The K Club’s Palmer Course, where the 2006 Ryder Cup will be played, is equipped with Toro’s irrigation and turf management technologies.
Toro is the Official Provider of Irrigation and Turf Maintenance Equipment for The K Club and has partnerships formed with future European Ryder Cup courses over the next decade. Toro’s support for The Ryder Cup includes providing irrigation system performance checks, ongoing involvement with superintendents and grounds crews, onsite technicians to assist during the event, and additional turf equipment including mowers, bunker rakes, utility vehicles and more.
“We‘re very proud and excited to be in partnership with both The K Club and The Ryder Cup,” said Mike Hoffman, president, CEO and Chairman of the Toro Company. “Through this major golf event, Toro’s commitment to powerful innovations that help increase playability and profitability can truly shine.”
Since 1998, The K Club’s Palmer Course has undergone incredible changes in preparation for this September’s Ryder Cup. Gerry Byrne, course superintendent at The K Club, and his team have added new greens, tees, and bunkers, introduced swale areas, planted mature trees, reduced six fairway widths, and built a new maintenance facility.
Ireland’s cool, maritime climate poses certain challenges to The K Club’s course. Achieving a light footprint is important, so Byrne relies on Toro to provide him with lightweight mowers to easily and efficiently cut the fairways before and during matches.
“In addition to Toro’s equipment, we have wall-to-wall Toro irrigation products installed on our golf courses and we‘re very proud of it,” said Byrne. “Toro has really been there for me whenever I needed them.”
Toro enjoys a longstanding relationship with The Ryder Cup. In 1997, The Ryder Cup took place in Spain’s Club de Golf Valderrama – a golf course that has used Toro irrigation and equipment since 1986. In fact, Toro-equipped courses have already been chosen to host all European Ryder Cup matches through 2014.
The K Club www.kclub.ie
Toro www.toro.com
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