A trio of pedestrian mowers from Baroness are coming to the rescue at Calcot Park Golf Club in Berkshire, as the 95-year-old venue seeks to maintain course standards through the ever-more challenging winter months.
The club, like many, struggled to get ride-on equipment out last winter due to increased rainfall and softer ground conditions. However, this problem will be a thing of the past with three LM66 cylinder mowers now ready to take up the task of retaining presentation on the tees and approaches.
Tom Jennings, course manager at Calcot Park for the last six years, says: “We’re always striving for that next level of definition and the rain has really been hampering what we can deliver on areas that aren’t hand cut. That’s why we decided to invest in a fleet of pedestrian mowers specifically for the tees and factored the time to deliver this attention to detail into our programme.”
After a comprehensive search, and advice and service from both Lister Wilder and Luke Collins from Baroness, he decided on three LM66 mowers from the Baroness pedestrian range which were delivered in June.
“In my opinion, the cut quality with these LM66’s is the best on the market and, not only that, they stay on cut for much longer,” says Tom. “We’ve done some topdressing over the summer and are now starting to see worm casts emerging yet, despite this, the Baroness mowers remain sharp giving us outstanding consistency and a clean, precise cut. The tees and approaches have never presented better.”
Along with the slightly smaller LM56 model, the Baroness pedestrian mower design incorporates traditional all-gear drive – delivering 100% transmission rate with no slippage or lag between the drive to reel rotation ratio. In addition, the durability of this system compared to belt or chain drive is extremely high, providing additional peace of mind that a balanced cut will be achieved with every operation.
The renowned cylinder is manufactured from Nickel-Chrome-Molybdenum alloy steel which retains the sharpest cutting edge, helping to promote healthy growth and contributing to surfaces that are less vulnerable to disease. Both the Baroness LM56/66 models also include a five-year warranty as standard.
Tom concludes: “The good thing is that we’ve all had chance to get used to them and get a real feeling for what can be achieved with these machines. We now feel confident going into the wetter months that we can deliver the tees and approaches to the same standard we’re delivering in other areas of the course – if not better!”