Wildernesse Golf Club, a traditional woodland course in Kent, has added the highly versatile and powerful Kubota L5040 compact tractor to its fleet of machines to support its course preparation and maintenance programme.
The Club, which was founded in 1890 and is recognised by the R&A as an Open Qualifying venue, covers an area of 65 hectares, which includes dense woodland, along with 35 hectares of fairway and 65 bunkers.
As part of the ongoing maintenance of the course, head greenkeeper and course manager Mark Todd was looking for a hard working machine that would compliment his existing fleet of tractors.
Mark commented: “We have been running two Kubota L4 200 tractors for the last 17 years without any problems, so it was an easy decision to choose Kubota again when we were looking at extending our fleet. We did this through our local dealer Lister Wilder, who helped us select the right machine for our requirements.”
“All three tractors are needed by myself and my team of eight groundcare staff for a wide range of applications that are essential in the ongoing upkeep of the course, such as aeration, vertidraining, fairway brushing, leaf blowing and collecting.
“In addition, another critical role for the tractors is helping us manage the woodland across the site. A few years ago the Club was awarded a woodland grant scheme. This means we have a commitment to clear 1.2 hectares of woodland every year, which is quite a challenge to say the least. There’s no way we would have attempted this without the support of a robust fleet of tractors and the Kubota range offer us exactly that.”
The new Kubota L5040 is one of most advanced compact tractors on the market. Featuring independent PTO and fully synchronised mechanical transmission, together with the IntelliPanel information system, the 52HP tractor comes in a rollbar or cabbed version alongside a GST model (cab only).
Other key features of the L5040 include the latest E-TVCS water cooled diesel engine for optimum power and efficiency, an ergonomic layout, power steering and air conditioning as standard. The fully open bonnet and removable seat panel also make routine maintenance and servicing simple.
Mark said: “The key factor in the purchasing decision was not overly complicated. In essence, we needed a tractor that could do exactly what we needed it to do with minimal downtime.
“With Kubota, you know you are buying into a trusted brand that is synonymous with reliability and performance. Ultimately, the L5040 is a quality tractor at a competitive price and that’s what we wanted. In addition, operator comfort is good and the resale value is also extremely attractive when looking at the whole life cost of the purchase.”
Wildernesse Golf Club was recently awarded an Open Qualifier event in 2015, the highest accolade the course can achieve. Mark continued: “Hosting the Open Qualifier is extremely prestigious for the Club. It’s a testament to the team, their hard work and the standard of the course that we are on the roster for 2015.
“Golf course management is an extremely challenging but rewarding job, particularly with the weather we have had over the last 12 months. Our role is to keep pushing Wildernesse Golf Club in the right direction and improve the course conditions for its members, season to season, week to week and hour to hour.”
Kubota www.kubota.co.uk
Wildernesse Golf Club www.wildernesse.co.uk