials and people around the site, with the added bonus of it being homologated for road use.” Gary notes, “With hydrostatic transmission (HST), it’s slightly different to operate than our previous utility vehicle but feels better tailored to the needs of turf maintenance and the team have quickly and easily adapted to it, to get the most out of the RTV.”

Longevity and robust reliability were key considerations in the club’s choice to stick with Kubota, with the management teams confidence in the brand making the recent investments an easy decision. Important, too, is the strong local support from George Browns. “Our relationship with George Browns is fantastic. Their Daventry depot is just a few miles away giving us extra peace of mind and making service and parts easily accessible. This convenience, combined with trust in the badge, sealed the deal” Gary concludes.

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The Drift renews with Toro

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The Drift renews with Toro: Over the last five years, The Drift in Surrey has invested over £2 million to bring in new facilities and improve the course in preparation for its 50th anniversary in 2025 and a key element of that process was the signing of a fleet lease deal with Toro and Reesink Turfcare.

Tom Parrish, General Manager at The Drift, provides an update on the works and what’s next for the impressive 18-hole championship course, as the club signs for another five years, in a dual deal with its sister club, Badgemore Park in Oxfordshire,

The Drift renews with Toro

The Drift renews with Toro

“The Drift and Badgemore Park have been in very similar situations in the last five years,” explains Tom. “We’ve both had 50th anniversaries that have been commemorated with extensive improvement and investment plans to the course. While the focus of the work has been different, the requirements for executing them to the best of our ability have been largely down to having the right turfcare equipment.”

When The Drift renewed with Toro last time, the success and results were so immediate and noticeable that its sister club Badgemore Park followed quickly into its own similar deal with Reesink. When renewal time came and with neither club wanting to change the set-up, a dual deal was brokered by Paul Bell at Reesink Turfcare.

“Working with partners who would ensure we had the best possible resources to do the work and complete the projects on time was vital and that’s why we chose Toro and Reesink as our preferred turfcare partners,” confirms Tom.

“It was the right decision. The course presentation continues to improve year on year, and we have more plans to ensure we continue to improve the quality of the golfing experience here at The Drift. We feel that with the improvements we have already seen, having Toro on side once again was the obvious choice.”

Investment at The Drift focused on making improvements to enhance the enjoyment, challenge and conditions for members and guests, Tom says: “In the last five years we’ve re-designed holes five, six and nine, making nine a new signature hole, as well as a complete bunker redevelopment project and the opening of our Top of the Range Academy and Driving Range powered by TrackMan.”

Having made the right machinery selection five years ago, little was changed as the club renewed. Tom says: “The core fleet remains the same, the quality of cut for the greens machines was so good we didn’t need to tweak this, but we have brought in additional equipment to support their good work – the GreensPro roller for example will further push the quality and speed of the putting surfaces, exactly what we’re aiming for.”

The fleet is led by three Toro Greensmaster TriFlex 3400 mowers famed for a precision finish, the lightweight Reelmaster 3575 for the fairways, and the Groundsmaster 3500 triplex rotary mower. There’s a new sprayer – the Multi Pro 1750 – as well as an update to the utility vehicle fleet with the Workman MDX-D. Tom adds: “We took the opportunity to bring on board an AgriMetal blower from Reesink too.”

With the 50-year celebrations underway what’s next for the club? “We feel we’re exactly where we wanted to be,” says Tom. “The clubhouse renovation and expansion are next on our list to ensure the improvements in the golf course are matched with the off-course experience as well. We continue to ensure we’re providing our members with a golf offering befitting a club with our history.”

Discover how choosing Toro could benefit your course by calling distributor Reesink UK on 01480 226800, emailing info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk or visiting reesinkturfcare.co.uk.

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Baroness delivers reliability and performance

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Baroness delivers reliability and performance: For over 20 years, Bristol’s Tall Pines Golf Club have relied on the consistency and quality of Baroness to keep their playing surfaces in pristine condition.

Head Greenkeeper Marc Rossiter currently runs a fleet of eight Baroness mowers to cut every blade of grass at the 18-hole course, praising the outstanding simplicity in operation and industry-leading reliability of cut the brand has delivered for over two decades.

Baroness delivers reliability and performance

Baroness delivers reliability and performance

Himself celebrating 30 years at the club next year, Marc knows firsthand the difference high-quality, reliable equipment makes. “Put simply, they cut better than anything we’ve used previously and the build quality with Baroness is brilliant. On our fairways, for example, we’re using the LM551B and have never had to change the bottom blade, whereas on other machines, you’d be changing it every season” he explains.

Running alongside the LM551B fairway mower is the GM2810A five-deck rough rotary mower, two LM315GC greens mowers, an LM331 for tees and surrounds, LM180 for banks and around trees and a pair of Baroness LM56GC hand mowers. “They all suit our situation really well” Marc adds. “Each machine gives us versatility, whether that’s working on different terrain and coping well with the course’s slopes and valleys or being able to easily adjust the height of cut to mow multiple areas, on different ground conditions, with one machine.”

“Our LM315GC greens mowers can also be equipped with rollers and scarifier cassettes, which we can quickly exchange with the cutting units and means we can conduct multiple maintenance operations saving both time and money.” Further budget-friendly benefits are brought about by the LM315’s cable-driven operation. “This not only reduces the risk of a hydraulic or oil leak but, in the 20 years we’ve had these machines, we’ve only had the occasional cable snap, reducing all-important downtime and costly repair bills.”

Marc continues, “The machines are not complicated or flashy, but they do exactly what we need them to do and that’s cut grass really well! The fact that there’s less to go wrong is a huge plus with us being a small team of five and not having our own dedicated mechanic.”

When support is needed, Marc and the team know they can call on local dealers Lister Wilder or their Baroness regional manager Paul Watson. “On the rare occasion we have a question or issue, the after-sales support is second-to-none. If it’s something that can’t be answered over the phone, someone will be with us that day or the next to get us back up and running nice and quickly.”

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Royal Dornoch and its total Toro solution

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Royal Dornoch and its total Toro solution: In the highlands of Scotland Royal Dornoch is celebrating the handover of a £1.5 million Toro irrigation system for the Struie Course and the arrival of a fleet of all-electric ride-on Toro Greensmaster mowers and Workman utility vehicles.

Termed a ‘Toro Total Solutions’ customer when both Toro irrigation and machinery are selected for the complete care of the course, Royal Dornoch has been a loyal Toro customer of both for decades.

Royal Dornoch and its total Toro solution

Royal Dornoch and its total Toro solution

Replacing the irrigation on the Struie Course with a future-proof solution had been in discussion for many years. The club had acquired 50 acres of land with plans to build additional holes, including a new par‑3, and needed an irrigation infrastructure capable of supporting an expanded layout.

For this purpose, the club specified Lynx Smart Control System, Infinity 35 Multi Trajectory sprinklers, Infinity 55 Dual and Multi Trajectory sprinklers and 590G sprinklers with Precision Rotating Nozzles for the 18-hole course.

Explaining the reasons behind this decision General Manager Neil Hampton says, “The new system provides a robust and flexible backbone for current maintenance and new turf in future course development. It will be much better on the sustainability front: we won’t be using more water; the system will allow us to target where water is needed and control application from mobile phones and laptops.”

With the system operational since the beginning of 2025, Course Manager Eoin Riddell can confirm: “It’s already saving our greenkeepers a huge amount of time and effort; it makes watering so efficient. The benefits are significant all round – it’s good ecologically, financially and from an agronomy perspective, too.”

Robert Jackson, Division Manager at Reesink Hydro-Scapes, says, “So many people came together to ensure the smooth installation for Royal Dornoch: Adrian Mortram Associates, the installation team from Ocmis, Simon Squires from Toro and us as distributor. It’s credit to all involved that the project was completed on time and on budget.”

Meanwhile, the continuing choice of Toro machinery is down to its reliability, consistency and quality, says Neil: “Toro performs all day, every day for us. It takes a lot of stress away knowing you do not have to worry about that aspect of the business.

“We’ve always been able to trust Toro. There’s reliability in terms of performance as well as Toro always being at the forefront of new machinery research and development. As the expectations of golfers continue to increase, we need to provide the best conditions for play, and we can do that with Toro.”

The most recent machinery delivery includes four of the Toro Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 mowers and eight Workman GTX Lithium-ion utility vehicles.

Eoin says, “We first invested in the electric Greensmaster eTriFlex when it launched in 2020 and they’ve proved year after year to be able to do the job we require with the benefit of being the sustainable option. Same with the utility vehicles. These machines are now a staple in our fleet.

“As well as all the previous reasons stated, the back up from Reesink is a big factor in our continuing loyalty, as is the interest that Toro shows in how we use the equipment.”

Mike Turnbull, Reesink Scotland Branch Manager, concludes: “We’re in a privileged position to understand Royal Dornoch’s requirements having worked with them for so long, and it’s a continuing pleasure to be able to support them as they maintain the high standards and move forward with exciting projects that will benefit the club for years to come.”

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Landscape Services productivity soars with Kubota zero-turns

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Landscape Services productivity soars with Kubota zero-turns: Over the last 18 months, much of the green grass across Kent has seen an influx of orange cutting equipment in a transition to Kubota for Landscape Services, part of the Commercial Services Group.

Landscape Services has enhanced efficiency with the addition of 15 ZD1211 zero-turn mowers, alongside other Kubota equipment including an F391 and G231HD mower and an LX-401 compact tractor.

Landscape Services productivity soars with Kubota zero-turns

Landscape Services productivity soars with Kubota zero-turns

For over 80 years, Landscape Services has specialised in planning, developing and implementing grounds, landscaping, arb and pest control projects across the South East. Today, more than 80 operatives are responsible for the maintenance of over 1000 sites including schools, sports clubs, housing associations, national parks and private land owners to name but a few. Helping them service the vast and varied requirements is a significant fleet of equipment from Kubota.

As part of a strategic move from cylinder to rotary mowers, Landscape Services have taken delivery of 15 ZD1211 zero-turn mowers via local dealer Lister Wilder in the last 18 months. Managing Director Phil Morgan takes up the story, “The switch to Kubota and the zero-turn mowers in particular has enhanced the way we operate. Their manoeuvrability allows our team to work efficiently on sites of all shapes and sizes, with their ease of use and low maintenance resulting in significant productivity improvements.”

Kubota’s ZD1211 zero-turn mower has been engineered from the ground up to deliver quality, performance, comfort and durability. The 3-blade, 140mm deep deck features a flat design and unique baffling system to lift and cut grass with accuracy and ensure clippings are evenly discharged. Phil concurs, “The quality of the end result is outstanding and, most of all, the team enjoy using them!”

Working alongside the zero-turns are other ride-on machines from the Kubota portfolio including an F391 and G231HD cut and collect machine which, again, has improved both the productivity and safety of the grass cutting operation. “We also have a compact LX401 tractor which has proven to be a capable all-rounder. We use the LX401 on contracts where its narrow frame allows us to reach places a larger tractor can’t access, most often when cutting hedgerows.”

Running close to 20 Kubota machines, dealer support for Landscape Services is critical. “We are pleased with the service we’ve had from Lister Wilder, so much so that we even awarded them ‘Supplier of the Year’ for 2025.” Phil adds, “We were hesitant in making such a substantial change to our equipment fleet but the results we’ve seen have been staggering and with the service agreement we have in place, we know we can expect reliable service from our Kubota equipment.”

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