The company's Golf Ready training programme for 2014 involves over 200 participants from six countries - France, Germany, Italy and Spain, in addition to the UK and Ireland. The dealership staff, along with key John Deere turfcare personnel from the US and Europe, are spending most of May and June taking over responsibility for the daily maintenance of the nine-hole The Tower course at the Midlands non-member complex.

Weekly groups of dealer salesmen, golf & turf specialists and service technicians are effectively simulating what a greenkeeping team would be doing on the course each day, alongside detailed product training on John Deere's new greens, fairway and rough mowers and new pedestrian aerators for 2014, which have their public launch in July.

Each day starts at 7am, and involves a mix of practical indoor and outdoor training on the course maintenance equipment, including machine set-up, optimisation and operating procedures, safety requirements and product sales challenges.

In addition, an agronomy management presentation and a review of cultural practices plus a course walk are conducted with each group by experienced consultant Laurence Pithie of Turf Master One Ltd. Finally, after each mowing assignment has been completed, the dealers have to wash down the machines in the yard before reviewing the day's activities.


An indoor training session on John Deere's Quick Adjust (QA) cutting units

"The Golf Ready programme gives us all the opportunity to look at the fundamentals of product operation and servicing, as well as introduce the new season's products and do hands-on training in a real-life situation," says John Deere Limited's turf division manager Chris Meacock.

"It also means our dealers can really understand and appreciate the full range and importance of the greenkeeper's roles and responsibilities, and the critical role they play in the successful management of any golf club. We're very grateful to the management and greenkeeping staff at Morley Hayes for providing us with the facilities and support to deliver this type of training.