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Second Toro Agreement For Sherborne

July 12, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Georgina Scott

Five Years Trouble-Free Mowing Sees 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 […]

Fleet Upgrade Pays Dividends

July 12, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Steve Mitchell

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. 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 […]

Second Toro Agreement For Sherborne

July 12, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Georgina Scott

Fleet Upgrade Pays Dividends

July 12, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Steve Mitchell

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Second Toro Agreement For Sherborne

July 12, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Georgina Scott

Five Years Trouble-Free Mowing Sees 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 125^thanniversary 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

July 12, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Steve Mitchell

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.

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

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

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

Follow us on Twitter 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.

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Second Toro Agreement For Sherborne

Fleet Upgrade Pays Dividends

Second Toro Agreement For Sherborne

Fleet Upgrade Pays Dividends

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Second Toro Agreement For Sherborne

Fleet Upgrade Pays Dividends

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