Goodwood Estate

Background

When Phil Helm joined Goodwood Estate in 2014 as general manager of sports turf and grounds it signalled the start of a more structured approach to machinery operations. The ambition was to develop a ‘super fleet’ for the 12,000-acre Sussex estate.

Brief

The first stage was to bring in full fleets for The Downs and The Park golf courses, then an all-grounds machine fleet to take care of the estate gardens, grassed lawn areas, the motor circuit, airfield and horse racecourse. 

Phil needed to assess how best to manage such a large estate and team. He wanted one big fleet to bring the estate’s four teams of 35 gardeners, groundsmen and greenkeepers together, to share techniques and skills according to the different environments they are using the machines on. 

Phil was looking for a partner to work and develop a relationship with and one supplier to share resources with. Demonstrations were required to make sure the machines Phil chose were relevant for the different areas of the estate, complementing wide ranging criteria, but it wasn’t as complicated a process as they were expecting.

Results 

The decision to go with Toro and Reesink in the first instance all those years ago has formed a long-lasting “exceptional” relationship. Every machinery upgrade and fleet renewal comes back to Toro and the success of the relationship stretches further than how the machines perform.

Having a Toro ‘super fleet’ has enabled three mechanics to become Toro-trained to a high standard to limit sub-contracting and out-sourcing. The estate will also now carry a range of parts for the equipment it operates to “drive efficiency”, says Phil, and allow for an instant response to any issues.

Conclusion

When Goodwood set carbon reduction as a key priority in 2022, the organisation looked closely at how its machinery fleet could contribute to a more sustainable future. With Toro already established as the leading equipment supplier across the estate and recognised as the only manufacturer offering a comprehensive range of electric turf maintenance equipment, the decision was a natural one. The introduction of the Toro Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 electric greensmower, alongside the Workman GTXe electric utility vehicle, marked the beginning of Goodwood’s transition towards cleaner, more sustainable turf maintenance operations.