Badgemore Park Golf Club
First fleet deal for Badgemore Park
Background
Badgemore Park in Henley-on-Thames has always operated a like-for-like machinery replacement plan and never benefitted from the advantages of having a comprehensive machinery fleet.
Keen to invest in its first ever fleet package deal, Course Manager Lindsay Anderson knew choosing a new equipment provider to improve the course and aid in its five-year plan of course improvements would require a very thorough process.
Brief
Demonstrations from a few brands were organised and other golf courses were asked for recommendations.
The club’s sister golf club, The Drift, was also consulted as it had recently had a Toro fleet installed, where it was proving its worth.
The club had concerns about what the change in dealer and committing to one brand would bring. Toro’s distributor Reesink would need to demonstrate how it offers its customers more.
Results
An 11 strong fleet was specified including greens and tees mowers, pedestrian mowers, utility vehicles and an aerator.
Reesink sales manager Robert Rees made the introductions with the local Toro service centre, CTH Engineering, which reassured Lindsay about the backup service available. He says: “I was unsure where we would go for our servicing if we switched brands, but Robert put me in touch with another local dealership that dealt with Toro machines and discussed the whole thing in detail which cleared up the concerns I had. And the backup to date – well, there have been no issues.”
The selection of machines chosen has made the team’s life easier on a daily basis. There’s confidence in the machines now and having reliability has boosted morale and productivity.
Conclusion
What has impressed the team and members of the club most are the results seen across the course. “The quality of cut is incredible,” says Lindsay. “Within a month, members were commenting on the quality of the playing surfaces having improved.”
This is no surprise considering The Drift experienced a similar improvement in both the aesthetics and quality of the playing surface too!