Ventrac still performing at The Wildernesse Golf Club

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Back in the spring of 2020, The Wildernesse Golf Club, located in the village of Seal near Sevenoaks in Kent, purchased a Ventrac 4500 compact tractor and selection of attachments to assist in the maintenance of its magnificent wooded 18-hole course.

At the time, course manager Mark Todd described his new acquisition as a ‘gamechanger’. Ten months on does he still feel the same way?

“Yes, without a doubt,” he said. “It’s continued to work brilliantly for us. It has around 250-300 hours on it; more perhaps than we anticipated. During this latest lockdown we’ve adjusted our working hours and split into two teams of four; one headed by Lee Austin, my deputy, and the other by myself. The team, as always, have stepped up to the mark and continued with the winter projects in sometimes quite challenging conditions, and both the club and myself are very grateful for their efforts.

“Without any golfers on the course we can get on with a lot of winter maintenance and, again, the is where the Ventrac comes into its own. We can get out whatever the weather because its brilliant in the wet and hardly leaves a mark on the course. The Tough Cut deck has lived up to its name when clearing woodland margins, while the Turbo blower has been a godsend.

“Previously we spent far too many hours using backpack blowers removing leaves and other debris from tees, approaches and surrounds, not just in the autumn, but all year round. Having the Turbine blower has enabled one guy to do the job that four guys did previously in a similar time, saving many man-hours. In addition to leaf clearance, it has also been put to good use removing debris after scarifying tees and even blowing cores from the greens after aeration.

“During the autumn, the Contour mowing deck excelled, allowing us to keep mowing during a period of really heavy use. I’m sure that after this lockdown is over; there’s going to be a huge pent-up demand for golf and the Club is looking very closely at ways to ensure that the Members have largely unfettered access to the course.

“Initially I thought buying the Ventrac would be just about maintaining the banks and removing leaves, but we’re finding more and more uses for it. We’ve had absolutely no issues and I’ve been pleasantly surprised. It’s definitely a hard-working piece of kit.”