After seven years as course manager at Dyrham Park Country Club, Dan Szwajbak knows exactly what his course, and team, need to perform at their best.
With an 18-hole private members course, practice facilities and regular weddings and events, presentation is demanded year-round at the Hertfordshire venue – making reliability, performance and after-sales support absolutely critical. Delivering on all fronts is a new suite of equipment installed last August by George Browns.
The club, located in Barnet, had long relied on the same brand of cutting equipment, however, when the cut performance and aftercare no longer matched their needs, Dan felt the time was right to explore other options. “A mower is a mower, but a big part of the buying process is knowing that the people selling it can really support you afterwards,” he explains.
Through previous demonstrations and a delivery of hand mowers by George Browns, Dan and the team became confident with both the dealership and the Baroness brand. “The price point is good and the machines offer us more in terms of cut quality and reduced maintenance.”
This led to the most recent delivery of a LM311 triple greens mower, an LM551 fairway mower and GM2810 for roughs in the summer of last year.
The impact, Dan says, was almost instant. “We were getting feedback from the members about the noticeable improvement in cut and presentation and, from our side, we noticed the bed knives staying on cut much longer – even through the winter and on heavier ground – reducing the downtime for us which is important as a small team with no dedicated mechanic.”
The greens mower is out daily through the spring and summer, fairways are cut three times a week and rough cutting is completed on a two-day cycle. Also delivered, and quickly becoming the main mode of safe transportation of team members, materials and hand-held equipment around the site, are a pair of Kubota RTVX1110’s.
In addition to machine performance, importantly, the whole process has been smooth and hassle-free. “We haven’t had any complaints. Thanks to the support of David Fisher at George Browns, the transition for the team has been incredibly straight forward.”
He summarises, “When you’re spending significant amounts of money, aftercare is hugely important and with George Browns we have the reassurance that the support is there should we ever need it. The machines are excellent with the service to match.”