Droitwich Golf Club in Worcestershire has taken the major decision to switch machinery makes and opted to sign up with Toro for a five-year exclusivity deal. Now the club is benefitting from a brand new £200,000 fleet of turf equipment that includes Toro greens and fairway mowers, which the club says are producing a far better quality of cut than it has enjoyed before.
Gary Watkins, course manager, explains: “I joined Droitwich in 2007. At the time the club, like many, bought one machine a year and this was mainly based on which machine most needed replacing or updating. What we really needed was a whole shed-change and a more structured approach, so I started thinking about a long-term plan to suit the club.
“We don’t have a shed here that can accommodate maintenance, so we knew we required off-site dealer support. Apart from that it was the usual considerations clubs face, such as cost, reliability and quality.
“I called in the three major distributors for demos , including Lely for Toro, and what became apparent was that, with exclusivity deals, when you compare overall packages, there’s not much in it when it comes to cost per item.
“Then we were introduced to Redtech, the dealer who would take care of the maintenance of the Toro machines should we go with Lely and Toro, and that sealed it. We knew we could have Toro machines on a good deal with the maintenance support we required.”
Gary picked a new fleet of greens-mowers, grounds and fairway mowers and utility vehicles to care for the 18-hole members-only parkland course, including a Greensmaster Triflex Hybrid 3420, one of the first Toro machines to bear the company’s new ‘green’ EnergySmart label.Also in the deal are the Reelmaster 5510, Groundsmaster 4300, Reelmaster 3100 with Sidewinder units, Greensmaster 3250, Groundsmaster 360, Workman HDXD and MDXD and the Workman 200 gallon sprayer.
Gary continues: “We haven’t had a full-season using the kit yet but so far the team is really happy. Now that I’ve had the chance to use Toro I’ve used all the three top brands in my career and I’m happy to state Toro is the best I’ve had the pleasure of using. The machines produce a far better quality of cut than we had before and the extra details make all the difference. For example, the rear roller brushes on the Reelmaster 3100 with Sidewinder units means you can cut in the dew without leaving a mess, which eliminates the need to go out and blow the debris away after cutting. Those sorts of things save time and make the job that much more enjoyable.”
Toro turf products are distributed throughout mainland UK by Lely (UK) Limited, email turfcare.uk@lely.com or visit www.lelyturfcare.com for further details. And in Ireland by Lely Ireland Limited email turfcaresales.ie@lely.com or visit www.lelyturfcare.ie
Droitwich Golf Club www.droitwichgolfclub.co.uk