Lincolnshire golf club gets five for one
Press Release
Founded in 1935, Ashby Decoy Golf Club near Scunthorpe is a flat 18 hole, par 71 course enhanced with native silver birch and oak trees. The well maintained greens and fairways benefit from a developing irrigation system and the recently expanded John Deere machinery fleet, used by head greenkeeper Gary Chafer and his team.
The club had budgeted for a new fairway mower in 2005, and ideally Gary also needed a new flail mower, but there wasn't enough capital to cover the extra machine. A call to John Deere dealer The Burdens Group at North Kyme in Lincolnshire showed that for the same annual expenditure of £25,000, a five year replacement finance deal organised through John Deere Credit would provide five machines for the price of one.
Ashby Decoy's committee therefore agreed to buy two new John Deere 2500A greens mowers, a 3225C fairway mower, a 3520 compact tractor with front loader and a 1545 front rotary mower. These joined the existing two 2653A tees & surrounds mowers, 4400 compact tractor and 855 compact tractor with 365 trailed gang mower.
"The committee agreed the deal very quickly, and it all came together so easily," says Gary Chafer. "We now know what we're paying out for the next five years, so it helps enormously with the budgets.
We've also been trying for a while to bring the maintenance bill in hand, so having these new machines will help save on the increasing repair and servicing bills you always get with older machines. "I'm confident that the number of call-outs this year will be minimal, and with the equipment warranty there will be no bills to pay. The next step will be to get onto a full contract maintenance agreement."
Ashby Decoy has used John Deere equipment for over nine years, starting with the 855 compact tractor and 2653A tees & surrounds mowers. "The 365 gang mower is now approaching its fourth season, and is used to cut the semi-rough grass down to 1.5 inches," adds Gary.
"With this and the front rotary and fairway mowers, we get very good definition between the three different cut heights. The gang mower also helps keep the tractor fully utilised in the summer, as this was originally bought for use with a Weidenmann aerator."
The photograph shows:- Ashby Decoy's head greenkeeper Gary Chafer (right), with club secretary Jane Harrison, John Deere dealer principal Gordon Rodger of Burdens and the new John Deere machines.
