Jacobsen Celebrates 20-years at Sage Valley Golf Club

Juliet Liddellin Machinery & Mechanics

Since the construction of Sage Valley Golf Club in 2001, Jacobsen mowers have covered every blade of grass on the 4000-acre site, and in those two decades, they have always impressed.

The private members club located just outside of Augusta, Georgia, sits within thousands of acres of preserved southern pine forest, and at its heart is the 18-hole, 7,344-yard course and three practice holes. Along with every blade of grass on the 4000 plus acre site, these courses are maintained by the Director of Agronomy, Dustin Purdue, and his team.

With roadsides, fields, common areas and the courses under his control, the importance of having mowers for specific areas can't be underestimated. For Dustin, it is the Jacobsen machines' versatility that has played a significant part in their success.

"We maintain 125 acres of turf, so it's a large area," Dustin begins. "Most golf courses are in the 80 to 90-acre range, so when we are growing, and in the growing season and full-on mowing, we need every day and every minute just to stay on top of the amount of grass we have to mow.

"We're maintaining things from a tenth of an inch on the greens all the way to two inches in the rough and then fields per se or just native roadside grasses. So having the ability for one supplier to have all of those pieces of equipment is definitely helpful.

"On our greens, we use the Eclipse 2 walk mowers, 22-inch. We have floating head units that we use on the bent grass greens on the big course, and then we have the fixed head units that we use on our TifEagle Bermudagrass greens on the Par 3 course.

"We also use the fixed head units to mow all of our tees on the big course, and we use the GP400s to mow approaches on both courses. We use SLF530s to mow fairways, and I use the TR330s to cut the rough.

"For quality of cut, I couldn't ask for anything more. I feel like they hold up very well; they don't need adjustments that often, the quality of cut, the quality of the steel and the materials used is great. Once they're set, we're able to go out and not have to make adjustments that often."

Over 20-years at Sage Valley, Jacobsen has become part of the team. As the expectations from golfers and the world at large have changed, so has the product offering and speed of customer service. For years Dustin's Jacobsen team off the course has kept the greenkeeping team on it, and it is that combination that makes everything click into place at Sage Valley.

"For us Superintendents, I'd say at the end of the day, it's just our plan, but our plan's no good if we don't have a team to help us implement it. So I definitely would like to deflect and give my team any praise if possible because, again, I can have the best plan and dream in the world, but if we can't go out and get it done, then it's no good.

"I think in this day and age, specifically in the golf industry, but I also believe abroad, customer service is a huge part of the success of larger companies.

"I believe society nowadays just moves at a faster pace, and you kind of need everything right then, and I believe we've just come to expect it, so having great service is huge."


For more information about the machines used at Sage Valley Golf Club, visit jacobsen.com

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