Tag Archive for: Deal

Louth’s lease deal looks long term

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Louth’s lease deal looks long term: Founded in 1965, Louth Golf Club is situated in the Lincolnshire Wolds, an area of outstanding natural beauty. 

The 18-hole parkland course offers attractive panoramic views from every hole over the Lincolnshire countryside and towards the Humber Estuary.

Louth’s lease deal looks long term

Louth’s lease deal looks long term

Responsibility for the course’s upkeep at this family friendly community club is down to a young team of just three full-time greenkeepers headed by Sean McDonnell, who was deputy head greenkeeper at East Herts before moving here from Bedfordshire about a year ago.

Sean’s arrival coincided with the club’s decision to upgrade its older competitive course maintenance equipment and invest in its first ever package for eight new John Deere machines from local dealer F G Adamson & Son, based on a finance lease deal with PowerGard maintenance set up by John Deere Financial.

The new fleet includes a 2500B triplex greens mower, 2500E hybrid electric greens mower, 7700A PrecisionCut fairway mower, 8800A TerrainCut rough mower, 2653B tees & surrounds mower, 3038E compact tractor with front loader, ZTR 997R commercial zero-turn mower and an HPX 815E Gator utility vehicle.

General manager Nikki Chantry, who is also a qualified PGA golf professional and was the club’s director of golf before taking on her new managerial role in summer 2018, had recognised that Sean’s predecessor was spending far too much time repairing ageing equipment and not enough time out on the course.

They were familiar with John Deere as the club had already been running a newer 8700A fairway mower and 8800A rotary rough mower as part of the mixed fleet. Together with greens chairman Richard Ablott, a meeting was therefore set up with Adamson’s commercial sales manager Tony Jenkins and salesman Scott Trestrail.

Scott knows the course very well as he had worked as a greenkeeper at Louth Golf Club for 15 years before joining the dealership. He put this knowledge to good use in recommending a package to meet the club’s specific requirements without overcommitting it financially, and when Sean took over he only changed one machine on the proposed kit list.

“Some of our other older machines were simply falling to pieces, and we decided that buying a couple of new replacements now and again was not a sensible approach long term,” says Nikki Chantry. “In addition, we kept having to bring in people from outside to do the frequent and expensive major repairs that were necessary, so that’s when Adamsons came in and showed us how to find a better solution.

 

“We went for a finance lease package rather than outright purchase, and John Deere Financial offered us a very competitive deal which has made our overall financial planning much easier.”

 

Sean McDonnell was also impressed by the dealer’s support when things were continuing to go wrong with some of the older machines during the changeover. “On my first day at the club the cutting units fell off one of the old greens mowers, but we got a replacement plus a banks mower straight away from Adamsons to tide us over. The dealer’s been very helpful in that respect right from the start.

“I like the cut quality you get from the John Deere mowers,” he adds. “You get a sharper cut without digging into the surface, and you know if you set them up at 4mm, you get 4mm. The TechControl system with password protection on the A Model mowers is good too – it puts me in full control so I can set them up the way I want in order to deliver consistent quality across the course, whoever’s driving.

“With a small greenkeeping team it’s vital that none of us are spending valuable time in the workshop instead of out on the course. We’re now able to benefit from using up to date technology that is much more reliable and productive, and that can only be a good thing.”

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Enville’s new fleet finance deal

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Enville’s new fleet finance deal: Founded in 1935 and considered one of the finest examples of heathland golf in the UK, Enville Golf Club near Stourbridge features the 18-hole Highgate and Lodge courses, with the former being used by the R&A in recent years for Regional Open Qualifying tournaments.

It has also recently been announced that Enville will host the R&A Girls’ U16 Amateur Championship for the first time, for three years from April 2021.

Enville's new fleet finance deal

Enville’s new fleet finance deal

Enville’s course manager Andy Wood, who has been at the club for nearly three years, was previously at Robin Hood, Cosby and The Belfry Golf Clubs, so he knows his local dealer Farol Ltd well and has been using John Deere course maintenance equipment for over 20 years.

His avowed ambition is to produce two of the best courses in the Midlands for Enville’s members, guests and visitors, and in so doing to try to get the club as high as possible up the list of the top 100 golf clubs in England. The club has also invited five top golf course architects to tender for a master plan to take the course to the next level over the next five to 10 years. As part of this process, Andy has overseen a policy change to reduce the club’s reliance on capital purchases of new machinery with no real structured plan in place, other than a rolling programme with kit coming off operating leases needing replacement each year.

“I just felt that this was not a very sensible approach, for budgeting purposes in particular,” says Andy. “The club could be spending £50,000 one year and £100,000 the next, and this did not suit budgeting over a longer period. We therefore agreed a new budget for the next five to 10 years, combining a shorter operating lease for new mowers with a longer finance lease arrangement for the likes of tractors, which have a longer life expectancy, so that the club’s capital spend would be significantly reduced.”

All the main manufacturers were invited to tender for the demonstration and supply of individual machines for year one, including tractors, utility vehicles, leaf collectors and aerators, followed in year two by the cutting equipment. Each range was tested to see what fitted the courses’ and Andy’s needs best, followed by an assessment of service back-up and support, including product warranties, once the decisions on the choice of kit had been made.

“John Deere and Farol, with dealer salesman Jacob Shellis leading the way, ticked all the boxes,” says Andy. “Things like cut quality should be a given at this level. More important is that should any problems or issues arise, they get dealt with straight away and we’re not left stranded with broken down machines and unnecessary downtime.

“For me, it’s always been about building a good, sound relationship and trust in the supplier, its products and the dealer, and that people deliver on their promises, especially through the tender process. Farol has always supported me very well on the service side with warranty claims, tournament support, training programmes and the like. The John Deere Financial package was very favourable too, with competitive rates.

“With this new deal we’ve managed to rationalise the fleet and every bit of kit does the job I need it to. We’ve gone down from 122 machines and auxiliary pieces of equipment when I first came to 94, and we’ve saved on a lot of labour, time and repair costs. Among other things this has enabled us to invest £40,000 in a new machinery shed and a new seed and fertiliser store, so we’ve now got enough room to keep all the main kit and supplies secure and under cover.

“Being a heathland course built on very sandy soils, we’re fortunate in that we can stay open all year round and work on the course at any time of the year,” Andy adds. “This makes life a bit easier in the winter, but it also means that we require a good irrigation system in the spring and summer months, something the club also invested in last year.

“One of the most encouraging things has been our record income in 2019 from green fees, which is a great sign that things are moving in the right direction. Enville’s always had a good reputation, but hopefully the machinery, agronomic and other changes we’ve been making to the course over the last couple of years have contributed to this increase.”

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Matrax Pens Deal with Mercedes-Benz Stadium

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Matrax Pens Deal with Mercedes-Benz Stadium: 2019’s Sports Facility of the Year closes on the acquisition of a 108,150 square foot Matrax heavy duty turf protection event flooring system

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a sports and entertainment stadium located in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia that serves as the official home to NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and MLS’ Atlanta United. In 2019, the stadium was named Sports Facility of the Year at the annual Sports Business Awards and was also named Facility of the Year at the World Football Summit this past September in Madrid. The stadium is host to a wide array of major sporting and non-sporting events including Super Bowl LIII, the college football national championship, the 2018 MLS Cup and MLS All-Star game and will play host to the Men’s NCAA Final Four in April of 2020. Over the years, the stadium has hosted major music artists such as Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Ed Sheeran.  Most recently, the venue was host to George Strait, joined by musical guests Christ Stapleton, Chris Janson, and Ashley McBryde.

Matrax Pens Deal with Mercedes-Benz Stadium

As the intensity and frequency of non-sporting events continues to increase at stadium venues like Mercedes-Benz Stadium, there is greater demand to ensure the playing surface is protected from heavy loads and vehicular traffic.  Where other field covering systems are designed from a flooring perspective, Matrax was engineered with temporary road building and heavy vehicular traffic in mind.

To meet the increasing operational demands, an official request for proposal was issued by the stadium in July 2019 seeking 108,150 square feet of heavy duty, drivable flooring. Additionally, Matrax was able to broker the re-sale of the depreciated asset, thus offering additional value to the RFP process.

“As a world class venue, we hold all of our vendors to the highest standard. Matrax was selected for its proven track record of superior field performance and durability. Matrax is a solid investment for our operations and will be an integral component to our success on the field during these non-sporting events.”  David Duernberger, Director of Stadium Operations, Mercedes-Benz Stadium

The first deployment of the new Matrax 4×4 HD system will occur in early November 2019 to support an epic weekend of live music to include musical artists Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Sam Hunt, Sugarland, Judah & the Lion, Cale Dodds, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Brothers Osborne, and Caylee Hammack.

Matrax has become the system of choice by many industry professionals and has been utilized at countless notable venues worldwide including but not limited to Banc of California Stadium, Petco Park, Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, San Siro Stadium, MetLife Stadium, and Gillette Stadium.

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TYM Tractors’ Double Finance Deal

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TYM Tractors’ Double Finance Deal: Reesink Turfcare is taking flexible finance to a new level for TYM Tractors offering not one, but two options to help customers get the tractor they need.

Steven Haynes, TYM sales manager for TYM at Reesink, says: “Reesink’s motto is to offer customers more, and as such we’ve worked hard to bring to market two very competitive finance options on TYM’s sub, mid-duty and heavy-duty compact tractor ranges. Zero percent finance is available on up to an incredible 75 percent of the retail value of the tractor, whichever option you choose.”

TYM Tractors' Double Finance Deal

With two options available depending on whether you’d rather buy now and pay later, or spread the cost over three years, Steven says: “These finance options are designed to help customers buy the tractors they need without compromising cash flow, allowing them to replenish or add to their fleet of turfcare equipment in a way that suits their financial situation.”

For those who opt for option one, there’s nothing to pay until May 2020, while the second option spreads the cost over three years with three months payment upfront then 33 equal monthly payments thereafter.

Thanks to the TYM’s innovative features such as easy-to-read LED displays, hydrostatic power-steering and optional weather cab, it’s easy to see why TYM is fast becoming the first choice for greenkeepers and groundsmen. And Reesink is gearing up for the brand’s increasing popularity by bringing more choice to customers, more product launches, more attachments and more finance options.

Steven concludes by saying: “We appreciate that when it comes to finance there’s not a one-size fits all solution and that’s why we have come up with two flexible options for our TYM customers. Whichever tractor is required we have a package we think will suit most discerning greenkeepers and groundsmen.”

Both options are available until 29 November 2019 and are available on all tractors in the TYM range except the T194 and TS25 models. Finance is subject to acceptance and only available in the UK.

For more details on these and other finance options, customers should contact Reesink Turfcare on 01480 226800 or email info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk.

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Okehampton GC Sign Sherriff Deal

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Okehampton GC Sign Sherriff Deal: Devon’s Okehampton Golf Club have signed a new deal which sees Sherriff Amenity as its preferred supplier of products for a period of three years.

Okehampton Golf Club features an 18 hole parkland course, sheltered by the highest tors of Dartmoor, on the northern edge of Devon’s magnificent National Park. It is a challenging course and can be deceptive if the wind is blowing – especially on the 12th hole where the West Okement River awaits to the left and behind the green.

Okehampton GC Sign Sherriff Deal

Stuart Entwistle has been the course manager at Okehampton for just over four years and is pleased with the progress he has made in that time.

“I used to work at a large club but was quite restricted in trying new methods and products. However, once I came here I had a free reign to trial a number of new products. I personally feel there has been a big improvement to the course. My main goal to start with was to be able to offer golf all-year round and we have already achieved that.”

Stuart initially focused his attentions on the tees and after a recommendation from Sherriff Amenity’s David Chammings, he turned to Evolution Xtra 24.4.4 granular fertiliser for the summer and then Evolution Controlled 18.0.32 in the winter.

“I would say that the majority of our members have said that the biggest improvement here has been on the tees,” said Stuart. “When I first arrived the tees just looked tired and weak so they needed immediate attention. I went with an initial application of the Evolution Xtra 24.4.4 at a rate of 30g/m² in the middle of March. It gave me a great initial hit and I applied it twice more in that first year.

“This really worked in getting them in a better condition and for the second year we went with two more applications of the 24.4.4 but then for winter we went with the six month release fertiliser – Evolution Controlled, which was the perfect feed to see us through. The growth was steady and strong – exactly what we needed.

Okehampton GC Sign Sherriff Deal

“The other good thing about Evolution Controlled is that it is chloride free so it has a low scorching index. Therefore, I can put it down and not worry about the scorch, which was one of my concerns at first because we don’t have any irrigation on the tees.”

For the greens at Okehampton, Stuart claims that he just wouldn’t be without Sherriff Amenity’s GoGreen Energy – a concentrated bio-stimulant, formulated to assist plant health and relieve stress symptoms.

“GoGreen Energy works really well for us – we go through the summer with it at four weekly intervals at the full rate of 60 l/ha. Before we started using the product, the greens were starting to yellow and were a bit stressed but now they are a beautiful green colour and it has really helped with root depth.

“We have tried a number of similar products in the past but GoGreen is the one we have consistently stuck with. I honestly believe that if we didn’t use it for one summer then we would notice the difference.

“It’s a nice low nitrogen product, contains simple sugars, a bit of chelated iron, has a bit of seaweed in it and is a complete trace element package – but not too much of one thing and that’s what we want. It just gives you a nice steady pattern.”

For further information, please contact Sherriff Amenity on 01638 721 888 or visit www.sherriffamenity.com

For more news and insightful views, you can follow Sherriff Amenity on Twitter @SherriffAmenity.

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