Toro an Easy Decision for East Berkshire

It’s a full fleet update for East Berkshire Golf Club as it signs its third five-year agreement with Toro and Reesink Turfcare. And it was an easy decision to make with “Toro leading the market” according to course manager, Derrick Johnstone.

“When the time came to renew our agreement plan, we weren’t really looking to go with someone else,” says Derrick. In fact, Derrick was so impressed with the robustness of the Toro machines already at the club, he wanted to increase the commitment in Toro. 

Previously the club was on a lease deal but by opting to hire purchase and securing equipment for the club to own, Derrick felt confident they would make savings in the long term, providing opportunities to invest elsewhere and further improve the course. 

“I’m really familiar with Toro machines,” he says. “I’ve used them at my last two clubs, and they tick all the boxes and last incredibly well. By buying and using the machines for a longer period of time, we can save money. Plus, we now have a mechanic at the club, whose main area of expertise is Toro equipment, and that coupled with the service from Reesink, should we need it, means we can be sure we have maintenance and servicing well covered.” 

The hire purchase deal has seen the club renew its Toro fleet like for like bringing back three new TriFlex Hybrid 3420 mowers, two Reelmaster 3550 machines, a Groundsmaster 4500-D, a Groundsmaster 3500-D, two Workman MDX-D utility vehicles as well as one GTX-E Workman. There was one difference this time though, Derrick couldn’t resist adding a Groundsmaster 3500-D to the order, which he says is his new favourite. 

“This will be a great machine for cutting our tee banks and semi-roughs, leaving very little mess or wheel marks. I’ve used the Groundsmaster 3500-D before so I think it will work well here,” he says before adding: “The pedestrian Greensmaster 1000 and 1600 mowers are also great, they give a really good quality of cut and raise the bar presentation wise.”  

Established in 1903, the natural barriers and cleverly designed doglegs mean the 18-hole course at East Berkshire plays a lot longer than the 6,200 yards suggest and provides a real challenge for golfers. 

“It’s an exciting time for the club,” says Derrick. “With considerable investment in not only machinery but woodland management, drainage and tee construction, the addition of a short game area and future driving range improvements.”

With all these improvements, keeping the heathland course up to scratch for members is no easy task, but Derrick is sure that Toro will only continue to improve the playing surface.

“It didn’t take a lot of persuading to go with Toro,” says Derrick. “The Toro machines we’ve been using up until now have definitely improved the quality of the course. The contouring is just fantastic, and they save time because they’re incredibly well made and get the job done efficiently.

“Put simply, Toro provides the best quality and service which is what this club needs. It’s really exciting to see what we can achieve in the coming years with more of a commitment in Toro for the club.”