Sheerness Golf Club

Background

Sheerness Golf Club on the historic Isle of Sheppey had been compiling its fleet with predominantly second-hand machines with the odd one leased, but it knew this approach wasn’t the best use of its budget. It needed the financial benefits of a long-term agreement as well as the benefits of machine reliability and back up from a trusted partner.

Brief

For a year Head Greenkeeper Paul Boozer and his team trialled and demoed machines in all seasons. The course is coastal and undulating, and machines often come up against the same issue – failure to deliver the required finish across all areas. 

As a team of six with a small fleet with no back up machines, reliability was of the utmost importance. 

This approach was designed to give Paul to not only thoroughly test out the machinery but gave the opportunity to work with and start forming relationships with distributors helping in the decision-making process of who to partner with for such a vital role.

Results

The decision was unanimous throughout that Toro was the way to go. The productivity and efficiency of the Toro machines in supporting a small team was found to be the best.

Paul says: “Efficient, reliable machines are vital in keeping us productive. As the only 18-hole golf course on the Isle of Sheppey we have a responsibility to make sure we’re always pushing forward and delivering the best quality playing surfaces for our members. We can’t be let down by our machines.”

In the end, Paul and the team chose the Toro Reelmaster 5610-D for the fairways, Greensmaster 3250-D for the approaches, a Groundsmaster 4300-D rotary mower, two Greensmaster 1026 pedestrian mowers for the tees, the ProCore SR72 deep-tine aerator, two Workman HDX utility vehicles, a sprayer and ProPass 200 topdresser.

Conclusion

The lease deal that came with the machinery selection proved to be much better value for the club, stretching its all-important budget further and giving them more of the machines they need for the same cost.

Investing wisely with machinery costs that are fixed, getting the right backup and support, and partnering with a machinery brand which brings reliability and minimal downtime to a small team proved so successful Sheerness Golf Club has remained a loyal customer ever since.