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Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future

April 27, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Louise Parratt

Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future: Morpeth Golf Club has a new approach to running its 117-year-old business; utilising every asset to broaden its appeal and be much more than just a great course. With new leadership and investment across the site, Morpeth is focused on drawing in customers to the clubhouse, restaurant, pro […]

Cramer revolutionises large-scale mowing

April 27, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Julie Richards

Cramer revolutionises large-scale mowing: The Cramer Zero Turn 82ZT132 is an innovative battery-driven mower that is equivalent to an 800cc petrol-driven Zero Turn, with lower running and ownership costs. Next to traditional lawn tractors, Zero Turns have become more and more popular due to their ability to turn on the spot, allowing users to mow […]

Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future

April 27, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Louise Parratt

Cramer revolutionises large-scale mowing

April 27, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Julie Richards

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Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future

April 27, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Louise Parratt

Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future: Morpeth Golf Club has a new approach to running its 117-year-old business; utilising every asset to broaden its appeal and be much more than just a great course.

With new leadership and investment across the site, Morpeth is focused on drawing in customers to the clubhouse, restaurant, pro shop, simulator, events space and personal training facilities, as well as its flourishing 18-hole golf course.

Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future

A more positive and profitable future is being spearheaded by general manager Chris Liddell and course manager John Scurfield whose new strategy has included a significant investment in new course machinery from John Deere.

“If everything around the course is doing well, we have the budget to ensure our greenkeeping team gets all the tools it needs to keep the place looking great,” Chris said.

He joined the club in January to support its development through the bar and catering aspect of the business. As a former regional director for branded hospitality groups such as Pizza Express and TGI Friday’s, Chris has also been a member at Morpeth for 20 years.

“Where I feel I’ve been able to add a bit of value to the club is bringing in the big company principles such as implementing budgetary processes and more structure in how the club is run,” says Chris. “What will be pivotal in growing the club in the future is not only appealing to our current membership, but also broadening our appeal to the wider community. A part of what we have to do here is appeal to every demographic.”

Morpeth has 650 playing members, with over 20 more joining since the New Year. Chris projects the club could have about 750 members by the end of the year.

One aspect he wants to rejuvenate is the junior golf initiatives by developing an academy membership for young golfers to progress.

“In recent years I’ve seen that golf clubs have taken a hit in the number of junior memberships and that is something that I want to change,” says Chris. “I want to start getting more juniors into golf because I remember having such great days here when I was a junior member myself.”

To maintain the club’s growth, the stunning parkland course must be maintained to the highest standard, which is helped by Morpeth’s long-standing relationship with John Deere dealer Thomas Sheriff & Co.

Course manager John has been working at the club since he left school and has always used John Deere machinery. It’s a course he knows better than most ¬– holding the record with a six-under-par 65.

“We’ve had this partnership with John Deere for about 30 years, and the investment in the machinery has been necessary,” says John. “As the number of golf clubs in the area increases it dilutes the market, so we have to provide the best possible standard of our course to keep our current members and attract future ones.”

Morpeth’s latest investment includes an 8000A E-Cut Hybrid Fairway Mower, a HPX 815E Work Utility Gator, a 2550 E-Cut Riding Greens Mower, a HD 200 Precision Sprayer, and a 2030A Gator. All the machines are on a five-year finance lease with John Deere.

With only a five-person greenkeeping team, a busy playing membership and the course driven to staying open all year round, there are challenges. But John has taken to visiting other clubs to see how other teams manage.

“On volunteering at various clubs including Royal Cinque Ports and Royal Liverpool Golf Club, I went to see what I could bring back to Morpeth, even though we’re worlds apart from those bigger clubs,” says John. “One thing I brought back was that staff morale is so important. Despite these guys starting at 4am and working all day, they never stop laughing and joking around with each other and they keep a real team spirit.

“When handpicking new people to work with us, I’ve learned to base them more on their character than their skillset because team morale is so important.”

John’s team are all now experienced in using the John Deere machinery, and are proud to do so, being particularly impressed by the reliability and efficiency of the mowers that they use.

“Before they came here to Morpeth these guys hadn’t really had much experience with John Deere machines at the previous clubs they worked at,” John says. “So when they came here and started using the John Deere mowers, they straight away said that it’s top notch. It’s always a good sign when your team are proud of what they’re working with.”

In developing and maintaining the course for the future, John is interested in looking into John Deere’s GPS technology for future investments, looking at how implementing it could further increase efficiency in maintaining the grounds and also help in keeping costs down.

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Cramer revolutionises large-scale mowing

April 27, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Julie Richards

Cramer revolutionises large-scale mowing: The Cramer Zero Turn 82ZT132 is an innovative battery-driven mower that is equivalent to an 800cc petrol-driven Zero Turn, with lower running and ownership costs.

Next to traditional lawn tractors, Zero Turns have become more and more popular due to their ability to turn on the spot, allowing users to mow quite narrowly around obstacles and in corners. Zero Turns are especially useful for mowing large areas but also come in handy for broad mowing in narrow spaces or parks and areas with many trees, bushes and flower beds.

Cramer revolutionises large-scale mowing

Most Zero Turns and lawn tractors in the market are petrol driven, but the Cramer Zero Turn 82ZT132 features an integrated 82V 16kWh battery, which enables landscapers to mow a 40000 m² area / five hours on a single charge. Without having to use petrol you also work with lower vibrations, lower noise and zero emissions or harmful fumes.

The Cramer Zero Turn 82ZT132 has a forward speed of 16 km/h and perfect turning around obstacles thanks to driver sticks which allow easy steering and handling. The fabricated 132cm cutting deck, with three efficient brushless 1.5 kW motors, is wider than most common cutting decks and will cut grass reliably, fast and evenly – and without having to compromise on the quality of mowing.

The Zero Turn also provides extra safety: with the integrated 4G SIM card you will always stay connected to your device. The Cramer Connect App allows you to set schedules, get notifications and reports from driving, and have total security over your device’s location at any time. Extra protection against theft is provided by the GSM Geofence, which makes sure the Zero Turn is not used outside its home territory.

Zero Turns are known for a quite compact product design, allowing the user to sit on top of the machine in an ergonomic sitting position and easily ascend and descend. The Cramer Zero Turn 82ZT132 has the added benefit of a suspended seat for extra driving comfort.

To find your nearest Cramer Zero Turn retailer, go to: www.cramertools.com/gb/en/dealers.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future

Cramer revolutionises large-scale mowing

Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future

Cramer revolutionises large-scale mowing

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future

Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future: Morpeth Golf Club has a new approach to running its 117-year-old business; utilising every asset to broaden its appeal and be much more than just a great course.

Cramer revolutionises large-scale mowing

Cramer revolutionises large-scale mowing: The Cramer Zero Turn 82ZT132 is an innovative battery-driven mower that is equivalent to an 800cc petrol-driven Zero Turn, with lower running and ownership costs.

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