Golspie Golf Club invests in new Jacobsen machinery

By Alistair January 20, 2018 19:11 Updated

Golspie Golf Club, located on the Dornoch Firth in Scotland, is a versatile course featuring a beguiling mix of classic links, heath and parkland holes. The club has invested in a Jacobsen Eclipse 322 and a Jacobsen LF550 fairway mower from Textron Golf to maintain the varying surfaces on the James Braid design 18-hole golf course.

“Jacobsen has provided us with the quality and versatility we need to maintain all areas of the course,” Alexander MacDonald, head greenkeeper at Golspie Golf Club said. “We face many challenges such as maintaining the correct and uniformed moisture levels over varying terrains, so when it comes to cutting grass, we want reliable equipment that produces a really good finish with minimal fuss. I am proud to say we’ve achieved that with the Jacobsen machines that we have purchased.”

Previously using alternative fairway mowers, Alexander observed that it took the team 40 minutes to set a machine before it was ready to cut the fairways. Conversely, the new Jacobsen LF550 is easily set in five minutes, with adjustments rarely having to be made to the cutting units.

Routine service items, including spin-on filters, are all easily accessible meaning that there’s no need for a lift. The FlashAttach™ Reel Mounting System allows for quick reel removal, and the active monitoring system provides full text diagnostics making the LF550 easy to monitor and maintain. Additionally, hard tubing with bulkhead fittings to hoses make long-term maintenance easier with fewer service parts to stock.

“We only have three full-time greenkeeping staff, so we can’t be wasting time repairing and setting machinery. This is where the LF550 has really helped us; it’s reliable, it produces a brilliant finish, and it doesn’t demand a lot of time to maintain and set-up.

“The Eclipse 322 is the best cutting machine in golf. It’s a pleasure to use on the greens, and the team loves the satisfaction of producing first-class greens which the golfers often compliment them on. Of course, having good machinery is important, but the back-up from the dealer is even more so. Our local dealer Fairways has been brilliant. Fairways has been very efficient and helpful, and if we need anything the dealer is with us within a day, meaning there isn’t any downtime.”

Alexander has been at the club for 10 years, having spent three and a half years at Royal Dornoch and six and a half years at Wentworth. Golspie Golf Club is celebrating its 128-year anniversary and was voted number 54 in Golf World’s ‘Scotland’s Top 100 Courses’ in 2015.