UNDERSTANDING YOUR CUSTOMERS' PROFESSION
Be it a grounds person or farmer
by Service Dealer Ireland Editor, Alan Mahon
 
Alan Mahon

The working life of a modern head greenkeeper involves many professions. Obviously they have to know all there is about grass. They need to able to identify grass species, diseases and nutrient deficiencies. They need to be accountants as they are tasked with managing the largest budget allocation of a golf club, which is the course maintenance and development. They also need to be good people managers as they are in charge of the greenkeeping staff and need to deal with any issues that may arise. The modern head greenkeeper also needs to be a mechanic so as to deal with any breakdowns that happen when maintaining the golf course.

 

I mention this because I think a good dealer needs to have an understanding of the profession of their customer, be it a grounds person or farmer. Would many dealers know what chlorosis is? For those that don’t know I will explain later. 

 

I read recently about research done on rotary mowers versus robotic mowers. The research was carried out at the University of Kentucky and it compared the quality of cut from both types of machines. The results were very interesting. Three, six-week experiments were carried out. At the beginning of each experiment the robotic mower was fitted with new razor blades while the rotary mower blades were sharpened. Forty eight leaf samples were randomly collected from each mower’s cut (both mown at 3 inches) and the leaves were collected once each week for six consecutive weeks.

 

It was discovered that, on average, robotic mowers resulted in a 48% increase in leaf cut quality and a 51% reduction in leaf tip chlorosis. Remember that word I mentioned earlier? Chlorosis is the yellowing of the leaf, which can be caused by mechanical damage. These results are pretty significant for ground staff and greenkeepers. Various brands of robotic mowers were used. What made the findings interesting for me was the difference in turf quality. The robotic mowers produced a greener and healthier turf with less Nitrogen and irrigation requirements needed to sustain the turf. For a mower to do this is most unusual. It seems that the reason for the improvement in turf health was mainly attributed to how clean the robotic mower blade was able to cut the leaves. 

 

I remember attending a demonstration on how to properly sharpen and grind cylinder mowers. The man giving the demonstration stressed the importance of keeping reel mowers constantly sharpened, thus allowing the grass to be cut cleanly and lessening the chances of the turf getting infected with disease. This latest trial, involving robotic mowers, seems to rubber stamp this idea that a cleaner cut leads to a healthier sward.

 

These are good examples where some knowledge of the turf profession can be an advantage to the dealer. For a dealer to explain how different types of mowers can affect the health and quality of grass would impress any greenkeeper making a purchase. The same would apply to farmers who are purchasing tractors and equipment. Having an understanding of your customer’s profession will prove to be of great benefit to you and perhaps win over some new customers

In this issue
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UNDERSTANDING YOUR CUSTOMERS' PROFESSION
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