Trentham Park Golf Club turns to Toro for future-proofing

By Alistair September 4, 2021 09:51 Updated

Toro’s build quality and longevity are cited as key reasons for Trentham Park Golf Club in Stoke-on-Trent choosing Toro for the future of its course.

The new Toro fleet isn’t the only change at Trentham Park either as it follows the arrival of a new course manager. John Turner has been at the club for a little over a year and is instrumental in the deal.

But first golf manager Jon Farmer explains: “These are two big changes which were made with the future of the club at the forefront. John Turner impressed us with his experience working on heavy clay-based soil, which we have here. His expertise with this terrain will ensure we create the best possible playing surfaces for our members. To aid him and the team in that endeavour a new fleet was required.

“John and most of the greens team wanted to use Toro for several reasons: for the quicker set up time, superior build quality, decrease in breakdowns, coupled with the fact that Toro holds its value a lot better, so we won’t have to replace or service our machines as often. Plus, the new hybrid machines are eco-friendly and it was important to us to make a move towards sustainable golf. The club is extremely conscientious and always looking to reduce its carbon footprint where possible with power being supplied from a bank of solar panels and using locally sourced suppliers where possible. And on top of all that it needs decent turfcare equipment maintaining it. Becoming an all-Toro club was a big part of that, paired with John’s expertise.”

L-R Peter McGreevy, Cheshire Turf Machinery, Jon Farmer Trentham Golf and Mike Turnbull, Reesink Turfcare at Trentham Park Golf Club, Stoke-on-Trent 20/07/2021

John Turner came on board with a five-year plan in mind which includes focusing on reducing the use of chemicals and aiding the course to return to its original healthy state.

“My background is in sustainable course management, and I will be focussed on reducing the amount of nitrogen, chemicals and fungicides used to practically nothing,” says John. “It’s essential to have lighter mowers with reduced footprint and our selection of Toro equipment fits this criterion perfectly. We have hit quite a few agronomy targets, mainly in our fight against Microdochium patch. We are introducing new grass species to our putting surfaces to assist in our quest to improve year-round playability, and we are currently installing a vast amount of new drainage to many of our problem areas throughout the site. We receive a high volume of play from 7.30am most days, so having reliable equipment is crucial to keep ahead of play.

“I know Toro and know it’s good,” continues John. “I’ve been in greenkeeping since I was 26 and I’m now 54 so I’ve had experience with lots of brands. Toro’s reputation for excellent durability and quality of cut precedes itself, so it was a really easy decision to make, especially after experiencing the machines first-hand. Cheshire Turf Machinery brought in quite a few for us to try and we were very impressed. Peter McGreevy has given our club first-class service and support, they really bent over backwards for us.”

Peter McGreevy, sales director at Cheshire Turf Machinery and the person who oversaw the deal which includes the Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420, Groundsmaster 4300-D, Groundsmaster 4000-D, two Greensmaster 1026 pedestrian mowers, Reelmaster 3100-D and two Reelmaster 3575-D mowers, is equally pleased with the new partnership.

Peter says: “After working closely with John demonstrating a range of machines, I am delighted Trentham Park Golf Club made the decision to go with Toro. I’m very much looking forward to Cheshire Turf Machinery and Trentham Park Golf Club building a close relationship in the future.”