Surbiton Golf Club invests in hybrid mowers

By Alistair November 26, 2024 09:50

In its latest Toro fleet deal with Reesink Turfcare, Surbiton Golf Club has invested for the first time in environmentally friendly technology with two Greensmaster 3360 hybrid mowers and accessed the industry’s newest spraying technology with the GeoLink system.

Course manager Andrew Kerr says the reasons for these choices are progressive as well as practical: “We’ve been evolving and adapting to golf technology and the needs of golfers since we began, and this is the next step. We’ve noticed in recent years that members use Surbiton as a destination location, to enjoy the environment it provides, not just for playing golf.

“With reduced emissions and lower operating noise these mowers contribute to creating a better and more relaxed place to be. And for the same reasons, are pleasing to the residents around us.”

The benefits don’t stop there though, Andrew is also noticing a significant reduction in fuel consumption too.

Based on the outskirts of Southwest London, Surbiton Golf Club is one of the first clubs to take advantage of the latest GeoLink spray system, further helping with club efficiencies.

“The level of accuracy it provides you just wouldn’t be able to achieve manually no matter how good or experienced the operator,” he says. “It’s reducing how much product we use and lowering our costs because we’re only using what we need to, there’s no wastage. We don’t have square greens or fairways here and that had made spraying tricky but now we cover every inch with no over or under spraying.”

Andrew has noticed a big difference in the presentation and quality of the grass since using the GeoLink: “We don’t overdose and the grass is as plump as possible, which members love. They perceive the general standard of the course to be improved as a result.”

Also included in the order are two Groundsmaster 3500-D with Sidewinders, seven Greensmaster 1021 pedestrian mowers, two Reelmaster 3575-D fairway mowers and a Groundsmaster 4700-D rough mower in what is the club’s second Toro fleet deal.

“We got our last fleet about six years ago and we would usually replace it after five years, but we’ve been waiting for the machines to be available,” explains Andrew. “What we’ve noticed in the interim is that with the quality and longevity of Toro and the support of Reesink this hasn’t been a problem. We’ve had a Reesink technician come onsite for a day every two weeks and that’s kept maintenance and machinery performance up to standard.”

Andrew and his team of nine have found all the machines involved in the order deliver to their specific presentation requirements: “Our members love striped greens and complexes and having the combination of the cylinders and Sidewinders makes delivering eye catching stripes easy.”