Tag Archive for: toro

Surbiton Fast Forward With Toro

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Surbiton Fast Forward With Toro: When it comes to course machinery, Surbiton Golf Club has done things in the same manner for many years. But times are now changing, beginning with the delivery of its first full fleet. The lease deal with Toro and Reesink Turfcare is a statement of the club’s desire to deliver a golfing experience to members that will be the envy of other clubs in the Surrey area.

When Andrew Kerr joined the club in Chessington as head greenkeeper, he went straight to work with the Greens Committee to deliver a complete overhaul of the way the club acquired and replaced its machinery.

Surbiton Fast Forward With Toro

Clint Whittaker, club secretary, explains: “We used to purchase machines outright when required, as part of our capital investment plan. This meant we had machines of varying ages, some of which couldn’t provide Andrew with the performance he needed to deliver the course results we expect. So rather than just replace a few machines, we decided to acquire a whole new fleet that is optimised to meet the very high expectations of our members.”

Andrew, who is currently finalising his qualification as a master greenkeeper, says: “There’s a great deal of choice for players, so it’s imperative to be the best you can be on the budget you have. We’re not one of the biggest clubs, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have the best presented course around. I was determined to bring the best machinery to support our course maintenance regime. I wanted to show the membership what’s possible when you have the right equipment.”

As a club owned by its members, this change in policy had to not only win over the committee, but 700 members too. Andrew continues: “It only took one viewing of the latest Toros, brought in by Reesink, to convince everyone that Toro was the brand to go with to raise the bar. I’ve found the management and the members to be entirely supportive, and when it came to the benefits of a lease agreement they were in absolute agreement. Our Toro fleet is delivering what I believe it should. The new technology we have at our fingertips means the greenkeeping team is making a real difference to the playability and quality of the course.”

Clint agrees: “All in all, we could see this was an investment in the future of the club we had to go with.”

Included in the fleet are four Greensmaster 1000 and three Greensmaster 1600 pedestrian mowers, two Reelmaster 5510-D ride-ons, two TriFlex 3420 hybrids, one with an 11-blade set-up and one with an eight, a Groundsmaster 4700-D, two Groundsmaster 3500-D mowers and a Multi Pro 5800-D.

Mike Taylor from Reesink Turfcare says: “Andrew came to us with a clear vision of what he wanted the machinery to achieve.  It was a joint effort between Reesink and Surbiton Golf Club to make sure he got everything on that list to realise his vision. It was a big step forward for the club and provides real certainty that the greens team can meet member expectations.”

So, where there is a will there is a way. You don’t need the biggest budget to get the equipment you want, or the finish you feel your members deserve. Look at the options with your management committee and where relevant the membership. Find the best people in the dealer and distributor network to talk to about what you want to achieve and consider that, just like a picture, a demo is worth more than a thousand words.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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New Customer For Toro

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New Customer For Toro: St Enodoc Golf Club has an impressive roll call. It is the premier golf club based in Cornwall, sixth in the country according to Golf World, and ranked 99th in the world by Golf Digest. Adding to that, is the fact that it is now a new Toro customer.

Based on that roll call it’s easy to see that this links course, based on the North Cornwall coast overlooking the Camel Estuary, has high standards to maintain. Simon Greatorex, general manager, explains why he and course manager Scott Gibson turned to Toro to help with that.

New Customer For Toro

Simon says: ”As a general manager I have spent a lot of time with the greenkeepers, and time and time again the preferred machinery choice is Toro. This is almost always down to their opinion on the brand’s reliability, build quality and machine support from the supplier and dealer, in this case Reesink Turfcare and Devon Garden Machinery. I happen to agree with them on all of these points.”

And that’s why the club has opted for Toro this time, and is in receipt of two Greensmaster 3400 TriFlex mowers, a Reelmaster 5410 and a Reelmaster 3100-D with Sidewinder, to tend the club’s greens, surrounds and fairways.

Of these machines, Scott says it’s the Reelmaster 3100-D with Sidewinder which is standing out for the club’s greenkeeping team of eight. In particular for “its versatility, excellent stability, clean and superior cut, and immaculate presentation,” says Scott. He goes on to praise all four machines for their ergonomic design.

Plus, there’s the service and support of Reesink Turfcare and Devon Garden Machinery. Scott says: “We have a long-standing relationship with Devon Garden Machinery who distributes Toro in our area, the service and support we get from them is second to none. And Reesink has made the whole process very straight forward, from the advice on the type of equipment we needed to purchase, to the many options that were open to us to finance the fleet, it has been nothing but easy.”

So why has St Enodoc opted for Toro now? Simon explains: “The club has an ongoing course improvement plan, plus the drive to attract some additional events to Cornwall. We already host the South West Ladies Match Week in July for Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, and in 2019 we will be hosting the English Senior Women’s Amateur Strokeplay Championship. With Toro on board we feel we stand in good stead for expanding this roll-call even further.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Toro Cuts Machinery Downtime

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Toro Cuts Machinery Downtime: New customer Padeswood and Buckley Golf Club in Flintshire North Wales has chosen Toro for the first time as it seeks to reduce machinery downtime.

Having spent, last year alone, £20,000 on maintenance and lease equipment due to breakdowns, Padeswood and Buckley has brought in Toro to eliminate these expenses and ensure the smooth running of the course.

Toro Cuts Machinery Downtime

Stuart Mason, who recently took over as head greenkeeper, tells us why Toro is the solution to their downtime dilemma: “I’ve used Toro in the past and it lives up to its reputation for reliability and longevity – you only have to look at the high resale value of Toros to confirm that fact.”

The Toro fleet replaces and upgrades the club’s main line machinery. Joining a new Greensmaster TriFlex 3420-H are three more machines including a Reelmaster 3575-D fairway mower, and Stuart goes into detail about some of the benefits he’s noticing:

“The 3575-D is good because the three wheels are quicker on the turn and kinder on turf than four-wheel machines. One of the main issues we want to avoid is mowers being out on the course when golfers are, and the speed of this mower will help enormously with that.

“The best thing about our Reelmaster 3100-D fairway mower is that the operator is placed safely away from the trickiest of edges, which the sidewinder units can cut accurately. We have recently started working with Durabunker to reconstruct our bunkers across the course by revetting them with artificial turf. The 3100-D mower will be able to keep the turf around the new bunkers neat without causing any damage.”

Stuart is also looking forward to fewer trips to the shed to refill the sprayer thanks to the Workman HDX utility vehicle complete with a Multi Pro sprayer. He explains: “Before we had a 200 litre tank, now we have almost four times that capacity with the 757 litre tank of the Multi Pro. This will make a big difference to our overall spraying routine. Another great thing about the HDX is its versatility – we don’t just operate it as a sprayer but a topdresser and truck too.”

Glyn Hughes of Major Owen advised Stuart on which machines would be the best to help eliminate downtime and ensure the smooth running of the course. Stuart says: “Glyn really helped with our decision, he was at the club so often that he was basically on the payroll! I’ve known him for a long time and it’s great to be working with Major Owen again as we can always trust them to deliver great service.”

With a new Toro fleet, and Major Owen to rely on, Stuart is nothing but positive about the club’s future: “We demonstrated a variety of machines on the market and Toro came out on top for quality and high performance, so I’m confident we’ll be able to rely on the new fleet.

“Reliable, quality machines will make it far easier to maintain the course to a high standard for our members. Already the team is over the moon that there are no more morning jumpstarts! And now downtime is no longer a dilemma, I foresee 2018 being far smoother for the greenkeeping team here at Padeswood.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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New Toro Deal At Moor Hall

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New Toro Deal At Moor Hall: The latest fleet of machinery at Moor Hall Golf Club has been curated to bring the club the latest technological developments, tackle particular environmental considerations and make specific improvements.

Course manager Wayne Ganning at the club based in Sutton Coldfield created a wish list and with the help of Reesink Turfcare and dealer Redtech Machinery now has a fleet he can rely on to produce results, make savings and implement a more responsible course management programme.

New Toro Deal At Moor Hall

The fleet features two of Toro’s latest UK launches – the brand new GreensPro 1260 and the GeoLink Precision Spray System, the industry’s first turf-based spray system – and 15 greens, tees and roughs mowers, top dressers, aerators and UTVs vehicles.

Wayne says: “Despite being a 100 percent Toro club, this is actually the first fleet we’ve brought in. Our machinery replacement programme for the last decade has seen us bring in a couple of new machines a year, but this year I presented my colleagues Jon Lewis at Reesink and Graham Hall at Redtech with plan of what I wanted to achieve with the course and they pulled out all of the stops to make sure I got what I needed.”

In opting for the GeoLink, Moor Hall was one of the first clubs in the country to reap the benefits of precision spraying. GPS technology and a single nozzle level control means application is accurate to within 10mm. The system automatically turns individual sprinklers on and off based on the machine’s exact location and the boundaries set, and thus virtually eliminates waste. Wayne says of this decision: “We are making a concerted effort to be more environmentally friendly in our approach to course management. The GeoLink is a fantastic and effective way to do this. Not only do we make a difference to the amount of chemicals we’re putting on the ground, but there are significant savings to be made when there is far less wastage.”

Among the many technological improvements in the GreensPro 1260 is a hydraulic drive system. This replaces the hydro and chain drive and eliminates leaks and potential contamination of the grass as well as reducing the amount of maintenance required with chain drive systems. Wayne says this is already proving to be “more reliable and easier for the team to use”.

As for the rest of the fleet, the Groundsmaster 4700-D is cutting the roughs with two more units than the club’s previous mower and that’s making a big difference in terms of productivity, while the SandPro 5040 has won Wayne the thanks of the six-strong greenkeeping team: “The extra hydraulics on the front of the machine is making a huge impact on raking especially in inclement weather. It’s certainly saving our backs!”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Royal Dornoch Trusts Toro

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Royal Dornoch Trusts Toro: From back in 1616 to the present day, Royal Dornoch Golf Club’s reputation for golfing excellence has only increased over the past 400 years. Now considered to be one of the top golf clubs in the UK and amongst the best in the world, the traditional club stays ahead of the curve by bringing in the best technology available to maintain the courses ­– as proven by its second investment in Toro machinery.

Course manager Eoin Riddell explains why the club purchased Toro machinery: “We can’t get enough of Toro, it is by far the best turfcare machinery brand we’ve tried. On top of that, we have a great relationship with the distributor Reesink Turfcare and our dealer Gammies, where we are on a first-name basis with all the staff.”

Royal Dornoch Trusts Toro

The courses follow the remote links landscape and there to tame the wilderness is an impressive fleet of 35 Toro machines, as well as a Toro irrigation system with sprinklers and two TYM tractors.

Above all, the Groundsmaster 4500-D is Eoin’s favourite new machine. He enthuses: “The 4500-D is a great mower that can cut anywhere and has unbelievable productivity. It makes light work of the courses, turf nurseries, driving ranges, and a grass runway we maintain.”

This is down to the model’s SmartPower technology that enables a consistent cut anywhere. The intuitive feature works by automatically adjusting the mower’s engine speed according to cutting conditions, while maintaining optimal power to the blades.

And the Toros are not just a hit with Eoin: “We have 20 members of staff through the season and they all love the Toros. They are well-built, operator-friendly and reliable, which is probably why our mechanic finds them easy to work on too,” says Eoin.

Keeping technology current is a priority at Royal Dornoch, where the operation of Toro’s myTurf Pro fleet management program is in full swing. Eoin counts this among his favourite bits of Toro kit.

He says: “When we brought in myTurf we were all a little dubious to begin with, but that quickly changed. Our machines simply pass a sensor at our shed door that automatically records how long they’ve been in operation and, from this, calculates preventative maintenance and replacement parts needed.

“Our mechanic can access this information, plus user manuals for every Toro machine manufactured, by simply logging in to myTurf on his computer. The program makes life so much easier for him and eliminates human error, making cost of ownership calculations far more accurate.”

At such a busy club it’s no wonder myTurf Pro is proving useful. In 2016 the club celebrated 400 years of golf with 250 tournaments during the year, during which the Toros were always out.

Eoin explains: “At some points we were hosting two tournaments a day and Royal clubs from all over the world joined us for a week-long celebration. Throughout it all we could rely on our Toros, which worked all-year-round – morning, nights, even weekends – with barely a hiccup!

“We work our machines very hard, so it’s important that we frequently update them with the best technology available from Toro. Royal Dornoch is a traditional club with a great history, but in such a fast-paced industry we must move forward with technology to maintain a world-class reputation.”

For more information go to www.reesinkturfcare.co.uk

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

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