In the words of course manager, Jaime Acton, Rushmore Golf Club is a ‘wonderfully quirky’ course. The 18-hole venue set high on the chalk of Cranborne Chase spans two counties and is situated within one of England’s most historic estates and parkland settings.
Jaime explains: “Rushmore Golf Club has nine holes in Wiltshire and nine in Dorset and that gives us a unique set of maintenance requirements. For example, there are no bunkers in Wiltshire as we’re not allowed to disturb the terrain of the park. Instead many ancient trees guard these holes with water and sand traps providing variety to the Dorset holes.”
When Jaime joined the club a year ago he knew it would be Toro he would be investing in to help him maintain the course and the arrival of a GM4500-D, GreensPro 1200, Workman HDX-D4WD and Workman 200-gallon sprayer are allowing him and his team make a big difference to course presentation.
“The course has many elevated tees and I chose the Groundsmaster 4500-D to help us with definition,” explains Jaime. “It allows us to frame every hole with the stripes of semi-rough. The club has never had a machine like the GM4500-D before and it’s really brought the place to life. It draws the eye and makes a real impression.
“I’ve always used Toro because the build quality is superb. All the machines I’ve had the pleasure of using are reliable in that they very rarely break down and the after cut appearance is faultless. I also really rate the fact that once you set the machine up it stays set, which is something I’ve found other manufacturers struggle to do.
“The ProCore 648 is a particular favourite of mine. In fact it was the last machine I bought at my old club and I was delighted Rushmore had one when I arrived. It was the only Toro machine at the club at the time and if you’ve only got one bit of Toro kit I believe it’s a good choice to have the ProCore! It works at a productive speed and causes very little surface disruption which enables us to increase the regularity of use without having too much impact on play.”
So, what’s next on Jaime’s wish list for the club? “We are hoping to purchase a Reelmaster 5610-D with the TriFlex also being very high on my list in terms of machinery. We’re also considering an irrigation upgrade too, – to Toro, of course!”
Note to editors: Toro turf products are distributed throughout mainland UK by Lely (UK) Limited, 1 Station Road, St Neots PE19 1QH. Call 01480 226800, email turfcare.uk@lely.com or visit www.toro.com / www.lely.com for further details, and in Ireland by Lely Ireland Limited, Kilboggin, Nurney, Co. Kildare. Call 00 353 (0)45 526170 or email turfcaresales.ie@lely.com.
Rushmore Golf Club www.rushmoregolfclub.co.uk