GREENKEEPING
Good things come to those who wait
Toro fleet for Hainault Golf Club
I
Paul Selbie . t was a deal a couple of years in the making for Hainault Golf Club in Chigwell , Essex , as it changed machinery brands and settled on a large fleet with Toro and Reesink , and it was worth the wait according to course manager
Choosing a new machinery brand and partnering with a new distributor are two big decisions , requiring research and demonstrations , and it can take time to be sure it ’ s the right move for the future of the club . But actually , Paul says , the decision to commit to Toro and Reesink Turfcare was a straight-forward one , made with no hesitation : “ This was my first machinery fleet deal at Hainault . I appreciate it ’ s a big thing to step away from what the club and team have known and relied on for a long time , but with the previous machines well-overdue an upgrade , it was the right time to present all the options to the team .
“ Everyone was involved and while I had used Toro previously , no one else had ,” Paul continues .” The feedback was really interesting from the demos and it brought everything to the table , not just the performance of the machines , but the bigger picture . For example , was Reesink the right distributor , was Richard Freeman the right contact and would the support and back-up be there ?
“ The Reesink team was really involved in demoing the Toro machines with us and you could clearly see this was important to them . Richard made it feel like the beginning of a long-term relationship , it certainly wasn ’ t just a deal to him .”
Paul says the machines ability to cope with the two courses which are both hilly , parkland and tree-lined , led the team to unanimously conclude that Toro suited the lay of the land and performed very well . And while there could have been better machines out there for certain aspects of course maintenance , what couldn ’ t be bettered was the whole package and the deal was done in 2018 .
So why the delay in the process ? Well , that comes down to factors out of Paul ’ s control such as renegotiating the lease of the land , Paul says : “ We had to press pause and while it was frustrating , it was worth the wait to receive them in 2020 of all years . We ’ ve had the time to get to know the machines , their capabilities and can confirm that Toro really does exceed in terms of efficiency . That counted and meant that despite a reduced work force the course was in excellent shape when we opened back up again after lockdown .”
Included in the order are two Toro Greensmaster TriFlex 3400 mowers , two Greensmaster 3250-D mowers , two Reelmaster 5610-D mowers , a Groundsmaster 3500-D mower , the Groundsmaster 1200 towed rotary mower , a Workman GTX utility vehicle and a GreensPro 1260 greens roller .
Paul says : “ It is a fleet predominantly focused on frontline machines , but with further investment plans in place for the next couple of years , that won ’ t be the case for long . Business is good , the course is presenting really well and we ’ re planning on putting Toro through its paces with some improvement projects over the winter months too so we ’ re in a positive place with some exciting things to look forward to .”
To talk to someone about the finance options available and how the Toro range would suit your course , call 01480 226800 .
14 GroundskeepingJournal . co . uk | Spring 2021