Reliable Dennis G860 is essential at Colliers Park

By Alistair March 31, 2020 19:50 Updated

The Dennis G860 cylinder mower is the most reliable cylinder mower on the market according to Dylan Thompson, grounds maintenance manager, at the all-new Colliers Park in Gresford, Wales.

Built to inspire a new generation of stars, Colliers Park is primarily used to deliver training, coach education and player development. The stunning new, multi-million-pound facility was opened in the summer of 2019 and Dylan is the man responsible for maintaining the standards of facilities and pitches.

Upon embarking on his new role, Dylan felt that the most important thing was to get the right turf maintenance equipment in place.

“The Dennis G860 was a machine I was very keen on using here at Colliers Park because it is something I’ve used in the past,” he said. “With so much going on here it was peace of mind because it was something that I didn’t have to worry about because I know just how good they are. It is reliable and the best mower out there in my opinion.”

Dylan isn’t the only groundsman to be of this opinion as many of his peers have long relied on the G860 to provide the perfect cut for sports turf. Lightweight at just 166kg; it is easy to manoeuvre and comfortable to operate. The handlebar console houses the controls for – throttle, parking brake, roller drive and cutting cylinder drive.

The mower features a large diameter front roller with an adjustable scraper which has been designed for a precise height of cut control, giving an excellent finish on every occasion. The Dennis G860 also features an interchangeable cassette system to assist with a wide range of tasks such as including scarifying, verticutting, brushing, spiking, and slitting.

“For our two G860s we have eight bladed cutting cassettes, brushing and verticutting cassettes and sorrel rollers,” continued Dylan. “I can’t believe how easy it is to change the cassette system – we are not having to waste time messing about finding different spanners or anything like that. It’s all there ready to go.”

“The G860 is the perfect mower to give the pitch that all important final cut. It gives you the best finish and it provides those lovely ‘Dennis stripes’ – which is another reason why we purchased them.

“When it comes to verticutting, we like to do it as often as we can so that we can keep the pitches under control especially when it comes to disease. It’s important to keep the pitches as clean as possible and with the speed of the G860’s it is done in no time at all.

“The brush comes in handy if we don’t want to use the rotary mowers because we simply put the brushing cassette in to the G860. It’s a great option to have because with the brush you can be a little more aggressive in the tidy-up and really give the pitch a deep clean.

“Ultimately, the G860 is an essential mower because it can be used for so many different operations.”