Tag Archive for: toro

Royal Portrush signs Toro agreement

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Royal Portrush signs Toro agreement: Fresh off the success of the 2019 Open Championship it hosted, Royal Portrush Golf Club has signed another five-year agreement with Toro, bringing the relationship between the historic club and the brand to 30 years.

When we last spoke to course manager Graeme Beatt The Open had just concluded and recovery of the course was paramount. Now, Graeme can look back at the event and all that came with it.

Royal Portrush signs Toro agreement

Royal Portrush signs Toro agreement

He reflects: “In the four years running up to the competition we made some big changes. This included adding seven new holes, 34 tees and 22 bunkers across both our courses. And the Dunluce links course, which held The Open, had added five new greens, 19 tees and 18 bunkers, plus changes to every hole of some kind. Additionally, two miles of road and 18 miles of pipe and ducting were installed to accommodate new infrastructure for spectators of The Open. Toro machinery and irrigation were integral to our prep, the course maintenance throughout the event and the aftercare. And the whole time we saw excellent results which, with 25 years of experience with Toro at the club, was nothing less than expected!”

It’s this long history of Toro’s excellent performance and reliability that saw the club sign a further five-year agreement at the conclusion of last year, continues Graeme: “I’ve been using Toro for the majority of my career and during that time the machines have proved themselves to be reliable and robust. The finish they provide is second to none. Combined with the excellent service from Reesink Turfcare, there really was no question who we would turn to for our next renewal, especially after the huge success of The Open, which was a real team effort.

“Reesink loaned us 25 Toro machines, joining our 50-strong existing fleet, and we simply wouldn’t have been able to make such a success of hosting the event without that help. With many of the players staying late to get extra practice, we had to get the course – all 7,300 yards of it – ready within a very short time period each morning. And it wasn’t just the increased number of machines that allowed us to do this, but the efficiency and quality of those machines.”

And the quality of Toro machines was further proved after the conclusion of the competition. With so many spectators, a huge 237,750 making it the highest attended championship outside of St Andrews, Toro was needed to help with the recovery of the links course.

“The course was generally in great condition when the competition ended as the maintenance throughout was to such a high standard, from both the machinery and irrigation,” says Graeme. “However the spectator areas had seen a lot of stress, so it was important to have high-quality machinery to aid the turf’s recovery, which of course Toro provided.”

With the course back up to standard and a new agreement in place, Graeme’s thoughts turned to the next five years and he has big plans: “We’re looking at bringing in Infinity sprinklers across the whole course after seeing them in action on the new holes. They perform so well, particularly in windy conditions which we have a lot of here! We’re also considering introducing hybrid mowers to the fleet. Not only are they better for the environment and eliminate any possibility of an oil leak, but they are now tried and tested machines.”

But ultimately, what this latest deal does is “continue to provide golfers with a championship standard experience,” says Graeme.

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First Toro fleet for Cotswold Hills

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First Toro fleet for Cotswold Hills: When it comes to golf course machinery, time is money, and as such efficient machines are fast becoming a must have for golf courses across the country. Which is exactly the reason Cotswold Hills opted for the Groundsmaster 5900-D in its first Toro fleet deal.

“We have a team of six here to maintain a 157 acre course,” explains course manager Wayne Vincent. “Plus, with the course draining naturally because of its position on Limestone rock it’s playable year-round, which means there’s no let up on maintenance. That’s why it’s so important to have efficient machines that get the job done quickly to a high standard.”

First Toro fleet for Cotswold Hills

First Toro fleet for Cotswold Hills

The 18-hole, 6,800-yard course at Cotswold Hills is situated at the top a hill 850 feet above sea level. With the club’s impressive views and stunning tree-lined course, it’s attracted a membership of near 1000, with member expectations for the course as high as they are above sea level.

With that in mind, updating the club’s machinery fleet after years of replacing one machine at a time was of the utmost importance. And it’s the Groundsmaster 5900-D, capable of mowing 17 acres an hour, that heads up the new fleet of efficient Toro machinery.

“We have a lot of rough to cover on the course and previously we were spending three days each week cutting it,” says Wayne. “It was obvious we needed a larger machine to get the job done quicker. Although our fleet was already predominantly Toro and had served us well, we looked into other brands for due diligence. But there wasn’t another brand that had the size of machine we wanted available – no one could match the offering that Toro provided not only when it came to the spec of the GM5900-D, but the fleet too.

“The GM5900-D has cut our rough cutting time in half already,” Wayne says. “With the increase in cutting width and speed, alongside its excellent contour following, we can now get the whole course done in a day and a half and the finish of cut is brilliant.”

Joined by a new Reelmaster 3100-D Sidewinder, RM3575-D and a Greensmaster Flex 2120 pedestrian mower, the new Toro fleet has certainly made an impression.

“From experience I know that Toro machines are incredibly durable, which is why we’ve had a fleet of purchased Toro machines for so long. But having these four new machines with the latest upgrades and technological advancements has made a vast difference already.

“The Greensmaster Flex 2120 follows contours really well and is helping us extend the collar cut into the aprons and run offs and the Reelmaster 3100-D Sidewinder is giving us a better, cleaner cut, particularly in wet conditions.”

And going forward, this first lease deal with Toro is just the beginning of a longer term investment in the club’s machinery to help improve the course.

“Continuing an agreement plan with Toro will mean that we can consistently bring to the course the newest technology and upgrades, while simultaneously reducing machinery downtime. We’ve already seen the team’s productivity increase after only having these new machines for a few months, so it’s definitely proven to be the right move for the club” concludes Wayne.

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Rushmere Golf Club’s secretary manager Bob Tawell, centre left, shakes hands with Reesink’s Julian Copping and is joined by greenkeepers Michael Buck, left, and David Driver.

TORO for the trio at Rushmere

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TORO for the trio at Rushmere: When you’re part of a small team having a fleet of machinery you can rely on makes all the difference as Rushmere Golf Club can attest to as it signs its third five-year lease deal agreement with Toro and Reesink Turfcare.

TORO for the trio at Rushmere:

With just three greenkeepers at the historic 6200-yard, 18-hole course in Ipswich, Suffolk it is absolutely essential that the machinery brand head greenkeeper Pat Swinn invests in is the most efficient and reliable there is.

TORO for the trio at Rushmere: Rushmere Golf Club’s secretary manager Bob Tawell, centre left, shakes hands with Reesink’s Julian Copping and is joined by greenkeepers Michael Buck, left, and David Driver.

Rushmere Golf Club’s secretary manager Bob Tawell, centre left, shakes hands with Reesink’s Julian Copping and is joined by greenkeepers Michael Buck, left, and David Driver. Photography

He says: “Efficiency and reliability in a machinery partner are often cited as the primary reasons for choice and use, but the importance of those two factors takes on a whole new meaning when you have a small team. For us those two things can equal the productivity of an extra person.”

For Pat who has been at the club for 20 years and his greenkeepers – Michael Buck and David Driver, who have both been at the club for over a decade – there is simply nothing comparable to Toro in this respect, hence why the club is taking its relationship with the brand and its sole UK distributor Reesink Turfcare to 15 years.

Pat says: “Who we choose each time is a joint decision and every time it is unanimous. We stick with what suits us and the course. We stick with what delivers and aids us in our job, allowing us to be the most productive we can. We’re active in our decision-making process and each renewal is competitive and each time Toro outperforms all others.”

The machines that form the club’s third five-year lease deal are two Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420 mowers, Groundsmaster 4500-D and two Workman GTX E utility vehicles, among many, which are like-for-like replacements. The Groundsmaster 3500-D Sidewinder however is a new addition to the club and quite the star of the show for Pat and the team.

Pat explains: “We’re in the third stage of renovating all our bunkers and the sidewinder was brought in specifically for creating the perfect finish around the edges. It’s delivering not only on that, but also for how easy it is to use. Adjusting the position of the units is so simple from the seat, it’s really impressive.”

A heathland course set on common land, Pat comments on how even maintenance is more of a challenge at Rushmere: “Course maintenance is constant. As a course on common land we have a lot of walking traffic and dogs coming across the course throughout the day. That can cause a significant amount of damage and requires vigilance to make sure the course presents for our members at all times.

“Toro is instrumental in helping us achieve that. The machines are very rarely on downtime, if parts are ever needed, they arrive promptly thanks to distributor Reesink’s excellent service and the backup from rep Julian Copping is always there whenever we need it.”

It’s quite often thought that bigger is better and quantity over quality, we think the team at Rushmere is single-handedly proving that is not the case. Small but mighty is the name of the game here, made even more effective by the support of Toro.

 

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More Toro for Badgemore Park

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More Toro for Badgemore Park: Following on from Toro’s success at The Drift Golf Club in Surrey, Toro arrives at Badgemore Park Golf Club in Henley-on-Thames, its sister club, for the first time.

Since it was founded in 1972, Badgemore Park has operated a like-for-like machinery replacement plan and never benefitted from the advantages of having a comprehensive machinery fleet, until now.

More Toro for Badgemore Park

For the last 20 years course manager Lindsay Anderson has wanted that to change and now’s the time, with the club choosing Toro for its first ever fleet package deal.

“We’ve undergone a lot of development at the club recently,” says Lindsay. “Making changes with new greens and tees and re-developing all the bunkers. Investing in a complete Toro machinery package is part of a massive investment in the club and another step in the right direction to improve the course, completing our five-year plan of course improvements in time for our 50th anniversary in 2022.”

And it was a very thorough process for Lindsay when it came to choosing a new equipment provider. “We had demonstrations from a few brands and asked around other golf courses for recommendations,” he says. “It became clear fairly soon that Toro was the way to go. Toro is renowned in the industry as being the best and the demonstration cemented that.”

The machines entrusted with maintaining the beautiful parkland course include three Toro Greensmaster TriFlex 3400 mowers, two Groundsmaster 4300-D mowers, two Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian mowers, two Workman MDX-D utility vehicles, a Groundsmaster 4000-D and a ProCore 648 with quick tine change collars fitted, which Lindsay says is his favourite.

“It’s just fantastic. We have a massive aeration programme proposed for the next six months so it’s going to get a lot of use and I know it will be up to the task. It’s a real quality piece of engineering built for ease of maintenance and ease of operation. Plus, it’s durable and reliable.

“In fact, all the machines are, which makes my job easier on a daily basis. I’m no longer constantly answering the phone to members of the greenkeeping team and having to run to fix issues with the machines, and that’s had an effect on us all. We’ve all got confidence in the machines and it’s really boosted morale and productivity.”

Of course, committing to one machinery brand usually means a change in dealer with Reesink being keen to demonstrate to Lindsay how it offers its customers more.

Reesink sales manager Robert Rees soon made the introductions for Lindsay with his local Toro service centre, CTH Engineering, which reassured Lindsay about the backup service available. He says: “I was unsure where we would go for our servicing if we switched brands, but Robert was great. He put me in touch with another local dealership that dealt with Toro machines and discussed the whole thing in detail which cleared up the concerns I had. And the backup to date – well there have been no issues.”

But when it comes down to it, what has impressed the team and members of the club alike most are the results seen across the course.

“The quality of cut is incredible,” concludes Lindsay. “Within a month members were commenting on the quality of the playing surfaces having improved.”

This is no surprise considering The Drift experienced a similar improvement in both the aesthetics and quality of the playing surface too!

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Tempest in a Toro

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Tempest in a Toro: Reesink Turfcare is extending its Toro genuine parts range to include Tempest flail blades to keep the UK’s flail mowers in the ultimate condition.

While suited to all flail mowers, Tempest blades are certainly a match made in heaven for Toro’s LT-F3000 triple flail mower.

Tempest in a Toro

Since its arrival in the UK the LT-F3000 has been widely viewed as a game changer for meeting the increasing demands of maintaining short and long grass in the face of restricted budgets for groundscare customers. And making sure this workhorse delivers consistently and constantly are Toro’s exclusive Tempest blades.

The independent, dedicated flail cutter units of the LT-F3000 are complex with numerous benefits. They have 48 unique blades to enable a variable cutting width from 75cm (30ins) to 212cm (83.5ins) to be as productive in wide open areas as on narrow verges or in tight spaces. The blades fold away with ease on impact of foreign objects and are easily and safely sharpened without needing to be removed, but should they need to be replaced or removed that’s easy to do too.

The fine cut it delivers produces very little debris blow-out and post-cut clean-up operations with strimmers and blowers is reduced which is surely music to any groundsperson’s ears, resulting in far less grass clipping ‘clumping’ and hence their reputation for unrivalled performance in all types of grass and in all types of weather.

But Toro’s Tempest blades are a match for all of that, ensuring a flail’s advanced cutting system never fails says Michael Hampton, parts manager at Reesink Turfcare: “It’s clear in the design of Tempest blades that Toro completely understands the needs for grounds customers to have the parts to match the machine. All Toro’s flail machines and the LT-F3000 in particular are built to always deliver even in the most challenging of environments, so it makes sense that the blade designed to suit the specific needs of a hard-working, heavy-duty flail is the uniquely crafted strong, durable and ergonomic Tempest.”

Quite frankly it had to be something pretty impressive to be paired up with the unmatched LT-F3000 and in long and short grass the advanced blade design of Tempest leaves a clean cut and even clippings dispersal for a great after-cut finish each and every time.

Michael concludes: “Ironically, Tempest blades do anything but create a tempest in a Toro. With these blades in your flail everything is calm, reliable, dependable delivering time after time and never letting the side down.”

To find out more or place an order, contact Reesink’s parts department on 01480 226870.

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