News & Events

Appleby Golf Club’s long-serving course manager Steve Campbell and his assistant Grant Dougherty do all the mowing on this 18-hole Cumbrian moorland course. Time is therefore at a premium, and anything that saves this precious commodity without compromising course quality is a real bonus.

So when Nigel Hurst of John Deere dealer Henry Armer & Son gave a demonstration of the company’s new Quick Adjust (QA) cylinder mower cutting units to course managers in the area, Steve saw them as a highly practical addition to his armoury, and genuine time savers.

He already owned a John Deere 2500E hybrid electric greens mower, so he bought a second machine equipped with QA units from Armers. Impressed with their performance benefits, he also decided to upgrade the cutting of tees and surrounds by buying a new 8000 E-Cut hybrid mower.

“We usually do the adjustments in the shed, but the job can be done just as easily out on the course now,” says Steve, who has been in charge of course maintenance at Appleby for 27 years. “All you need is a gauge and a drill. It’s been easy from day one – anyone can do it.

“I reckon we save about an hour each time we make an adjustment, so over the year that’s a lot of time saved, which we can spend doing other vital jobs around the course. Obviously the biggest time saving is at the beginning and end of the main cutting season when height changes are more frequent, but spring and autumn are when there’s most of the other work to do anyway.

“Quick adjustment of the cylinders is a real benefit to us, especially because you don’t even have to take the units off the machine, which used to be pretty tough sometimes.”

Steve Campbell cuts the tees and surrounds twice a week during the summer and used to use a 72in triplex mower, but says his new 8000E is already giving better results. “I now get a wider 80in cut, and the five floating units tackle undulations so much better than the old machine,” he says.

“Before, I had to lower the cut just to reach some parts. Now, I can keep the cut up and get a really good, consistent finish. Turning on the tees without marking makes the job so much quicker too – I love the 8000E’s three-wheel manoeuvrability.”

Lincolnshire businessman and former champion motorcycle racer Roger Burnett has a long-term development plan in place to make Laceby Manor Resort & Golf Club near Grimsby the premier golfing venue in the region.

Having taken ownership of the club in May 2011, Roger has invested in improvements to the clubhouse, course and greenkeeping facilities, including the recent purchase of a new John Deere course maintenance fleet from local dealer F G Adamson & Son of Swanland, North Ferriby.

Bought on a John Deere Financial five year lease package with maintenance, the new fleet includes two 2500E hybrid electric greens mowers, a 7700 PrecisionCut fairway mower, 2653B tees & surrounds mower, 1600T wide area rotary rough mower, 3720 compact tractor with cab and 300CX front loader, Aercore 1500 tractor-mounted aerator and a CX Gator utility vehicle.

The club will also mark its 20th birthday this summer by hosting Adamson’s regional John Deere Team Championship golf tournament for local clubs on May 30th, from which the winning team will join the National Finals at De Vere Slaley Hall in Northumberland next September.

“Locally, Laceby Manor is well known as one of the best natural settings for golf, but it’s been underdeveloped,” says Roger Burnett. “I believe it has massive potential to become not just a first class golf course, but also the premier wedding venue in the area. We are therefore building an extension to the clubhouse, and we also have a planning application in for 36 lodges to provide suitable accommodation.

“To provide the right golfing experience, the course needs to be in tip-top condition, but it hasn’t been, because of the previous lack of investment. We now have the opportunity to put this right with our new machinery fleet, and with the appointment of a new head greenkeeper in Rob Bradley. Rob has recently joined us from Allerthorpe Park and brings additional experience, knowledge and resource to the existing team.

“Local golfers have always liked the layout of the course, but overall standards had slipped – people’s expectations in terms of customer service these days are very high, therefore we have to replicate these high standards out on the course. The improvements to the clubhouse have already resulted in an increase in membership of nearly 30 per cent, and this latest investment will undoubtedly help us to attract even more new members over the coming months.

“The choice of machinery was very much governed initially by our requirement for a new machinery shed, so the greenkeeping staff would have the right facilities to operate from and maintain the equipment efficiently. After a poor experience with our previous supplier, I felt we should look at John Deere, and Tony Jenkins of Adamsons gave me the confidence that we could work with John Deere to achieve our objectives.

“Any business likes to have fixed costs, with no hidden surprises, and the finance terms were extremely favourable – it really feels like we’ve got John Deere’s support for what we’re trying to do with the course, because of the way they’re supporting the investment.

“I just want the course to be the best it can possibly be,” adds Roger Burnett. “From the point of view of membership recruitment, this investment makes a big statement to both current and potential new members that we mean business, and that we are serious about providing the best golfing experience in the area.”

John Deere Financial has announced two new interest-free finance programmes for UK customers.

The first is available for golf and bowls clubs, who may order any new golf & turf machine from John Deere dealers at any time from now until 31st May 2012. The offer is for 1+1 annual payments at zero per cent interest, with the amount financed limited to 60 per cent of the retail value.

Under the second scheme, all UK business customers may buy any new John Deere compact utility tractor with 1 + 2 annual payments at zero per cent interest, until further notice. In this programme, the amount financed is limited to 50 per cent of the retail value.

As usual, other credit profiles are available on request, and the availability of finance is subject to status and to terms and conditions – further details are available in the Special Offers area at www.deere.co.uk or from John Deere dealers nationwide.

The Guild of Agricultural Journalists and John Deere Limited have announced the dates of this year’s training course for potential agricultural and horticultural journalists - Sunday to Tuesday July 8 to 10, 2012 (plus three days’ work experience to be arranged for successful applicants).

Now in its 20th year, the course is designed to support one of the principal aims of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists - that of promoting schemes for the provision of suitable entrants into agricultural and horticultural journalism.

Many of today’s journalists and PR executives working in the land-based industries received an early boost to their careers from winning a place on previous John Deere Training Award courses - they include 2011 course member Rhian Price, who joined Poultry World in January as a new reporter, and course winner Matthew Sharp, who is now busy freelancing for Farmers Weekly, Farming Online, the National Farmers Union and Newcastle Journal’s farming section.

The John Deere Training Award is aimed at graduating students keen to work in the agricultural and horticultural media, and at journalists or public relations staff who have less than 12 months’ practical work experience.

There are 10 places available on this annual course, which is in two parts. The first two full days, at John Deere’s headquarters in Langar, Nottingham, involve lectures by experienced training consultant David Mascord, with practical exercises that cover the main media sectors. The final three days see each of the selected course members given practical work experience at one of a range of specialist magazines, newspapers or PR consultancies across the UK.

At the end of the course, each person has to write a news story for judging by an expert panel. The winner receives a £250 cheque and the handsome John Deere trophy, with an informal presentation taking place later in the year.

Those interested in attending the course, who must be studying or resident in Great Britain, have until Friday May 25, 2012 to return a completed application form available to download from the www.deere.co.uk website or direct from the course organiser Steve Mitchell of ASM Public Relations, tel: 024 7630 8912, mobile: 07717 213182 or e-mail: steve@asmpr.co.uk

The course is completely free of charge, although successful applicants are expected to cover their own out of pocket expenses. For further details please contact Steve Mitchell.

The Richmond Golf Club in Surrey is in the third year of a seven-year equipment replacement plan and its latest acquisition, through a preferred supplier deal with Wokingham based dealer Godfrey’s Golf & Turf, is the John Deere 8000 E-Cut fairway mower.

Course manager Les Howkins had been impressed by the 37hp mower, which features five 18in Quick Adjust (QA) cutting units, following a demonstration, and also reports favourable comments from club members. “They really like the appearance of the narrower cut lines on the fairways,” he says. “The set-up of the machine also means I can use it for cutting the surrounds and approaches and around bunkers, if required.”

The 8000E’s hybrid diesel/electric design produces less engine noise and fewer emissions, and needs less fuel. Les Howkins was convinced to add one to his fleet by the potential fuel cost savings and what the machine could do to enhance the look of the fairways on the 18-hole, 6000-yard course, next to Richmond Park.

“The three-wheel set-up, smooth tyres and the lower risk of hydraulic oil leaks from the hybrid design all added up to a dream machine for the fairways, and so it has proved,” he says. “I favour the diamond pattern of cutting the fairways here – turns with this mower are a lot less harsh, and with the reduced impact their appearance is noticeably crisper. The 8000E does the job just as quickly as a wider machine, because we’ve found the turning plus the lifting and dropping of the reels much more efficient.”

Les Howkins manages a team of 10 fully qualified greenkeepers, and says they have also found the new mower a pleasure to use. All give the thumbs up to John Deere’s uniform mower controls, which makes switching from one cutting job to another much easier.

This is one reason why the club’s equipment replacement plan is “going down the John Deere route”, as Les puts it, and a second 8000E mower was ordered from Godfreys Golf & Turf due to the success of the first machine. “This latest purchase will complete my fairway mowing fleet and ensure consistency of appearance, quality of finish and maintenance in the workshop,” he adds.

The Richmond Golf Club in Surrey is in the third year of a seven-year equipment replacement plan and its latest acquisition, through a preferred supplier deal with Wokingham based dealer Godfrey’s Golf & Turf, is the John Deere 8000 E-Cut fairway mower.

Course manager Les Howkins had been impressed by the 37hp mower, which features five 18in Quick Adjust (QA) cutting units, following a demonstration, and also reports favourable comments from club members. “They really like the appearance of the narrower cut lines on the fairways,” he says. “The set-up of the machine also means I can use it for cutting the surrounds and approaches and around bunkers, if required.”

The 8000E’s hybrid diesel/electric design produces less engine noise and fewer emissions, and needs less fuel. Les Howkins was convinced to add one to his fleet by the potential fuel cost savings and what the machine could do to enhance the look of the fairways on the 18-hole, 6000-yard course, next to Richmond Park.

“The three-wheel set-up, smooth tyres and the lower risk of hydraulic oil leaks from the hybrid design all added up to a dream machine for the fairways, and so it has proved,” he says. “I favour the diamond pattern of cutting the fairways here – turns with this mower are a lot less harsh, and with the reduced impact their appearance is noticeably crisper. The 8000E does the job just as quickly as a wider machine, because we’ve found the turning plus the lifting and dropping of the reels much more efficient.”

Les Howkins manages a team of 10 fully qualified greenkeepers, and says they have also found the new mower a pleasure to use. All give the thumbs up to John Deere’s uniform mower controls, which makes switching from one cutting job to another much easier.

This is one reason why the club’s equipment replacement plan is “going down the John Deere route”, as Les puts it, and a second 8000E mower was ordered from Godfreys Golf & Turf due to the success of the first machine. “This latest purchase will complete my fairway mowing fleet and ensure consistency of appearance, quality of finish and maintenance in the workshop,” he adds.

A new fleet of John Deere equipment has been delivered by local dealer Ben Burgess Newmarket to Jockey Club Estates, as part of the organisation’s ongoing investment in the Newmarket Training Grounds and their facilities to ensure that they remain an international centre of excellence for thoroughbred racehorse training.

The 2500 acres of grounds include around 70 miles of turf gallops and 19 miles of all-weather gallops, which are used on a daily basis by over 2500 horses in the care of more than 70 trainers. Training grounds manager Nick Patton supervises two teams of 12 grounds maintenance staff, known as Heathmen, working on the Bury and Racecourse side sites on either side of the town of Newmarket, as well as a foreman at the National Hunt training facilities at The Links, which are also part of the estate.

These are the first John Deere machines to be used on the estate, and were acquired through a John Deere Financial replacement lease programme. They include two 3520 eHydro compact tractors, one equipped with a 300CX front loader, three 1445 front mowers, two XUV 855D Gator utility vehicles in olive & black livery, and an X740 diesel lawn tractor.

“We chose the John Deere machines after a lengthy tender process involving various manufacturers and extensive on-site demonstrations,” says Nick Patton, who had experience of John Deere machines in his previous roles at Market Rasen and Nottingham racecourses. “We use machinery very intensively, so it has to be ruggedly built to cope with the demands placed on it.

“Ben Burgess were very forthcoming and helpful, especially through that whole process, and we also had good feedback from our friends and neighbours at the racecourse, who operate John Deere tractors as part of the official supplier agreement with Jockey Club Racecourses.”

The front mowers have been fitted with Trimax flail decks, to deal with the rugged terrain and different types of grass areas around the estate, including roadside verges, and the compact tractors were chosen for their compact design and manoeuvrability.

“Apart from gritting during the winter, and some grass cutting with rear mounted mowers, we’ll be using the compacts to maintain the 14m diameter lunging rings, as they have a really good turning circle,” Nick Patton adds. “We also carry out contracting jobs for the trainers, mostly power harrowing and rotavating their indoor yards – most of these weren’t built for machinery access, so the tractors are also very handy for getting in and out of these tight areas.

“We went the finance route as I believe leasing has many advantages. It’s more cost effective, it makes budgeting and forward planning much easier, and it allows us to upgrade to new technology as and when required – plus John Deere equipment is known for its high resale value. For me leasing just makes a lot of sense when purchasing new equipment.”

Cutting height, ball speed and a light touch from the greens mowers are all critical factors for Mike Mercer, course manager at Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club, which hosts the final qualifying round for the 2012 Open Championship being held at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

“Players of all abilities have become far more discerning about playing standards, and they’ll soon tell you if they are not up to scratch,” says Mike, who has clocked up 27 years at this heathland links course, 16 of these as course manager.

Always keen to keep abreast of new technology, Mike was an early adopter of John Deere’s 2500 E-Cut hybrid electric greens mower. The operational issues that were experienced with some of the original machines, now fully rectified, could have led him to change his preferences.

However, area salesman Ian Roberts of John Deere dealer Turner Groundscare at Tarvin, Chester, persuaded him to keep the faith when Mike was looking to replace the mower. It’s a decision that Mike and his five-strong greenkeeping team have not regretted.

“We run several other John Deere machines here, including a 4320 compact tractor, a 3235A fairways mower, a 500 triple mower and a 2500B greens mower,” he says. “So I decided to replace our first 2500E, which was five years old, with the new version. This has proved to be very reliable, and performs almost like a utility machine, so we can also use it for verticutting.”

As a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the course is run under strict environmental conditions, and the 2500E plays its part in helping meet the maintenance requirements that this status demands. Mike and his team have an extensive programme in place to ensure first class playing quality and turf conditions.

“In spring we increase greens cutting from three times a week to daily, and for competitions we double cut then iron the greens,” says Mike.

Such regular mowing naturally raises the chance of accidental oil leaks, so Mike chose the 2500E because, as he puts it, “It is kinder to the turf and drastically reduces the chances of a potentially devastating leak.”

Sound levels are also reduced – another important environmental factor – while cut quality and productivity are maintained, and fuel savings can be as great as 20 per cent. “Typically the mower consumes 3.5 to 4 litres of diesel for every cut of the greens, a task that can take up to three hours,” says Mike.

The new 2500E model also features John Deere's QA5 (Quick Adjust 5in diameter) cutting units. This system makes light work of adjusting each cylinder’s cutting height, turning what was a 15-minute job into a 30-second one.

“In winter, cutting height is 4.5 to 5mm, coming down to between 3.5 and 4mm in spring and summer. Time is always an important factor, so using the quick adjust feature to change the cutting height is really useful,” Mike adds.