TORO gets seal of approval at Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club

TORO gets seal of approval at Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club

By Lucy Ohsten

Picturesque Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club, in Richmond, has signed a major Toro deal that will bring machinery worth £700K to its two 18-hole courses over the next four years.

Courses manager Michael Merrick is delighted with the move. "We undertook a rigorous evaluation with four manufacturers, and consulted with our two head greenkeepers, staff and mechanics," he says. "Overall, everyone agreed that Toro was the best choice for us. Our primary concern was ease of use. But other factors such as quality, speed over the ground, ease of maintenance and value for money also came into play."

Designed by J H Taylor, Royal Mid-Surrey's inland links courses have played host to a number of large Pro events. The club is ambitious to become an official championship venue and has also recently invested £4 million in a new clubhouse.

Michael has a number of favourites among his new Toro fleet. "The Groundsmaster 3500-D Sidewinder is a fantastic performer on semi-roughs and excellent for cutting round greens, and the Groundsmaster 5500-D is superb for large semi-roughs on both courses."

He is also full of praise for local Toro dealer John Shaw Machinery. "They have been extremely helpful and understanding," he says.

Toro commercial turf maintenance products are distributed throughout mainland UK by Lely (UK) Limited, St Neots, Cambridgeshire (tel: 01480 226800), and in all of Ireland by Lely Ireland Limited, Kilboggin, Nurney, Co. Kildare (tel: 00 353 (0)45 526170).

Photo caption: Pictured, from left are Steve Vogels of John Shaw Machinery; Patrick Kidd and Tim Lewis of Royal Mid-Surrey; John Colebrook, John Shaw Machinery; and Royal Mid-Surrey courses manager Michael Merrick.