Johnny Shields, Course Superintendent at Portsalon Golf Club, situated on the rugged coast of northwest Ireland, has selected the Jacobsen GP400 ride-on triplex mower as the preferred option for maintaining the tees and approaches at the renowned golfing venue, ranked 25th in the current Golf Digest Ireland 100 top courses.
Portsalon Golf Club was established in 1891 and is one of the founder members of the Golfing Union of Ireland, the oldest golfing union in the world.
Johnny Shields joined Portsalon in April 2007 from Luttrellstown Castle Golf & Country Club near Dublin where he spent the previous five years and prior to this was employed at Foyle Golf Club in Derry.
He manages a small team of three staff, who do a superb job of maintaining the 7,000 yard course, set among the sand dunes along BallymastockerBay with the Inishowen Hills beyond.
Comment on the GP400 he said, “I was extremely sceptical when Kevin Broderick Ltd, my local Ransomes Jacobsen dealer, turned up with a mower that had slick tyres. I was convinced there was no way that it would climb the slopes or cover the ground on my course. However, I underestimated the efficiency of its three-wheel drive capability and I have to admit it’s our ‘go anywhere’ machine; there’s nowhere on the maintained areas, tee to green, that it cannot reach.
“I also like the easy access to the machine for daily checks and maintenance. The integrated fuel and hydraulic tank and the swing-out centre are clever designs and help when performing routine maintenance tasks.”
Portsalon Golf Club www.portsalongolfclub.com
Ransomes Jacobsen www.ransomesjacobsen.com