Greenkeepers in the north-west of England are preserving the peace and tranquillity of their courses, thanks to John Deere’s 2500E hybrid electric triplex greens mowers.
Home of the Stableford scoring system, Wallasey Golf Club in The Wirral is particularly anxious to keep local residents happy and specified two new 2500Es from local John Deere dealer Turner Groundscare of Tarvin, Chester to help them do just that.
“The new mowers deliver optimum cutting at low noise levels, which is ideal for us as housing fringes the eighth and ninth holes of our 18-hole course,” says Chris Peddie, who has been Wallasey’s head greenkeeper for 22 years. “Noise can be an issue when you’re often working from 6.30am, and even earlier on competition days.”
Keeping quiet isn’t the only concern for Chris and his five-man greenkeeping team. “A links course like Wallasey is hard on cutting edges, as the sand can quickly blunt them. We regrind all our cutting units, so we need to know how easy they are to strip down. John Deere has simplified the removal of the groomers and rear brushes by introducing quick release clips – this makes the task a matter of minutes, not hours, and so saves us a lot of time.”
The 2500Es need less servicing too, says Chris, and the hybrid electric design minimises the biggest worry of all – hydraulic oil leaks, which he’s suffered three times in his greenkeeping career. Limiting the risks of such leaks offers Chris added reassurance, he says.
Noise and oil leaks are also key issues at Delamere Forest Golf Club in Cheshire, which bought its first John Deere 2500E greens mower with QA5 quick-adjust cutting units from Turner Groundscare in spring 2013.
Course manager Andrew Ralphs says: “We’ve always bought John Deere mowers, but invested in our first 2500E because I wanted to minimise noise and the risk of oil spills on the course at a time when we are undertaking an extensive three-year renovation programme on our 88 bunkers and a number of tees.
“The quality of build and quietness in operation are everything I expected they would be, and my concerns over the risks of hydraulic oil leaks on the greens have been laid to rest,” adds Andrew, who has also suffered from burst hydraulic lines during his 24 years at DelamereForest.
“We use the 2500E twice weekly on the greens. It allows us to reduce fuel consumption, noise levels and leaks, without compromising on cut quality – it’s a win:win all round.”
John Deere www.JohnDeere.co.uk
Wallasey Golf Club www.wallaseygolfclub.com
Delamere Forest Golf Club www.delameregolf.co.uk