Tom Hooper, Course Manager at South Beds Golf Club in Luton, claims that his new ISEKI tractor is one of the best he has seen throughout his long and illustrious career.
Tom has been working at the club since 1986 and was appointed Course Manager in 2003. Throughout his tenure he has overseen many course improvements and has seen many technological advancements in terms of equipment. A wide range of equipment has come and gone at South Beds, but there hasn’t been many that has lived up to one of his newest purchases.
“Having experienced using many different tractors throughout my career, I would say ISEKI is one of the best,” said Tom. “It performs so well and is very spacious inside with a good flat floor, no trip hazards and is extremely comfortable.
“We decided to invest in the ISEKI tractor to replace our old tractor, which was very outdated and too large for the golf course. It just ticked a lot of boxes for us, including the price, the performance and the lift capacity was ideal because it needs to be able to lift a 400-litre tank.”
Tom purchased the TG6407 IQ which features an ISEKI Stage V, 3 cylinder 40hp diesel engine with IQ Dual-Clutch transmission F24/R24 that offers the control of a manual with the convenience of an automatic. There are 8 clutchless speeds and 3 ranges. Gears are changed by simply moving the gear lever through the straight shift gate. If ‘D’ is selected, then gears 4-8 are operated automatically – ideal for roadwork or towing. TG6407 IQ is available with ROPS or an air-conditioned Category 2 cab.
A front loader joystick, draft control, up stop PTO and linkage lift in reverse are all supplied as standard. The tractors are offered with either Ag or Turf tyres as standard. Optional loaders, either standard or with parallel lift are available.
“The IQ gearbox is very efficient,” continued Tom. “It is easy to operate, and you can go up and down the gears nice and smoothly.
“We use the tractor for all kinds of work including spraying, vertidraining, and lots of other tasks where we need to attach implements to it. It gives us plenty of horsepower but at the same time it is a nice and compact tractor which can go on all the greens in many different conditions.
“I would recommend it to any golf course or sports ground – its range of use is exceptional. All the staff are very happy with it.
As well as being pleased with the tractor, Tom was quick to praise ISEKI dealer RT Machinery – the company who he purchased it through.
“We were introduced to RT Machinery a couple of months before we purchased the ISEKI tractor – they were very friendly, very helpful, and easy to get on with.”
