Quality of Cut and Excellent Finish from Jacobsen AR522 at Brickhampton

Brickhampton Court Golf Complex, situated just off junction 11 of the M5 between Cheltenham and Gloucester, has recently purchased two Jacobsen AR522 fine cut rotary mowers from local Ransomes Jacobsen dealer, TH White Ltd. Ransomes Jacobsen is a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company.

The AR522 is a five deck articulated rotary mower with a 2.3 metre cutting width that follows ground contours with precision. It features Jacobsen's TrimTek mulching technology, which keeps the clippings suspended longer and provides a high quality finish.

Paul Virgo is the course manager at the 27-hole complex, which also includes a 28-bay floodlit driving range and teaching academy. Paul has been at the club since 1993, when he was employed by the course construction contractor to build the greens. Previously he had a two year spell as head greenkeeper at Forest Hills Golf Club in Coleford and also worked for Gloucester County Council constructing bowling greens. He leads a team of six greenkeepers and has been a regular customer of TH White for many years.

"After we had built the course, the owners asked me to stay on and manage the course and I readily accepted," he said. "All 27 greens are built to USGA standards and after 17 years I know every part of the course extremely well!"

The new mowers replace Jacobsen AR250s, which were the forerunners of these more modern 522s.

"Our AR250s were 9 and 10 years old respectively, so it was time to change. We had a demo of the 522 and were immediately sold on the machines. They are ideal for the intermediate rough and we also use them on green and tee surrounds and to maintain the driving range. They have a great workrate and we can accomplish more tasks around the complex with the time saved; something that is very important with a reasonably lean team to look after 27 holes.

"We've come a long way since we used gang mowers towed behind a tractor and the presentation of the course is light years away from those early days. The members certainly appreciate what we've done here."

Brickhampton Court Golf Complex, which opened in 1994, is situated in 200 acres of rolling Cotswold countryside. As well as the golf facilities it also features a restaurant and conference suites. Five day and seven day memberships are offered and also membership of the 9-hole Glevum course. At present there are 840 full members and 150 members on the Glevum.

For more information on Ransomes Jacobsen visit: www.ransomesjacobsen.com

Image: One of the Jacobsen AR522 fine cut rotary mowers at the Brickhampton Court Golf Complex in Gloucestershire.