Tag Archive for: toro

Prestigious Club Goes All In For Toro

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Prestigious Club Goes All In For Toro: At the pinnacle of St George’s Hill Golf Club sits its iconic clubhouse, casting an eye over its three nine-hole courses widely regarded as Harry Colt’s crowning glory, and now in the hands of Toro to uphold.

Set within an exclusive private estate in Surrey, the club was in need of a fleet of turfcare machinery to maintain the high standards of the course, and it was a complete Toro package that proved to hit the mark with the club signing its first ever five-year agreement plan with Toro and its distributor Reesink Turfcare.

Prestigious Club Goes All In For Toro

The historic club provides one of the most exclusive golfing experiences, currently ranked No.63 in the World by Golf Digest Magazine. With so much history and expectation, course manager Chris Godsen says the pressure to provide the very best is always on.

“Every day here is a big day,” he explains. “Everyone who comes to play is looking for the best and wanting an experience like no other, so we have to work to provide that every day, no exceptions.”

With the club boasting 500 members and the estate home to 420 houses, having a comprehensive and efficient fleet is vitally important.

“The fleet here was already about 90 percent Toro,” Chris says. “But we wanted to invest in new machines, so we’d be up to date with the latest tech and innovation.”

Despite looking at a range of options with other brands before making a commitment, for Chris, Toro was the only choice.

“We did look at a couple of other brands, but there would always be one or two unreliable machines that would really let the package down. But with Toro, there isn’t one piece of kit I can see doing that. Toro always has far superior machines that are durable, reliable and state-of-the-art, which is just what a prestigious club like St George’s Hill needs.”

And club secretary Gary Peddie agrees: “The decision to choose Toro was a relatively easy one. They are recognised in the industry as a leading manufacturer of golf course machinery. That position sits very well alongside St George’s Hill Golf Club, as we look to deliver the best in golf course conditioning.”

With the package deal comprising near thirty pieces, including three Greensmaster 3250-Ds, three Reelmaster 3555-Ds, two Groundsmaster 4300-Ds, four Workman HDX-Ds and a ProPass 200 to name a few, Chris is excited to put the new comprehensive fleet to work.

“We’re particularly excited to trial our new lightweight mowers as we haven’t had them before. The Multi Pro 5800-D sprayer is also going to be a big help. It’s bigger and faster than what we have now, so we’ll be able to get more coverage in less time.

“I’m confident this agreement is just the start of an ongoing partnership,” says Chris. “The service from Reesink has always been great and now with a full fleet of Toro equipment, I have total peace of mind that the course is in good hands.”

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Wick GC Brings Toro On Board

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Wick GC Brings Toro On Board: After receiving two grants alongside fundraising efforts from its members, Wick Golf Club in Scotland has purchased a new Toro Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420 to help improve its course and the environment.

And not only did the GR3420 impress head greenkeeper Dougie Thorburn, but its sustainability credentials were key in securing grants to make the purchase of the machine possible. The club received grants from the Caithness and North Sunderland Fund and Beatrice Caithness Windfarm Fund, both of which support projects that develop or maintain community assets and achieve environmental improvements.

Wick GC Brings Toro On Board

Dougie explains: “Wick Golf Club is a traditional links course and the oldest in the highlands with our 150th anniversary next year. It’s a beautiful course, but the machines we’d been using weren’t keeping the course up to the standard we wanted.

“Our last greensmower was suffering from hydraulic leaks. Not only was this causing damage to the turf, but we have a lot of ditches on the course that lead to the ocean, so it’s possible for oil leaked on the course to run off into the sea. We needed something that would be more reliable and stop the damage to the course and runoff into the ocean.”

And it was the Toro Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420, with its advanced technology meaning hydraulic leaks are almost eliminated, that was able to provide high-quality turf maintenance and peace of mind for Dougie.

“It’s just a brilliant machine, simply put,” he says. “It’s reliable and provides us with an excellent quality of cut. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about it.”

And it’s not just Dougie who’s been singing Toro’s praises. In fact, Dougie didn’t opt for a demonstration of the GR3420 because its reputation preceded it so well.

“I asked around at other courses that had been using the machine and was told they’d had zero problems with it, and then I saw it in action at another course and that was it for me, I was sold,” says Dougie. “Although this is the first Toro machine at Wick, I’ve been around Toro since I started my career, and it’s always been number one for me. I knew that as soon as I got the chance to get some new machines, they were going to be Toro.”

And credit where credit is due, says club secretary Catherine McLeod to the grants and fundraising from the members for their support to the club: “Both of these funds should receive credit for the wonderful help they provide the area. And, of course, thanks must go to the tireless fundraising efforts of our members. As a small club with only 200 members, we wouldn’t have been able to make this kind of investment to improve the course without their help.”

With the GR3420 and the service from Toro UK distributor Reesink Turfcare impressing Dougie, another Toro machine is now on the cards. “We have some big plans for the next five years, particularly with our 150th anniversary coming up, and getting the right machinery in place is a big priority,” says Dougie.

As the most northerly course on the east coast of Scotland, Wick Golf Club is surrounded by natural beauty and captivating historical sights. With views over Sinclair Bay to Noss Head and its lighthouse and castles, maintaining the course to be in keeping with its stunning surroundings is a challenge, but Dougie sees this as a process made a lot easier with Toro on board.

He concludes: “The team love Toro and our members have all seen the difference it’s made to the course, so everyone is behind the move to get another. We’re looking at a Toro mower for the fairways and I’m confident that with more Toro, Wick Golf Club will only continue to improve in its environmental sustainability.”

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Toro Takes Northamptonshire GC Into The Future

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Toro Takes Northamptonshire GC Into The Future: Toro and Reesink Turfcare are delighted to welcome Northamptonshire County Golf Club as a Toro Total Solutions customer.

The Open Regional Qualifying club in the Midlands has committed to Toro as it brings back the feel of its past with Toro machinery and thinks to the future with a Toro irrigation renovation.

Toro Takes Northamptonshire GC Into The Future

Course manager, Rob Hay, who has been at the club for five years says the reason behind the commitment is twofold: “Over the years the course had been managed as a parkland course which it wasn’t designed to be. We’ve been working towards returning the course to its original heathland state as designed by Harry Colt, opening up each hole and giving it a flavour of the old days. Toro machinery is key to that.

“This is our first fleet lease deal, but we’ve been using Toro since before I started, and Toro is instrumental in this vision taking shape. Toro has made a big impact and brought about noticeable change in the direction of the course’s maintenance and members are seeing the difference. Many have commented on how the course now looks like they remember it from the early 1970s and plays with a true running heathland style from those days too, which we’re delighted to hear.”

When it comes to the irrigation, Rob says the club’s commitment to Toro is a nod to the future: “We’re not in a predicament with our current system, but we’re forward planning so we’re ready for a seamless transition when the time comes. What we noticed in the heatwave of last year was that there are areas that could be improved upon, more efficient and better managed. In the midlands we’re water scarce and as we irrigate from a local river the goal is to get ourselves into a position where we’re using our water better and utilising every drop. We believe Toro is the partner to make that happen.

“I’m conscious this is a big outlay – one of the biggest a course can make – and it’s important we get this right. We’re currently working with Reesink and Adrian Motram finalising the plans for what’s exactly needed and if the quality of the irrigation system is anything like that of the Toro machinery, I know we’ll be in for a great experience using Toro Irrigation.”

As one of only 13 Regional Qualifying courses in the UK, Northamptonshire County Golf Club has high standards to maintain, plus the challenge of an unusual 21-hole layout to contend with. “We appreciate we’re in the company of a select few being a Regional Qualifying course and take great pride in the fact that we resumed our status last year for the 147th Open,” says Rob.

Retaining that position comes with hard work and dedication, which Rob and his greenkeeping team of nine have in abundance. “Every year there are new projects to undertake and as a team we look forward to this as much as we do the usual high season maintenance work. It’s a good challenge for us all and having Toro on board has really made a difference.”

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Toro Lynx At Blackpool North Shore

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Toro Lynx At Blackpool North Shore: Stage one of the irrigation refit at Blackpool North Shore Golf Club is complete with the successful – and quick – installation of a Toro Lynx central control system.

Toro and Reesink Turfcare, an official UK supplier of Toro, have long advocated innovation through renovation in its irrigation strategy, but more often than not customers have a sprinkler upgrade rather than the integration of a central control system.

Toro Lynx At Blackpool North Shore

Blackpool North Shore provides a classic example of how, when it comes to renovation with Toro, it doesn’t matter which part of the system needs replacing success is sure to follow.

Course manager Andy Moore says: “There was no question about it, Blackpool North Shore needed a new central control system. Ours was 13 years old and left unsupported by a brand which had subsequently left the sector. The main issues we had to rectify were getting the control system talking to the sprinklers again and improving operation.

“In recent years, things were held together by hand-watering and returning to the course out of hours and late at night to apply water. Obviously, that wasn’t a sustainable situation, but the shortfallings of the system were really highlighted to everyone in the drought of last year. By then I’d been appointed course manager and this was the project with which I could make my mark.”

Andy had whittled his decision down to two control systems and says Toro Lynx triumphed thanks to its technological benefits and the thorough and comprehensive demonstration provided by Reesink. “Not only did Peter Newton come to demo the system to myself and the team and took his time explaining all the USPs, but he came back and went through everything again in a presentation to the board. That made all the difference, everyone bought into it and knew what we were investing in.”

Installation was completed by Rob Green by Green Irrigation in just a couple of days, to deliver Blackpool North Shore a system more than capable of working with any sprinkler or weather station, no matter its age or brand.

As long as the correct sprinkler data is entered into Lynx, no matter what the brand of sprinkler is being used – and all can be catered for – the result will be accurate watering, as Andy confirms: “The Lynx system has delivered a level of accuracy and consistency we haven’t had in many years. We can now irrigate in millimetres. It’s incredible really and can all be done via the mobile app, which myself and my deputy Dan are finding to be a real benefit and so easy to use.”

Stage one of the irrigation refit is the first step in an all-encompassing plan of course improvements, says Andy: “We’re bringing definition to the fairways of this Harry Colt-designed course. At the moment the fairways are rolling and each seems to roll into the next. By adding gorse plants and pathways we hope to improve the presentation of the course for our members and visitors. We’re also reducing the number of bunkers significantly and making those we keep have revetted faces, and we’ll be releveling the tees.”

And, of course, stage two of the irrigation refit will be taking place. The sprinklers will be replaced for either Toro Infinity or Flex, depending on which suits the club’s system and course best. The Flex Sprinkler has the same riser to Infinity, just a different body. Andy continues: “We’re trialling four Infinity sprinklers on the 18th green at the moment and they’re performing really well. I’ve heard good things about Toro Flex too so the jury’s out for the moment. What I can say is, it’ll definitely be Toro we go for!

“We’re a relatively small greenkeeping team and anything we can do to ease the pressure and load is going to be something we’ll consider. Most of the course improvements we have planned will go some way in helping make the day-to-day maintenance and care of the course easier to manage. The same applies to the irrigation. Technology – and Toro – have proven that one simple change, done in a couple of days, can make all the difference.”

Some have credited Toro’s Lynx control system with bringing industry buzzwords ‘interchangeable’ and ‘future-proof’ irrigation to life, and Blackpool North Shore is the latest living proof in how simple and quick it is to deliver that kind of improvement.

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Manor of Groves GC Exclusively Toro

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Manor of Groves GC Exclusively Toro: Following the arrival of its second Toro fleet, Hertfordshire’s Manor of Groves Golf Club is now exclusively Toro, achieving its all-red status ahead of its deadline of 2020.

Head greenkeeper Lee Brinkley says this sees his ambition realised from when he joined the club three years ago: “I had previously worked at a Toro club and my main goal when joining Manor of Groves was to improve the quality of the course, to make it comparable to the course that I’d become accustomed to. I resolved to be exclusively Toro by 2020 as I knew what a difference it would make, and now we’ve achieved that – ahead of schedule – it’s evident for everyone else too!”

Manor of Groves GC Exclusively Toro

The par 71, 18-hole, 6,237 yard course at Manor of Groves has been subject to a large investment to improve the already fine design and part of that investment comes in the form of Toro. It was in 2018 that the first Toro fleet arrived at Manor of Groves with Lee citing the brand’s quality, value for money, time-saving benefits, ease of maintenance, noticeable results and after-sales service as the reasons behind the purchase. Lee says nothing has changed since then.

“All of those things still apply, but I can add in more! There’s definitely a better atmosphere at the club. It makes a significant difference to club spirit when there’s high quality, innovative, equipment to use. You really notice the sense of pride there is to use a decent machine. This has been very apparent since the machinery arrived and we’ve seen just what it’s capable of. And it’s great to see how happy the members are with the improvements to their course and the investment from the club to ensure Manor of Groves strives to be a course everyone talks about.”

Completing Manor of Groves’ Toro red shed are the Groundsmaster 4000-D, Groundsmaster 3500-D with Sidewinder, ProPass 200 top dresser, GreensPro 1260, ProCore 648 aerator and Workman MDX-D utility vehicles.

Lee says about the order: “The GM3500-D with Sidewinder is incomparable. I don’t believe there is anything else available like it, it is that good.”

Lee also opted this time for a TYM Tractor T353 and loader. He says: “We’ve never had a TYM tractor before, but when you have such a good level of customer service from a distributor, like we do with Reesink Turfcare, you certainly don’t go looking anywhere else. We’re using the TYM to pull the new ProPass top dresser and together they’ve cut our labour for sanding by over half!”

And while it’s certainly taken hard-work and persistence to get the club to where it is today, Lee says it’s been more than worth it: “Everyone is invested in the vision. We’ve removed everything that wasn’t Toro and as a result there’s been a complete turnaround. To look at how far the club has come in just three years, how happy the team and members are and how now we’re able to maintain such high standards, is just great.”

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