Tag Archive for: Deere

John Deere Partnership Renewed

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John Deere Partnership Renewed: John Deere and the Ladies European Tour (LET) have confirmed an extension to their partner agreement as of January 2018, during which Deere will continue to be designated the Tour’s official supplier of golf course maintenance equipment which includes mowers, tractors and Gator utility vehicles.

Under the terms of the agreement, LET tournaments – including The Solheim Cup at Gleneagles in September 2019 – will be supported by John Deere equipment through the company’s European golf dealer network. Deere officials will also continue to work closely with the LET’s agronomists, with the goal of helping to produce better quality playing surfaces across the continent.

John Deere Partnership Renewed

The announcement was made by LET chairman Mark Lichtenhein on the John Deere stand at BTME 2018 in Harrogate on Tuesday January 23, together with John Deere’s global turf marketing director Manny Gan and European turf sales & marketing manager Carlos Aragones.

“We are delighted that John Deere has decided to extend its relationship with the Ladies European Tour for the next two years, beyond The 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles,” said Mark Lichtenhein. “This is a testament to our enduring partnership since 2006 and demonstrates the alignment of our brands and our joint objective to ensure a bright future for the women’s game.”

Carlos Aragones added, “We are also delighted that what has already proved to be a fruitful relationship with the Ladies European Tour is continuing to grow. The strength of the John Deere brand is based on the quality of our products and customer service, and we are very proud to be associated with both the LET and The Solheim Cup.”

The Solheim Cup is the highlight of the women’s professional golf calendar, when the best women golfers from Europe and the United States compete for this prestigious biennial trophy. The next tournament takes place on the world-famous PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles in Perthshire, Scotland from September 13-15, 2019.

For more information, visit: www.JohnDeere.co.uk

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Galway Bay’s New John Deere Fleet

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Galway Bay’s New John Deere Fleet: Designed by Christy O’Connor Jnr, a former Ryder Cup golfer, Galway Bay Golf Resort at Renville near Oranmore is not a links course, but is described as ‘parkland by the sea’, with the stunning backdrop of Galway Bay and the rugged curves of the Atlantic coastline always in sight.

Earlier this year this championship course hosted the Carey Cup, a tournament that pitched Ireland’s best amateurs from the Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) against some of those from the USA, representing the Metropolitan Golf Association of New York (MGA).

Galway Bay's New John Deere Fleet

The resort has also recently been recognised both on and off the course with two awards, one for Best Customer Experience Golf Course in Ireland at the 2017 IGTOA Awards run by the Ireland Golf Tour Operator Association, and Best Golf Club Restaurant in Connacht at the YesChef Awards.

Course superintendent Damien Coleman, who is the current president of the GCSAI (Golf Course Superintendents Association of Ireland), gained further special recognition for the club last year when he was one of three European greenkeepers selected by the R&A to join the team of 46 worldwide volunteers that worked at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

“The Olympics was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a great experience both for me and for the club, even though I was gone for three weeks at the height of the summer,” says Damien, who has worked at Galway Bay since 2008. “The director of the club Ronan Killeen was still very happy for me to go however, especially as it brought the course a lot of positive media attention.”

With the club approaching its 25th anniversary in 2018, it decided that its ageing John Deere course maintenance equipment fleet needed replacing. Many of the machines had been acquired over 10 years ago in the club’s first substantial deal with local dealer Mid West Mowers at Glasson, near Athlone in Co Westmeath, and Damien Coleman was happy to negotiate a new package with the same dealer.

“We’ve been dealing with Ger Conway of Mid West Mowers for a long time, so we’re very familiar with John Deere equipment and the service we can expect in this area,” says Damien. “Ronan Killeen quickly accepted that the existing fleet was getting too old, and so didn’t need much convincing that it needed replacing.

“At around the same time we were impressed by a John Deere regional presentation on financing new golf course equipment purchases so the idea gained some traction, and we eventually settled on a Bank of Ireland financed package deal in spring of this year, basically replacing like with like in the fleet. All the main machines needed upgrading to take advantage of the latest technology and warranty benefits, plus we had a preference for the selected machines over what else was available on the market.”

The new package included two John Deere 7500A PrecisionCut fairway mowers, a 2653B PrecisionCut tees & surrounds mower, three TX Turf Gator utility vehicles, a 2030A Pro Gator and a 3045R compact tractor equipped with an H165 front loader.

“We’ve always had John Deere tractors, as they’re very reliable and long lasting, and they’ve certainly stood the test of time on this course – we have a 5415 utility tractor and a 3720 compact from the original deal, and they’re still going strong. Earlier this year I also attended a machinery demonstration at Dromoland Castle Golf Club in Co Clare, where I saw the new A Model mowers working for the first time, and on the back of that we decided to include the 7500A fairway mowers in the deal,” adds Damien.

“I was particularly impressed with what this mower’s smart technology can do, using the programmable TechControl display. We always set it to suit the conditions, especially in the summertime when the grass is quite heavy and we like the operators to slow down a little, to give a consistent finish.

“Our equipment manager Jonathan Stace also keeps all the kit in very good order. We maintain a small stock of parts at the course, but if we need anything, we know we can order it today and have it delivered tomorrow – the John Deere and Mid West Mowers parts service is excellent in that respect.”

For more information, visit: www.johndeere.co.uk

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PING partners John Deere

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PING partners John Deere: PING, a brand with a strong heritage and one that is synonymous with performance and innovation, is a family-owned business founded in 1959 by Karsten Solheim. The company, renowned for its innovative golf equipment, is also involved in golf course ownership at Gainsborough Golf Club, which is just a short drive from its European headquarters in Lincolnshire.

As part of a three-year plan that will see the club’s entire course maintenance equipment fleet updated to John Deere, Gainsborough recently took delivery of several new machines from area sales manager Steve Blanchard of local dealer F G Adamson & Son at Langworth, Lincolnshire.

PING partners John Deere

PING and John Deere have more than a local connection. The biennial Solheim Cup match between the best women golfers from Europe and the USA was founded by the Solheim family, and John Deere is a Patron of and machinery supplier to this prestigious event. “PING prides itself on the quality of its products and service,” says Gainsborough’s course manager Greg Skinner. “John Deere and F G Adamson & Son are built on the same ethos, so we are delighted to be working together.”

Greg and his greenkeeping team are responsible for two courses, the 123-year old Thonock Park and Karsten Lakes, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2017. “We needed to renew our ageing equipment fleet to improve the overall presentation of both courses and bring them up to the standard golfers expect from a PING-owned property,” says Greg. “Presentation and quality are very important to our members and for attracting more visitors to all of the club’s activities.

“F G Adamson & Son showed exceptional understanding of our requirements and their knowledge provided a huge amount of in-depth information that guided us through the machinery selection process. In addition, they provided several demonstration machines for us to test, which proved crucial in our final choices.”

Gainsborough’s general manager Ben Hatch adds: “Overall, the package is a huge investment and F G Adamson & Son showed us how quickly they could get parts from John Deere’s UK premises at Langar, Nottingham, its distribution centre in Germany and even the USA, if required. This level of after sales service and support gave us great confidence we were making the right decision.”

The latest additions to the fleet include a 9009A rough mower, 7700A 4WD fairway mower, two 2500E hybrid electric mowers for use on the greens and tees, two HPX Gator utility vehicles and a 1200A bunker rake. These have joined machines from the deal’s first phase in 2016, including a 7400A semi-rough mower and a 1600T wide area rotary mower, plus additional hybrid greens and tees mowers, Gators, bunker rakes and two rotary walk-behind mowers for use on the amenity grass areas.

“The club has ISO 14001 environmental accreditation and we want to be as green as we can,” says Greg. “The 2500E mowers are not just quiet, there is also less chance of hydraulic leaks. They produce a nice stripe and on the greens their offset cylinders eliminate the triplex ring effect on the clear-up lap, which minimises compaction.

“These go out most days and they run at lower revs, which we estimate saves us approximately 1250 litres of fuel a year. In addition, the brush tender conditioners are kinder on the grass, resulting in less disease. If we can cut out even one fungicide application a year, that’s a saving of £2000.

“When Steve Blanchard demonstrated the 9009A rough mower, it just blew the competition away for quality of cut, speed and presentation,” Greg adds. “It’s really changed the way we cut the Karsten Lakes fairways, as we’ve widened the semi-rough from one to four bands because of how well this machines performs. It’s made the whole course a much better experience for the golfer.

“The 7400A TerrainCut mower goes places its predecessor wouldn’t and has the traction to handle the banks on the courses and those around the clubhouse. I also believe nothing touches the HPX Gator for ride comfort, carrying capacity and towing ability – it’s a very, very good utility vehicle.

“It was a long process selecting the equipment and negotiating the overall package but that was a good thing, as we made better decisions and ensured we got exactly the right machines for our needs.”

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Quinta Do Lago Chooses John Deere

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Quinta Do Lago Chooses John Deere: A major investment in John Deere golf course maintenance equipment has been made by Quinta do Lago, for use on the Portuguese resort’s three 18-hole championship courses in the Algarve. A similar deal has also been signed with sister resort PGA Catalunya in Spain.

The revamped North Course, the South Course and Laranjal are complemented by extensive practice facilities including the first Paul McGinley Golf Academy and the only TaylorMade Performance Centre in Southern Europe. Machines will also be used at the resort’s new professional level training and coaching development The Campus. Targeted at both elite and amateur sports, this will feature the first independent hybrid Desso GrassMaster training facility in Europe.

Quinta Do Lago Chooses John Deere

Quinta do Lago was voted Portugal’s number one golfing venue in Golf World magazine’s inaugural Top 100 Resorts in Continental Europe rankings list in 2016. It has also been named Europe’s Best Golf Destination at the World Golf Awards in 2015 and 2016, and been given the Editors’ Choice Award for Best International Resorts in 2016 and 2017 by Golf Digest, ensuring the venue’s place among the world’s golfing elite.

An initial fleet of 27 John Deere machines including tractors, fairway & rough mowers and Gator utility vehicles along with other ancillary equipment, supported by PowerGard extended warranty and maintenance contracts, were delivered this summer by the local, family owned John Deere golf & turf dealership Torre Marco SA. The dealership has its own fully equipped maintenance facility, the only one of its kind in the Algarve.

The choice of John Deere as Quinta do Lago’s preferred equipment supplier was made on the recommendation of golf course superintendent Paul O’Mahony, following what he describes as a “very strenuous process”. Paul previously worked his way up through the ranks at Old Head of Kinsale in Ireland, becoming course superintendent there in 2003 before moving to Quinta do Lago in 2011.

Paul formulated a unique model to measure a series of performance and quality parameters that were applied to each of the main machinery suppliers before going through the usual tender process. The model was specifically built to satisfy the resort’s full fleet requirements over a 10 year period, keeping each machine ‘in range’ in terms of life expectancy and residual value, with points awarded for service, machine quality, value and additional aspects such as training and support.

“Downtime is no time may be a cliché but that’s because it’s true,” says Paul O’Mahony. “It’s very important to have reliable, fully functioning equipment, and this has to provide the same levels of precision and quality that we as a team set out to achieve every day across all our golf operations. Having worked with John Deere equipment at Old Head and initially brought in tractors and Gators to the courses here at Quinta do Lago, I’m very comfortable that we can establish an effective partnership with the company and the dealership.

“Our staff are always put under pressure to meet expectations, and the same will apply to the machinery we use – everything will continue to be measured, to ensure we make the most of the assets we invest in. That applies not just to the equipment but to the whole package, including aftersales service and support, parts delivery, reaction times and so on.

“We are a commercial entity – our aim is to be the best and provide the best golfing experience we can. The faster, more efficient and more productive the machinery can be, the better – it all leads back to that commercial imperative.”

For more information, visit: www.johndeere.co.uk

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