Golf's rising star signs up to TORO

Nestled in the heart of the Fens, near the town of Kings Lynn in Norfolk, the tranquil village of Tydd St Giles hides one of golf's rising stars.

Having been snapped up by Pure Leisure Group two years ago, Tydd St Giles Golf & Leisure Estate is undergoing a radical transformation that includes an 18-hole golf course with two nine-hole putting areas, 44 luxury log cabins and 35 three-bedroom detached holiday homes, and the building of a £3million leisure centre.

At the helm on site is operations director, Adrian Hurst. As the estate's former owner for over 20 years, Adrian's passion for Tydd St Giles means he's perfectly placed to realise new owner John Morphet's vision to bring first-class golf and leisure facilities to this region.

But in order to bring Tydd St Giles's golf course up to the standards required, Adrian needed to improve the course's presentation and performance. Something he simply couldn't accomplish with an ageing fleet prone to breakdowns - and so he turned to Toro.

"We were having lots of breakdowns with our old machines, so were looking for reliability, consistency and a better quality of cut," says Adrian. "I'd seen Toro machinery still going strong some seven or nine years later so we decided to demo their machines along with all the other top makes. Toro was just in a different league, plus it fits the aspirations of where we want to take the club. We want quality surfaces and you can't achieve that without quality mowers. If it's good enough for the likes of St Andrews and Woodhall Spa then it's good enough for me!"

To achieve a superior quality of cut, Pure Leisure has invested in a full Toro fleet including Greensmaster 3250-D, Reelmaster 3100-D and Reelmaster 6700-D mowers fitted with Toro's legendary Dual Precision Adjustment (DPA) cutting units. "The mowers are going to make a massive difference," Adrian says of the newly arrived fleet. "We're feeling very positive about their arrival and are looking forward to seeing the difference they make."

This cutting-edge fleet, however, is a far cry from the course's first machinery line-up. As Adrian recalls: "When the course was first built we made do with second-hand tractors and rotavators, often borrowed from retired local farmer Derek Beba, who since became our course manager and is still going strong at 69 years of age! So to progress from that to Toro - the best in the business - 20 years later is really quite something. Our mission is to drive quality up without driving prices up and we really believe our new Toro fleet will help us to achieve that."

What's more, so pleased is Pure Leisure with the Tydd St Giles deal that the group is now in talks with The Toro Company in the States to supply its sister resorts - Bridlington Links in East Yorkshire and Royal Westmoreland Resort in the Barbados - with Toro machines.

For more information on Toro turf maintenance machinery, contact your local Toro dealer or call distributor Lely UK on 01480 226800 or email toro.info.uk@lely.com. Alternatively, visit www.toro.com.