Tag Archive for: Club

Ventracs replace ageing fleet at Ladbrook Park Golf Club

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Ventracs replace ageing fleet at Ladbrook Park Golf Club: Ladbrook Park Golf Club, situated in the Warwickshire countryside near Tanworth-in-Arden, has put its trust in Ventrac and taken delivery of FOUR Ventrac 4520 all-terrain compact tractors and 13 attachments to maintain their prestigious 1908 Colt-designed course.

Kevin Fellows has been the course manager for 38 years, having joined the club in 1985 from nearby Shirley Golf Club. He was appointed to his current position in 1994.

Ventracs replace ageing fleet at Ladbrook Park Golf Club

Ventracs replace ageing fleet at Ladbrook Park Golf Club

Commenting on the club’s decision to take this route, he said,

“With the exception of our fine turf areas, the majority of the course is now maintained with Ventrac equipment. It fits in with our agronomic requirements and does everything apart from fine turf and aeration. For all other areas – approaches, fairways, semi, rough, our ecology areas, transport, ditching, haulage – the Ventrac system fits perfectly. At the moment we have everything we need. It fits our current maintenance plan; tomorrows objectives and our longer-term direction.

“Selling it to the board of directors was not an issue. The initial thinking was to identify machines for replacement on a like-for-like basis and then progressively, over the next few years, replace and update as necessary. The alternative was to take the Ventrac route. Fortunately, the Finance director and board were keen to fund our replacement programme, with the support of the Greens committee, whichever direction we chose.

“When the cost options were put on the table it became a bit of a no-brainer. It is difficult to justify spending close to £100,000, or thereabouts, on a dedicated mower to cut rough, which does nothing else apart from macerate leaves and then put in the shed at the end of October and let it sat there, doing nothing for 3-4 months.

“I spoke with the club’s Finance and Greens directors in conjunction with the greens committee and we arranged a demo with a couple of Ventracs and a selection of implements. After some training and machine familiarisation, Jon Lewis, Price Turfcare’s regional sales manager, who I’ve known for years, left it with us so we could thoroughly evaluate it on our course. When you’re looking at new equipment you need to bring your team with you. You sit back and listen to what they say and sitting there one lunchtime, there was a comment which really sticks in my mind; one of the guys said ‘it’s becoming increasingly difficult to say no to.’ And he was right, because it suited our course. You’ve got invest in machinery that suits your course.”

“It was a big commitment to swap out our existing fleet and go, almost exclusively, with Ventrac. Once we started to look, we became increasingly discontent with some of the market forces; supply lines and cost were major considerations. As a course manager you have to think laterally, so I asked myself is there a better way of doing this? Covid caused a reset in thinking; prior to the pandemic a lot of clubs were committed to one manufacturer or another. We were principally a one manufacturer machinery operation.

“I was looking for something that gave us more versatility and began by looking at compact tractors from various manufacturers. Then, by pure chance Jon Lewis dropped by one afternoon with a trailer of Ventrac equipment. Naturally enough I had a look and next morning Jon gave me a brochure. And the rest is history!

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Club Car portfolio on show at BTME

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Club Car portfolio on show at BTME: Club Car, the industry-leading manufacturer of small-wheel, zero emissions vehicles, will showcase its innovative collection of golf and utility cars at BTME next week.

Among the vehicles on display at Europe’s premier turf management exhibition, held at Harrogate Convention Centre, will be a Lithium-Ion-powered Club Car Carryall 500, which was launched in Europe last summer.

Club Car portfolio on show at BTME

Club Car portfolio on show at BTME

The versatile Carryall range has long been the favoured utility vehicle of superintendents and groundskeepers around the world with its exceptional reliability and best-in-class ergonomics.

The new Lithium-Ion versions charge up to 40% faster than lead acid batteries, do not degrade over time and are around 180kg lighter, allowing for smoother operation over manicured terrain and less turf damage.

Also on the stand will be Club Car’s acclaimed Tempo golf car – featuring Lithium-Ion battery, Visage GPS technology and premium seats – and an Urban, Club Car’s innovative new road-legal utility vehicle which boasts automotive-grade safety features and low operational costs.

Andy Bourke, Club Car’s Regional Sales Manager for UK, Ireland & Scandinavia, said: “With our broad portfolio of sustainable transport solutions, it’s hugely important for our customers to be able to see what we have to offer.

“BTME is a great opportunity to meet up with our customers and dealers to hear their feedback, and it’s always a good barometer of the year ahead for the industry.”

Club Car’s expert sales team will be on hand at stand 626 to highlight the vehicles’ key features and benefits and to discuss visitors’ requirements.

For more information, visit www.clubcar.com, or to book a time slot at BTME contact Andy Bourke, Club Car’s Regional Sales Manager, UK, Ireland & Scandinavia: Andrew.Bourke@clubcar.com.

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Toro helps Lewes Golf Club

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Toro helps Lewes Golf Club: East Sussex-based Lewes Golf Club has brought in a small but mighty fleet of Toro machinery to help with its winter development project, the first goal of which will be to recondition eight of the club’s 11 bunkers.

When it comes to turfcare machinery, course manager Tim Brewster, knows he can rely on Toro’s extensive range of mowers and utility vehicles. He’s of the view that it’s important to work with the best when looking after a course steeped in history: the work never stops.

Toro helps Lewes Golf Club

Toro helps Lewes Golf Club

Although Tim’s relatively new to the club, having joined just before the pandemic, he has big plans to execute this winter. Fortunately, Lewes recently brought in a small but robust Toro fleet – Groundsmaster 3500 and 4500, Reelmaster 3575, TriFlex 3420, and Workman HDX – with the assistance of Reesink.

Tim’s a career-long Toro user. Since 2005, he’s relied on the brand to deliver a consistent and professional cut. On top of the club’s new fleet, Tim also runs a 12-year-old Toro tees mower, which he argues still performs like it did on day one. For his latest project, though, the star of the show won’t be a mower.

“In total, we have 11 bunkers,” says Tim. “Last year, we revamped three, so that means eight more to do this winter. While we’re a relatively small team, it’s a fairly big job. However, with the new Workman HDX, we’re now best placed to complete it.

“As the name suggests, it’s a total workhorse,” he adds. “We can put a top dresser on it, load it up with sand and top-up bunkers with ease. It’s going to be a huge help when we begin the bunker revamp project this winter.”

Tim’s also quick to praise Reesink’s help with finding the right machinery for the club. Over 125 years old, Lewes Golf Club is a varied, downland course; players need to think their way through each tee. “Every green is different,” Tim reveals. “Some are built on clay; others have four inches of root zone and chalk or a ballast mix of soil and sand.

“The diversity makes it interesting for golfers,” he continues. “But it also affects how we look after the course. Each green dries and drains at different rates, so we have to treat each on an individual basis. It’s a unique groundskeeping experience.

“Reesink’s advice and customer service throughout the process was fantastic. When we started looking for a new fleet, we came up with a checklist that covered various factors (quality, fuel consumption, and comfortability, for instance) and we sampled lots of brands from various retailers. Needless to say, Reesink and Toro came out on top!”

To learn more about Toro’s package deals, call 01480 226800 or visit https://www.reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Stover Golf Club love their Ventrac

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Stover Golf Club love their Ventrac: Purchased as an ex-demonstrator in January 2022 from Ventrac’s local dealer, Devon Garden Machinery (DGM), Stover Golf Club’s 4500 compact tractor with Contour deck attachment is a hit with course manager Jason Brooks and his team.

“They just love it,” he said, “it’s simple to operate and suits our course as it makes light work of undulations and the bunker and tee banks that are a feature here. It’s certified to operate on 30-degree slopes, so from a health and safety point of view, it ticks all the boxes. We have numerous slopes that we used to strim, but we now use the Ventrac and save multiple work hours, they get cut more regularly and the definition is much better.

Stover Golf Club love their Ventrac

Stover Golf Club love their Ventrac

“We are situated mainly on clay, in fact there’s a Kaolin (china clay) and Silica (fine sand) quarry less than a mile away, so the light footprint of the machine is ideal. We also have a stream, Liverton Brook, running through the course and even in wet weather we can still mow the banks.”

Stover Golf Club is located on the outskirts of Newton Abbot and opened in two phases in 1931. It was designed by James Braid and constructed by his favoured course builder, J.R. Stutt. In 1942 during WW2 half the course was compulsory purchased to accommodate an American military hospital and after purchasing two nearby fields, returned to its 18-hole format in 1949. Today, four of Braid’s original holes remain.

Commenting on the latest developments to the course, Jason Brooks said,

“Devon County Council are widening the nearby A382 and in doing so they needed some of our land, not a lot but enough to mean that a redesign of the front 9 was necessary as it impacted holes 1, 2, 3 and 9 as well as the practice putting green. The council purchased an additional 30 acres of neighbouring land and architect Simon Gidman along with Profusion have constructed phase 1 which consists of 4 brand new holes. These open this June then phase 2 construction begins to renovate 4 existing holes to complete the changes.

“The grow in started last July and towards the end of the summer the fairways and roughs were seeded, we had a good start to the grow in but then as I’m sure a lot of greenkeepers experienced, we had an incredibly wet winter. The Ventrac was at times the only machine we could get out on the new part due to the low ground pressure of it.”

“On the existing course we did a lot of tree removal during the winter and had a lot of stumps to grind; normally we would get a contractor in to do this at quite an expense, instead, we hired the stump grinder attachment from DGM and were very impressed. We managed to remove 150 stumps in just a week! With DGM only 8 miles away, it’s good to know they have a range of Ventrac attachments for hire.

Brooks began his career as a seasonal at Dartmouth Golf Club in 1995, before starting his HND in turf management and on completion worked in Germany for a couple of years. On his return to the UK, he spent three years at Torquay Golf Club, before returning once again to Germany.

A return to Torquay as deputy head greenkeeper for 9 years was next before taking a 6 month position at TPC Scottsdale in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2012, whilst there he helped prepare the course for the 2013 Phoenix Open, won by Phil Mickelson, as well as spending time in Texas working at both the Houston and Texas Opens. He then came back to England and was appointed course manager at Torquay, before taking up his current role at Stover in 2021.

“I’ve inherited a great team here at Stover and they’ve worked hard to produce superb facilities for the members,” he added. “The management have been really supportive, especially during the construction of the new holes and, with the addition of new machinery such as the Ventrac, we are confident that we can keep club moving forward during the next phase of its evolution.”

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Centurion Club thank George Browns and Baroness

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Centurion Club thank George Browns and Baroness: Having been machinery partners to Hertfordshire’s Centurion Club for a number of years, George Browns recently played a pivotal role in the successful delivery of the LIV Golf League London event in early July.

The supply of additional equipment and service training was the result of six months of intricate planning between Course Manager Andrew Garland, Stuart Gray from Baroness and David Fisher, Area Sales Manager at George Browns’ Chesham branch. The result, says Andrew, was “outstanding support and a perfect playing surface from start to finish!”

Centurion Club thank George Browns and Baroness

Centurion Club thank George Browns and Baroness

Nestled into rural countryside to the west of St Albans, the Centurion Club delivers a mixture of open, undulating holes combined with challenging woodland-lined holes, delivering a feeling of maturity to the club which opened to members and the public in 2013. “Our relationship with George Browns was cemented roughly four years ago after we fell victim to the theft of our tees mowers” explains Andrew. “David lent us their demonstration Baroness mowers to get us out of a really tricky situation at the time, and the team ended up liking the mowers that much that we purchased them! Since then, any time we’re in the market for a new machine, we’ll get David in and nine times out of ten, that’s the machine we purchase.”

Andrew and his team of 12 currently run a fleet of Kubota tractors and RTV utility vehicles, three fairway and four tees mowers from Baroness along with a Redexim Top-Brush and Verti-Drain – all supplied by the Chesham depot of George Browns.

“We started preparing for the LIV Golf League event in January. I sat down with Stuart and David to draw up a list of what we’d need – not just extra equipment but ensuring that the machinery already in the shed was performing as it should. My team received excellent service training in the run-up to July to get the fairway mowers in tip-top condition, and my mechanic was then advised on the correct way to grind them and set them up.”

In addition to training, George Browns also loaned the club a triple greens mower, four extra Baroness hand tee mowers, a rough mower and an aprons machine. “We had six additional team members from the Turf Institute of South Africa and a further ten volunteers who all had to get stuck in and straight out with the equipment. All of them found the machines easy to use and were particularly impressed by the quality of cut.” Andrew concludes, “All of this, together with the support provided throughout the event, helped the whole tournament run smoothly.”

Commenting on the relationship, David Fisher says, “It has been a real privilege to work closely with our franchises to maximise the knowledge we could provide to Andrew and his team in what promises to be a celebratory decade year for the club. All at George Browns congratulate Centurion Club on the tournament, and we look forward to continuing to build on this success.”

Stuart Gray adds, “It’s been great working with Andy and his fantastic team and supporting them through the LIV tournaments in both 2022 and 2023, cementing the level of support Baroness and its dealers are proud to deliver to the industry.”

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