Over the 35 years that Andrew Halfpenny has been Course Manager at Ombersley Golf Club in Worcestershire things have changed dramatically – including the site itself, where the 18-hole parkland course has matured, creating an ever-increasing problem with leaf-fall.
With mulching no longer providing a viable solution, the team took delivery of a Trilo M3 vacuum collector in October last year, which has proved more than capable of keeping the course clean and tidy over a busy autumn and winter season.
Halfpenny has clocked up an impressive 47 years with the club, and currently leads the maintenance of the Worcestershire course supported by a team of five.
“Leaves weren’t really too much of a problem traditionally, but as the course has matured, mulching them with a mower became unfeasible time-wise and playability-wise for the golfers” he explains. “We’ve established a fantastic relationship over the years with Tallis Amos Group, so approached them to see what they could recommend to collect the leaves. They brought us the Trilo M3, we gave it a thorough test and we bought it – simple as that!”
The M3 Multipurpose from Trilo is capable of a range of operations including scarification, cut and collection and debris clearance depending on the attachment equipped. The 1.5m working width and 3m3 hopper capacity makes it compact yet capable of year-round maintenance tasks in a variety of golf and sports turf applications.
“It was delivered in October and was out on a weekly basis. It coped brilliantly with both the volume of leaves we had and the very wet ground. The wanderhose is a brilliant feature, great for manoeuvring around hedgerows and clearing leaves and other litter around perimeter and fence lines. We used the vacuum in conjunction with our blower, quickly removing everything we wanted to and leaving a really clean finish.” Halfpenny continues, “The players noticed the difference and loved it!”
While the M3 was predominately purchased for leaf clearance Halfpenny foresees that, with the climatic changes he has observed during his tenure, it will find other uses. “We see more rain, and notably more wind, which blows litter and tree-debris around the course. The M3 is our new go-to machine for keeping the course tidy,” he says.