SPORTS PITCHES
VERSATILE VENTRAC AT THE MERE GOLF RESORT & SPA
he Mere Golf Resort & Spa in Knutsford ,
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Cheshire , has joined an ever-burgeoning list of sports and leisure organisations that have purchased a Ventrac all-terrain compact tractor and selection of attachments . Supplied by local dealer , Cheshire Turf Machinery , the attachments include a Contour deck , a Stump grinder and Turbine blower .
The 18-hole , 6,882 -yard , par-71 course at The Mere was designed by James Braid , and created out of 150 acres of Cheshire parkland in 1934 . Today , the Championship course holds the reputation as one of the best maintained and highest quality golf courses in the North of England .
John Quinn , a native of Donegal in Ireland , has been the Course Manager for the past 4 years , after joining the prestigious resort ’ s greenkeeping team seven years ago . He leads a team of 10 comprising of 8 greenkeepers and two fulltime gardeners .
Commenting on the Ventrac he said , “ We are a destination resort and we pride ourselves with the visual appearance of the property and the immaculate presentation of the golf course . This Ventrac is probably the best innovation in course maintenance in the past 20 years . It will go almost anywhere and its versatility is unparalleled . It ’ s great in wet areas and ticks all the boxes from a health and safety point of view .
“ What other machine allows you to switch out a mowing deck and attach a stump grinder , then switch again to blowing leaves ? It ’ s an adaptable piece of equipment with an ingenious coupling system that lets you change implements in just about a minute . The eight wheels gives it a low centre of gravity , which makes it very safe on slopes , especially around tee banks and bunker surrounds .
“ It ’ s up there with the best machines I used . It ’ s just a case of getting to know its capability and getting the confidence to go where no other ride-on can go . It helps us to maintain difficult areas on a regular basis and has certainly enhanced the presentation of the course .”
John Quinn began his career at his local course in Portnoo , Donegal , with an initial six-week placement that lasted four years . To further his career , he spent two years in full-time education at Elmwood college achieving an HNC and HND in golf course management as well as work placements in Sweden . He then joined Linden Hall Hotel , Golf & Spa in Northumberland and three years later migrated south to take up the position of deputy head greenkeeper at Caversham Heath near Reading . Five years on , he then moved to Davenport Golf Club in Cheshire , before taking up his latest position in 2015 .
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What other machine allows you to switch out a mowing deck and attach a stump grinder , then switch again to blowing leaves ? It ’ s an adaptable piece of equipment with an ingenious coupling system that lets you change implements in just about a minute .
For more information , visit www . ventrac . com
GroundskeepingJournal . co . uk | May / June 2023 43