Tag Archive for: Impresses

Jacobsen Impresses At Golspie

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Jacobsen Impresses At Golspie: Golspie Golf Club, which is located on the Dornoch Firth in Scotland, is a versatile course which boasts a beguiling mix of classic links, heath and parkland holes. The Club has invested in a Jacobsen Eclipse 322 and a Jacobsen LF550 fairway mower from Textron Golf to maintain the different surfaces on the James Braid design 18-hole golf course.

“Jacobsen has provided us with the quality and versatility we need to maintain all areas of the course,” Alexander MacDonald, Head Greenkeeper at Golspie Golf Club said. “We face many challenges such as maintaining the correct and uniformed moisture levels over varying terrains, so when it comes to cutting grass, we want reliable equipment that produces a really good finish with minimal fuss. I am proud to say we’ve achieved that with the Jacobsen machines that we have purchased.”

Jacobsen Impresses At Golspie

Previously using alternative fairway mowers, Alexander observed that it took the team 40 minutes to set a machine before it was ready to cut the fairways. Conversely, the new Jacobsen LF550 is easily set in five minutes, with adjustments rarely having to be made to the cutting units.

Routine service items, including spin-on filters, are all easily accessible meaning that there’s no need for a lift. The FlashAttach™ Reel Mounting System allows for quick reel removal, and the active monitoring system provides full text diagnostics making the LF550 easy to monitor and maintain. Additionally, hard tubing with bulkhead fittings to hoses make long-term maintenance easier with fewer service parts to stock.

“We only have three full-time greenkeeping staff, so we can’t be wasting time repairing and setting machinery. This is where the LF550 has really helped us; it’s reliable, it produces a brilliant finish, and it doesn’t demand a lot of time to maintain and set-up.

“The Eclipse 322 is the best cutting machine in golf. It’s a pleasure to use on the greens, and the team loves the satisfaction of producing first-class greens which the golfers often compliment them on. Of course, having good machinery is important, but the back-up from the dealer is even more so. Our local dealer Fairways has been brilliant. Fairways has been very efficient and helpful, and if we need anything the dealer is with us within a day, meaning there isn’t any downtime.”

Alexander has been at the club for 10 years, having spent 3 ½ years at Royal Dornoch and 6 ½ years at Wentworth. Golspie Golf Club is celebrating its 128-year anniversary and was voted number 54 in Golf World’s “Scotland’s Top 100 Courses” in 2015.

For more information, visit: www.textron.com

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Toro Impresses At Leicestershire

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Toro Impresses At Leicestershire: The Leicestershire Golf Club presents a tough cut for its fleet of machinery. The 6329-yard par 68 parkland course which was established in 1890 has a hefty percentage of ridge and furrow, which is challenging for any kind of machinery. And not just coping, but excelling at the challenge is Toro.

In particular, a 14-year-old Groundsmaster 4500-D and 21-year-old Reelmaster 6500-D continue to surprise Chris Lewis, course manager. “The machines manage the challenging ridge and furrow, which was created by a system of ploughing in the middle ages, with relative ease and that’s why we’re a 100 percent Toro club. Not only that, they also demonstrate incredibly good value in their longevity and continually impressive performance; especially the older machines, which are still running problem-free.

Toro Impresses At Leicestershire

“These two machines in particular are surprising us with just how well they are performing despite their age and the number of hours on their clocks. They are a great example of why we stick with Toro year after year.”

In fact, Chris has spoken specifically about how impressed he is with these two machines before. In 2012 when the machines had clocked up 15,000 hours between them, well over the average machine life expectancy, he praised their robust build-quality and reliability. Five years on and nothing has changed. Now the GM4500-D boasts almost 10,000 hours of work, with the RM6500 just 1500 miles behind that.

And the workload at the popular course, which is home to the English Men’s Open Mid-Amateur Strokeplay (Logan Trophy), shows no signs of slowing down. Some bunkers are being repositioned as part of an ongoing course improvement programme and there are plans to extend the course by introducing two par fives, making the par 70 course around 6400-yards. But what will remain the same are the contours for the mowers to manoeuvre and the steeper areas that the RM6500-D in particular has to climb. The wear and tear the machines get as a result makes their longevity all the more remarkable.

“The GM4500-D has a pretty tough workload to contend with. As the only mower doing all the semi-rough cutting across the course, it’s out cutting all day, up to five days a week.”

So, what’s the secret? “Build quality, good mechanics and regular thorough machinery maintenance,” says Chris with the utmost confidence and the hours on the clock to prove it.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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