Turning Thorndon Park GC Toro Red

Since arriving at 18-hole Essex club Thorndon Park in 2006, head greenkeeper Robert George has slowly but surely been turning the course machinery Toro red. And with the latest machinery replacement deal arrivals, he's almost achieved that aim.

"When I arrived at Thorndon Park in February 2006 there was a mish-mash of machinery and it was all pretty decrepit," Robert recalls. "I've used Toro throughout my career and so started to switch us to Toro in June the same year. We're pretty much red all over now!"

The club's new arrivals include four Greensmaster 3250-D riding greensmowers, four Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian greensmowers, a Groundsmaster 4700-D rotary mower and Reelmaster 3100-D Sidewinder mower, with shifting cutting units.

With Thorndon Park spanning 240 acres - including an impressive five-acre lake and 18th century woodland - it's clear the £181,000 fleet has its work cut out keeping the course immaculately maintained. "We stick with Toro mowers for quality of cut," Robert continues. "Our members demand a high level of presentation - to achieve that takes a lot of kit, and Toro enables me to do that efficiently and without any headaches."

While these latest arrivals are like-for-like replacements, the club has invested in additional machines. "We only had two 3250-Ds before, but we've now extended this to four. It's such a versatile machine. It does a variety of jobs, plus cuts down the time and manpower otherwise required to do them."

Thorndon Park is considering investing further in its Toro fleet later in 2012. "Come summer we are due to replace our two fairway mowers," Robert reveals. "The new groomer brushes for the fairways look brilliant, so I'll certainly be considering those. We'll also possibly look at replacing our sprayer and Workman utility vehicle. That's what I like about Toro - it always moves forward. There's always something new, whether it's the cutting units or the way the machines are powered."

Toro Commercial products are distributed throughout mainland UK by Lely (UK) Limited, 1 Station Road, St Neots PE19 1QH. Call 01480 226800, email toro.info.uk@lely.com or visit www.toro.com / www.lely.com for further details.