New customer Padeswood and Buckley Golf Club in Flintshire North Wales has chosen Toro for the first time as it makes a concerted effort to reduce machinery downtime.
Head greenkeeper Stuart Mason sits on the club’s new Toro Greensmaster TriFlex 3420-H with Reesink Turfcare’s Nigel Lovatt on his left, and Major Owen’s Glyn Hughes
Having spent, last year alone, £20,000 on maintenance and lease equipment due to breakdowns, Padeswood and Buckley say they have brought in Toro to eliminate these expenses and ensure the smooth running of the course.
Stuart Mason, who recently took over as head greenkeeper, said, “I’ve used Toro in the past and it lives up to its reputation for reliability and longevity.”
The new 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. Stuart says of this machine, “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."
Stuart also says he is 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."
