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Kubota at Harpenden Common GC

September 26, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Elena Cossar

Kubota at Harpenden Common GC: Ask the team at Harpenden Common Golf Club about their favourite and most adaptable pieces of equipment, and it’s Kubota that wins the day – with the club loyal to ‘orange’ when it comes to both tractors and course utility vehicles. Head Greenkeeper Olly Claridge explains how their current fleet […]

Ventrac for Burnham Beeches

September 26, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Peter Driver

Ventrac for Burnham Beeches: Burnham Beeches Golf Club, located in the Thames Valley in south Buckinghamshire, 25 miles west of London, is the latest club to take a package of Ventrac equipment. Delivered by local dealer, RT Machinery Ltd, the package includes a Ventrac 4520 all-terrain compact tractor unit together with a selection of attachments […]

Kubota at Harpenden Common GC

September 26, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Elena Cossar

Ventrac for Burnham Beeches

September 26, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Peter Driver

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Kubota at Harpenden Common GC

September 26, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Elena Cossar

Kubota at Harpenden Common GC: Ask the team at Harpenden Common Golf Club about their favourite and most adaptable pieces of equipment, and it’s Kubota that wins the day – with the club loyal to ‘orange’ when it comes to both tractors and course utility vehicles.

Head Greenkeeper Olly Claridge explains how their current fleet of three compact tractors and two RTV’s bring versatility, efficiency and ultimate manoeuvrability to year-round maintenance of the Hertfordshire club.

Kubota at Harpenden Common GC

Olly has been at the 18-hole common land course for the last 11 years, starting as an apprentice and working his way through the ranks to Head Greenkeeper, now supported by a full-time team of six. “It has always been Kubota here – my predecessors and now myself working closely with David Fisher at local dealer George Browns Ltd, to exchange and upgrade equipment as and when required” Olly explains.

“We currently have three Kubota tractors – an STW40, L2501 with front loader attachment and the newest addition is an L2622 – and they’re all brilliant!” Olly explains how the fleet, ranging from 40hp to 61hp, powers the entire maintenance operation. “The compact STW40 has wide tyres which is perfect for spreading the load, making it ideal for work on the greens. We use this one for brushing and towing smaller implements and trailers, as well as equipping it with the spray tank for all of our fertiliser applications.”

“Moving through the range, the L2501 is incredibly versatile. The loader is a godsend for winter construction projects, and for quickly and easily filling the topdresser etc. The loader bucket can also be swapped for pallet forks or removed completely. Also, the tractor has outstanding pulling ability for use with more power-hungry implements such as the Verti-Drain or our Trilo leaf collector.”

The newest tractor for Olly and the team to put through its paces is the 61hp L2622 – the largest model in Kubota’s L2 series. The L2622 combines robust, reliable technology with a high degree of comfort and efficiency making it ideal for a vast array of tasks. “When we need big power, we turn to this tractor and it’s just a pleasure to use.” He continues, “As time goes on, you see how Kubota are always innovating and delivering new features to enhance the operator experience.”

One feature Olly notes is the two-speed engine memory, which allows you to set and switch between low revs and working revs at the touch of a button improving functionality, fuel-efficiency and saving the time ordinarily taken to throttle the engine down to the required speed. “It might not seem like a big thing, but using this function saves so much time in the long run and makes life easy for the operator.”

Besides their tractors, the club also run two Kubota RTV’s – a petrol RTV 500 and diesel-powered RTV X900. “Again, we have the versatility of a smaller, faster vehicle or a slightly larger capacity one with a bit more oomph! These RTV’s are used anytime we need to get people or tools from A to B and like everything from Kubota, give us outstanding reliability and service.”

Olly emphasises, “In all my years here we have rarely had any issues from any of our Kubota machines and on the odd occasion where we’ve needed advice, the support from George Browns has always been excellent. We have nothing but positivity for Kubota machinery!”

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Ventrac for Burnham Beeches

September 26, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Peter Driver

Ventrac for Burnham Beeches: Burnham Beeches Golf Club, located in the Thames Valley in south Buckinghamshire, 25 miles west of London, is the latest club to take a package of Ventrac equipment.

Delivered by local dealer, RT Machinery Ltd, the package includes a Ventrac 4520 all-terrain compact tractor unit together with a selection of attachments including an articulating Contour deck, a Tough Cut deck, a Triple Cylinder unit and a Trencher.

Ventrac for Burnham Beeches

Lee Bishop is the Course Manager and is now in his 24^th year at the club. He began his career at the nearby Harry Colt-designed Stoke Park Golf Club in 1992, before moving to Burnham Beeches as an assistant greenkeeper back in 1999 and then making the amazing leap straight into his current position in 2006. He leads a team of seven greenkeeping staff, which will be expanding later this year with the addition of a further experienced greenkeeper, an apprentice and two summer staff.

“We are an established parkland course, now over 130-years old, and situated mainly on clay,” he said. “Therefore, we have a requirement to manage the trees and woodland margins that line the fairways and frame the greens. We can be wet after heavy rainfall.

“I first saw the Ventrac on social media and then I was invited by a very good friend of mine, Stuart Langhorn, the Course Director at Beaconsfield Golf Club to see the machine that he had bought. I was extremely impressed and contacted our local dealer, RT Machinery to arrange a demonstration. The management team were so impressed and we purchased the package within a couple of weeks of the demonstration!

“The Tough Cut deck is superb for managing our woodland margins; it takes down brambles and young saplings with ease and this helps to keep up the pace of play, making it easier for our golfers to find their balls after a wayward shot.

“The Contour deck is articulated at both ends and that makes it ideal for bunker surrounds and tee banks but it has been a godsend during the winter months as we have been using it on our fairways when it is too wet to cut with our fairway mowers. We can get out when it’s wet and put some definition down; the members have noticed and we’ve had many favourable comments. The Triple Cylinder unit will be used for the perimeter fairway cut and this has enabled us to remove a dedicated machine from our fleet.

“The Trencher has been outstanding this winter. As I said earlier we can be wet after heavy rain, but the trencher enables us to get out and drain the wetter areas when we want. We are not reliant on contractors, we can do it in-house and in a timely fashion. I would recommend not severing power cables, though; National Grid are not too happy when that happens!

“Finally, a shout-out for Price Turfcare, RT Machinery and Tom Stidder. Price Turfcare, the importer, have been so reactive and professional to work with; RT Machinery are renowned for the way they treat customers and we can certainly support that and Tom Stidder, who did the installation training, was extremely thorough and knowledgeable. That’s formidable support, all round.”

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)

Kubota at Harpenden Common GC

Ventrac for Burnham Beeches

Kubota at Harpenden Common GC

Ventrac for Burnham Beeches

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Kubota at Harpenden Common GC

Kubota at Harpenden Common GC: Ask the team at Harpenden Common Golf Club about their favourite and most adaptable pieces of equipment, and it’s Kubota that wins the day – with the club loyal to ‘orange’ when it comes to both tractors and course utility vehicles.

Ventrac for Burnham Beeches

Ventrac for Burnham Beeches: Burnham Beeches Golf Club, located in the Thames Valley in south Buckinghamshire, 25 miles west of London, is the latest club to take a package of Ventrac equipment.

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