Tag Archive for: Mere

Versatile Ventrac at The Mere

/in , /by

Versatile Ventrac at The Mere: The Mere Golf Resort & Spa in Knutsford, Cheshire, has joined an ever-burgeoning list of sports and leisure organisations that have purchased a Ventrac all-terrain compact tractor and selection of attachments. Supplied by local dealer, Cheshire Turf Machinery, the attachments include a Contour deck, a Stump grinder and Turbine blower.

The 18-hole, 6,882 -yard, par-71 course at The Mere was designed by James Braid, and created out of 150 acres of Cheshire parkland in 1934. Today, the Championship course holds the reputation as one of the best maintained and highest quality golf courses in the North of England.

Versatile Ventrac at The Mere

Versatile Ventrac at The Mere

John Quinn, a native of Donegal in Ireland, has been the Course Manager for the past 4 years, after joining the prestigious resort’s greenkeeping team seven years ago. He leads a team of 10 comprising of 8 greenkeepers and two full-time gardeners.

Commenting on the Ventrac he said,

“We are a destination resort and we pride ourselves with the visual appearance of the property and the immaculate presentation of the golf course. This Ventrac is probably the best innovation in course maintenance in the past 20 years. It will go almost anywhere and its versatility is unparalleled. It’s great in wet areas and ticks all the boxes from a health and safety point of view.

“What other machine allows you to switch out a mowing deck and attach a stump grinder, then switch again to blowing leaves? It’s an adaptable piece of equipment with an ingenious coupling system that lets you change implements in just about a minute. The eight wheels gives it a low centre of gravity, which makes it very safe on slopes, especially around tee banks and bunker surrounds.

“It’s up there with the best machines I used. It’s just a case of getting to know its capability and getting the confidence to go where no other ride-on can go. It helps us to maintain difficult areas on a regular basis and has certainly enhanced the presentation of the course.”

John Quinn began his career at his local course in Portnoo, Donegal, with an initial six-week placement that lasted four years. To further his career, he spent two years in full-time education at Elmwood college achieving an HNC and HND in golf course management as well as work placements in Sweden. He then joined Linden Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa in Northumberland and three years later migrated south to take up the position of deputy head greenkeeper at Caversham Heath near Reading. Five years on, he then moved to Davenport Golf Club in Cheshire, before taking up his latest position in 2015.

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.

Mere Golf Resort opt for ProLine H800

/in , , /by

Mere Golf Resort opt for ProLine H800: Versatility is a long-cited reason for many Toro machinery purchases, and that’s certainly the reason for The Mere Golf Resort’s decision to opt for the ProLine H800 in its latest Toro fleet deal which sees the brand’s relationship with the club reach 30 years.

Course manager John Quinn explains: “We’ve stayed with Toro for so long because they provide the most versatile and robust machines on the market, and whatever the terrain, the performance is always excellent. That’s why we decided to look at the ProLine H800 to help tackle leaf collection across our busy parkland course.”

Mere Golf Resort opt for ProLine H800

The 18-hole, 6,882-yard, par 71 Championship course was created out of 150 acres of Cheshire parkland by James Braid in 1934. Now the surrounding mature trees provide not only considerable charm but a considerable amount of leaves to clear up!

Having been recommended the ProLine H800 and then seeing it in action, John requested a demonstration of the high-volume collector, which was organised by Cheshire Turf Machinery, and where the ProLine H800 certainly impressed.

“We have a tree lined course here, and as such we get a lot of leaves that need collecting. Particularly in winter when it’s wet, it can be a lot of work to clear up everything by hand,” says John. “We gave the ProLine the toughest test it will have here and organised the demo to take place in winter to see how it would cope in difficult conditions, and it really impressed us all.

“I’ve used a cut and collect machine before, but not one with enough capacity and power to pick up large piles of leaves, which was no issue for the ProLine. Plus, it will serve us well for core collecting after aerating and is agile enough to easily manoeuvre while cutting in and around the trees.”

The ProLine H800 is in good company in the club’s new fleet which includes five Workman GTX utility vehicles, three Reelmaster 3575-D mowers, and Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420. And the new fleet couldn’t have come at a better time with the club turning its focus this year to improving the playing surface and plant health.

“Last year was particularly trying with the weather,” says John. “This year we’re going to be doing everything we can to ensure the ultimate health and condition of the turf so no matter what conditions the weather throws at us, the turf is in the best position to cope and deliver the best play possible for our members. There was no doubt that in helping us do that would be Toro.”

And it’s not just versatility that appeals to The Mere in its enduring relationship with Toro, longevity of the machines is an attributing factor too. “We have some of our machines from the last fleet that we’re keeping,” says John. “They’re still in mint condition and working excellently, as a result we haven’t had to upgrade them which shows the value that Toro provides.”

It’s for those reasons that John “didn’t look anywhere else when renewing the fleet”. He concludes: “Obviously, I always have my eye on the market to see what’s out there, but in my heart, I knew it was always going to be Toro again to continue the good work at the club.”

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.