newslines

Summer 2024

The Open favourite

Royal Troon Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland, signed an exclusive partnership deal with Reesink Turfcare and Toro machinery ahead of hosting The Open 2024.

Toro machinery

Age is just a number for Toro Ree.Own machines

With Reesink Turfcare’s Ree.Own scheme, Braehead Golf Club, located in Alloa Scotland, has taken ownership of two new – or rather, used – Toro machines as a cost-effective solution to updating machinery.

Harvey Harrower, the club’s head greenkeeper who has been at the club for 38 years, says when it comes to Toro, going second-hand isn’t a worry. He explains: “Like most other clubs, we look at buying new machines every five years, but unlike the bigger clubs we tend to look in the second-hand market.

    Insider Knowledge

    Discover Lynx central control system

    What if you could improve your golf course’s playability, looks, and water usage all through a single, intuitive interface?

    The Lynx Central Control System was perfected over the years to be the best smart irrigation solution on the market. Designed around the unique needs and the feedback of golf course managers, it is Toro’s only irrigation system for a reason: no other solution can top it. 

    Toro machinery

    Reason for Toro is simple: reliability and a good cut

    Sittingbourne and Milton Regis Golf Club in Kent is starting afresh to cut grass well, says General Manager Steve Bootes, as it welcomes a full fleet of Toro mowers, all supported by Reesink’s ReeAssure Gold machinery maintenance package to safeguard and secure its investment.

    Steve says he and Head Greenkeeper Paul Best, had been considering Toro for several years: “Previously, we’ve leased our machinery but since the COVID price increases we knew we need to change our strategy and purchase our next fleet, but this brings in a new set of factors to consider such as machinery longevity. For that, we knew it had to be Toro.”

    Machine focus

    The natural evolution: Toro's battery-powered Greensmaster e1026

    Over the past years, Toro’s Greensmaster 1026 model redefined cut quality and manoeuvrability among pedestrian greensmowers. Its natural evolution, the battery-powered Greensmaster e1026, was designed to keep that promise with all the benefits of a zero emission electric motor. 

    Toro machinery

    Newmachar Golf Club turns to Toro for complete multi-course turfcare solution

    A premier destination for golf in North East Scotland, Newmachar Golf Club has turned to Toro to level up its two historic – but very different – courses. 

    As Newmachar’s Course Manager, Christopher Lamb, notes, this variety requires a strategic and dynamic greenkeeping approach:

    Product testing

    GeoLink - more than ‘just’ a sprayer guidance system

    Toro GeoLink is a guidance and sprayer boom control system and management package rolled into one. Here James de Havilland, independent machinery tester, finds out how this technology will vastly improve sprayer application accuracy.

    Toro machinery

    Toro simplifying turf aeration at Scotscraig Golf Club

    Fife-based Scotscraig Golf Club, the 13th oldest in the world, has recently invested in the Toro ProCore 648s aerator to improve the overall quality of its surface and the playability of the course. The result is a much faster and easier aeration process. 

    Led by course manager Darren Mckenna, the team at Scotscraig is always looking for new ways to optimise its golf course, which is surrounded by history and has welcomed some of the sport’s greatest names.

    Perrot

    Reesink expands irrigation range with Perrot sprinklers

    By taking on the distribution of Perrot sprinklers in the UK, Reesink Hydro-Scapes is expanding its offering of professional irrigation solutions for sports customers

    Perrot is known for being able to provide the right irrigation solution to suit any size and meet any requirements, whether for natural, synthetic or hybrid turf. The various combinations of sprinklers available mean that an extremely wide range of different needs can be easily met. 

    Reesink is bringing to the UK three types of sprinkler technology in six powerful Perrot sprinklers to suit all sorts of sports surfaces – football, golf, hockey, tennis, even horse racetracks. Regardless of which sprinklers are chosen, Perrot systems can reach every inch, in every tight corner, ensuring maximum turf health with minimum water consumption, says the manufacturer.

    Toro machinery

    Highwoods Golf Club celebrates centenary with new Toro fleet

    As Highwoods Golf Club celebrates its centenary year with a week’s worth of celebrations, the East Sussex club reveals how Toro’s complete turfcare offering has been central to its ongoing success.

    “We’re a Toro club through and through,” says Jamie Melham, course manager at Highwoods. “Alongside our new fleet of turfcare machinery, we’re also using Toro’s Lynx irrigation system, which, together, ensures all the greens, tees, approaches, and fairways are maintained to the highest standard.

    “A strategic plan has been put in place to take the course to the next level and continue to push, year-on-year,” he adds. “With all eyes on us for our centenary, that’s never been more important.”

    Toro machinery

    Toro and Reesink working with R&A on apprenticeship scheme

    The idea behind the R&A’s Golf It! initiative was to create a space that introduces people to and promotes the game of golf while proactively giving back to the local community through an apprenticeship programme sponsored by The Toro Foundation.

    “The R&A’s original idea was to provide a facility where people in inner city Glasgow could play golf,” says Andy Brown, senior manager of global business development and relationships at The Toro Company. “But we realised there was also the opportunity to introduce the concept of greenkeeping as a possible career choice via an apprenticeship scheme, too.”

    Developed by the R&A in 2020 to make golf as welcoming and affordable as possible, the facility has grown into a multi-layered experience for all the family – with pitch and putt, adventure golf, putting greens and a driving range. As it grew, a greenkeeping team was needed to upkeep the venue to the highest of standards.

    Toro machinery

    Toro stands up to tough terrain and the test of time at Calcot Park

    In a theme of fives, Calcot Park Golf Club has received five new Toro machines on a five-year lease. Headlining the fleet is the Reelmaster 5410 with five cutting units for tackling the challenging terrain of the course with unrelenting ease for years.

    The club, situated on the Berkshire border, is no stranger to Toro. In fact, according to Course Manager Tom Jennings, 100 percent of its machinery fleet is red – and that’s as much for its longevity as it is its performance.

    Toro irrigation

    Toro irrigation leads longevity in marketplace

    Longevity has been key to Toro’s irrigation strategy since its early development and it’s certainly something Reesink Hydro-Scapes can attest to seeing ‘on the ground’ in the UK. 

    As the sole Toro distributor in the UK for golf and sports fields irrigation products, Robert Jackson, Division Manager of Reesink Hydro-Scapes, the distributor’s water division, is only now, after 30 years working in the business, needing to help the clubs he worked with in the early days of his career to update their Toro systems.

    Toro machinery

    Productive peace at Hillside Golf Club

    Having seen improved productivity from all-day course maintenance from using Toro electric machinery, Hillside Golf Club in Southport has subsequently invested in three more Toro all-electric eTriFlex 3370 greensmowers and two Toro Workman GTX-Lithium utility vehicles through Reesink Turfcare and dealer Cheshire Turf Machinery.

    When the club invested in its first eTriFlex three years ago, the aim was environmental and to eliminate the risk of hydraulic leaks on the greens. Having used the machine for three years now there’s an additional benefit: it’s favoured just as much for the lack of operational noise, which has enabled greens staff to mow throughout the day.

NEWSLINES

The last tee

Student Awards winners announced!

As the sun shone on Oulton Hall in Leeds, two greenkeepers careers were put on a different trajectory by winning the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards! Jack Vowell from Farrington Park Golf Club scooped the main title and Daniel Parker from Knighton Heath Golf Club the Young Award. To find out more about the winners and all the finalists, all of whom showcased and represented how positive the future of the industry is, visit our website.

New website, designed for you

Our new website is live! Handcrafted by UX/UI designers using insights from turfcare professionals about how you want to find and view information. We knew you wanted a more intuitive, friendly website, that’s faster, sleeker, and easier to use, better to look at, with additional information such as videos. We hope you’re enjoying the experience so far! If you’ve yet to take a look, why not do so now?

We’re trackside!

Toro is proudly sponsoring Mark Blundell Motorsport Racing Team with a Vista lithium-ion powered shuttle vehicle to travel the British Touring Car Championships circuits with Jake Hill and his team. This innovative vehicle seats eight people and serves as a crucial asset for transporting team members and hospitality guests during racing events. We’re always looking to support the sports sector and young emerging talent, and this is our latest endeavour!