New Compact tractor and top dresser for Royal Troon golf club

New Compact tractor and top dresser for Royal Troon golf club

By Peter Driver

One of the great links courses in Scotland has taken delivery of new turf maintenance equipment from Fairways GM, Ransomes Jacobsen's recently appointed dealer for the region.

The greenkeeping team at Royal Troon Golf Club, situated on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in Ayrshire, are now using the very latest Iseki TH4260 compact tractor for general tasks around the renowned links courses. They have also purchased a Cushman TD1500 top dresser, which has been mounted to one of their existing Turf Trucksters.

John McLauchlan, a deputy course manager at the club commented,
"The TH4260 is exactly the right tractor for us; it's compact and agile but powerful enough to cope with the day-to-day applications around the courses. We're reinstating some turfed areas and it handles a loaded trailer with ease. We'll also use it as the power unit for our Coremaster.

"The TD1500 is our second top dressing machine and we know its capabilities very well. Its 1.5 metre working width and good sized hopper means that we can top dress a green quickly. It's got a light footprint and can handle wet or dry material equally well."

There at three courses at Royal Troon: the Old Course is a challenging test of golfing ability. With the wind to contend with, and deep rough interspersed with gorse and broom, accurate shot making is essential. The Portland is a little more sheltered and is shorter than the Old Course and finally, the Par 3 Course is nine holes used mainly by juniors and a few elderly members. All are maintained to the same exacting standards by Billy McLauchlan and his team.

Photo caption: Richard Green of Fairways GM and John McLauchlan, deputy course manager at Royal Troon with the new Iseki tractor.