GMé | issuu 29

the liver bird returnsThe long wait is finally over for Royal Liverpool,as the famous links will once again stage an

Open Championship in 2006. John Vinicombedelves into the history surrounding the club.

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Contents

There is little doubt that BTME 2003 was a success for the organisers and themajority of exhibitors. However, as reported on page 15 of this edition,exhibitors at the Clubhouse exhibition weren’t quite so enamoured with their

end result.

Surely the time has come for the name Clubhouse to be dropped. If it isthe ‘ultimate’ golf trade experience, the waters shouldn’t be muddied by

the use of another name for part of the exhibition.

Greenkeepers and turf professionals throughout the UK and Europewill always want to attend BTME but there is a need to attract moresecretaries, proprietors and budget holders to the ‘Clubhouse’ sideof things.

Admittedly, the exhibition is in its infancy at Harrogate and asit becomes a more familiar fixture on the calendar so more visitors will be attracted. But organisers should not rest ontheir laurels.

They need to market the non-turf side of the exhibitionmore aggressively; it should be signposted more thorough-ly; and - a particular bug-bear of many in 2003 - it shouldnot be stuck out on a limb, where it is unlikely to attractpassing trade.

In short, they cannot risk exhibitors in that part of theexhibition to drop out next year. It must also be askedif the timing is right.

This year’s show made it practically impossible toexhibit at both BTME and the PGA Merchandise Showin Orlando, unless your exhibition budget was huge,and you fancied leaving Harrogate on the Thursdayand flying straight to the United States.

Likewise, it would be hard for visitors to reach both- and there are plenty who would appreciate beingable to do so. And finally, is it really necessary forthe show to run over three days?

On Thursday afternoon, the halls were like theMarie Celeste - and while that may be ideal forthose who want to wind down after a hectic fewdays, it should be remembered that the majority ofexhibitors will be unable to carry on their businessas normal while they are at Harrogate.

These are just minor gripes in what, on the whole,was a successful and enjoyable week.

But when organisers next get round a table, it mightbe worth putting one or two of these moans on the

agenda.

Harrogate’03;A tale of twoexhibitions

issue 29credits;editorJohn Vinicombe

contributorsDavid BowersAlister MarshallRob Wright

publisherMichael Lenihan

administrationSharon O’Connell

printColourspeed

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cover story 7

finance 19

harrogate 15

glynn patrick 32

Golf Management Europe February 2003

News

February 2003 Golf Management Europe

Lead StoryThe Duke of Roxburghe, pictured abovewith Colin Montgomerie, Gavin Hastings,the Duke of York and Nick Faldo, is to chal-lenge a decision by Borders councillors tolimit the number of mansions and manorhouses he can build alongside his champi-onship golf course near Kelso, Scotland.

A planning appeal has been lodgedafter planners ruled only 60 luxury homescould be developed at Sunlaws.

The original plan was for 180 proper-ties creating a new settlement on 500acres of the Duke’s estate, which alsoincludes the Roxburghe course.

Objectors from nearby villages ofRoxburgh and Helton claimed the project‘drives a coach and horses’ through thecouncil’s regulations.

The council is expected to debate theappeal in the coming months.

Duke challenges decision

Irish FrenchAlliance

Golf clubs in Ireland have formed analliance with their counterparts in southwest France.

Golf clubs and tourism chiefs in theBordeaux region have developed a golfpass which is essentially an easy-to-useway of discovering six premium golfclubs in the area.

And as a result of meetings with clubssuch as Tullamore, Esker Hills, Glasson,Mount Temple, the K Club, Lutrellstown,Rathsallagh and Royal Dublin anexchange programme has been set up forgolfers and club managers.

The first Irish group to travel toBordeaux will do so in April and theFrench delegation hope a similarprogramme will soon be organised forthe Dublin region.

The Bordeaux golf pass, which costs€125, entitles the holder to four roundsof golf at a choice of six courses - Golfde Pessac, Golf de Bordeaux Lac, Golf duMedoc, Golf de Lacanau, Golf de GujanMestras and Golf de Bordeaux Cameyrac.

The price of the pass does not varythroughout the year.

The French delegation see Ireland asan attractive market given itsunfavourable climate and because AirFrance now operates direct, daily flightsbetween Dublin and Bordeaux.

Swan Golf Designs has been awardedits sixth commission in Germany, addingto a portfolio of clients that alreadyinclude Hubbelrath GC, Dusseldorf andKoln G&LC (pictured).

Commenting on the addition of ClubZur Vahr in Bremen, principal HowardSwan said: “We are privileged to havebeen chosen as architects at such a listof fine clubs and courses, and to be ableto recreate and restore some traditionalarchitectural qualities to the layouts.”

Six for Swan

Ransomes Jacobsen have sold theirGerman subsidiary company, RansomesJacobsen GmbH to Thomas Reiter, share-holder of their Austrian distributor,Zimmer Handels GmbH and the Golf TechGolfartikelvertriebs GmbH, based inVienna.

The sale was effective December 23,2002 and the company has been acquiredby a small consortia of companies ownedby Thomas Reiter together with a smallshareholding from Alfons Gottemeyer, themanaging director of Ransomes JacobsenGmbH.

The trading title of the new companywill be The Turf Care Company and it willcontinue to operate from the formerRansomes Jacobsen premises in Munster.

Speaking during a recent visit toRansomes Jacobsen’s head office andmanufacturing plant in Ipswich, ThomasReiter said: “The Ransomes and Jacobsenturf maintenance product lines are global

brands in the turf care sector and I amnaturally delighted with the opportunityto expand my business into other areasof Europe.”

Commenting on the sale, DavidWithers, sales and marketing directorsaid: “The sale of our German company isin line with our plan to rationalise ourEuropean operations following the reviewof our business last summer.

“I am very pleased that all staff havebeen retained by The Turf Care Companyand that our customers will continue todeal with the same people and haveaccess to the same product lines.

“The company has been the Jacobsendistributor in Austria for nine years nowand we have an excellent relationshipwith Thomas Reiter. Along with the newbusiness he now gains an extended terri-tory that encompasses Germany,Switzerland, Hungary and Croatia, as wellas his existing business area in Austria.”

Ransomes Jacobsen sellGerman Subsidiary


John Deere have announced that local dealer Godfreys from Sevenoaks, has secureda three-year preferred supplier agreement with The Royal St George’s Golf Club,

Sandwich, venue of this years Open Championship. The agreement means that JohnDeere will have supplied course maintenance equipment for three consecutive Opens.

Neil Metcalf, course manager at Royal St George’s said: “We have been most impressedby the reliability of the John Deere machines, and their high quality of cut.”

Three in a row for John Deere

At the AGM of the Golf ConsultantsAssociation, John Ashworth of JohnAshworth Associates was elected chair-man, replacing Stephen Proctor of SportsMarketing Surveys who stood down.

The GCA is an independent associationof professionals who aim to deliver solu-tions for golf developers and operatorsacross the world in all areas required tolaunch and run a golf business.

The new chairman said: “Last year wasa successful year for the Association andits members, but we are looking for evenmore success in 2003.

“Many golf businesses in the UK needexpert outside help in areas such asmarketing, operations and funding,following a difficult 12 month tradingperiod.

“Yet there are still opportunities fornew golf developments, particularly inEurope and Asia, and for initiatives thatrespond to the growing demand for golftourism.”

Ashworth tohead up GCA

Lastec, the American manufacturers of the Articulator range of rotary mowers, choseBTME to officially launch their new European division.

John Millen (pictured right), operations manager for Lastec UK said that extra staffwill be appointed to allow him more time to devote to the European market: “As weare not independent dealers, we can keep consumer prices down, as well as offeringcustomers a direct link to the manufacturer. Golf courses, especially new ones, oftenwant a complete machinery package. There are advantages in being able to supplyeverything from one outlet, and we are working along these lines.”

Lastec look toward Europe

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News


The Chancellor Gordon Brown haspraised South Tyneside-based Bill GoffGolf Tours after it was named one of thefastest growing businesses in inner cityBritain.

The successful firm was among 100companies honoured by the NewEconomics Foundation, a leading think-tank on neighbourhood renewal, whichputs together the annual Inner City 100index of companies that are thriving ininner city areas.

Paul Challen (pictured above), md ofBill Goff Golf Tours received his honour atan awards ceremony in London whereGordon Brown, said: “The achievementsof the entrepreneurs of the Inner City 100show that we should see our inner citiesas areas of opportunity for business: newmarkets where firms can thrive becausethey offer a strategic location, untappedmarkets and a dedicated workforce.”

Former Royal Navy officer Paul Challen,49, bought the travel firm seven yearsago from Bill Goff who retired to thesouth coast. Since then Challen, fromTynemouth, has built the company intothe second largest golf tour company inthe country with a turnover of £5.5m.

When he took over, the firm wasorganising 200 holidays a year and nowthe organisation sends 10,000 golfers ayear to destinations around the globeand employs 22 staff.

Challen said: “The growth in recentyears has been phenomenal and this yearhas been the best yet with turnoverleaping by 20 per cent.

“I had no knowledge of this industrywhen I came in to it and approachedthings from what I as a golfer wouldexpect out of a golf tour.”

Company liftsEnterpriseOscar

One of Edinburgh’s oldest golf clubshas turned to lawyers in an effort to haltroad safety work which officials claimcould put it out of business.

Officials at the 109-year-oldLothianburn GC are trying to curb workon a notorious accident blackspot whichwill swallow up roadside parking used byvisiting golfers.

They have hired lawyers in a bid tostop the expansion of the A702 BiggarRoad close to the Edinburgh city bypass.The plans were drawn up after seven acci-dents on the road in the past four years.

But officials claim golfers will be driv-en away and the club will lose thousandsof pounds of valuable revenue from socialfunctions.

Club secretary Bill Jardine refused tocomment on the plans in advance of hismeeting with Scottish transport ministerIain Grey, when the club’s concerns willbe aired.

However, in a letter sent to clubmembers, captain Frank Gray said: “Thegolf club’s council fully appreciates theserious implications this could have forthe club.

“The council will continue to takewhatever action it can to protectmembers’ interests.”

If the safety measures go ahead aroundhalf of the available 120 parking spaceswould be swallowed up and the club hasenlisted the help of some local council-lors in its plea to the authorities.

Scottish club in plea overparking spaces

A Rugby-based company are teeing upto target overseas markets after gaininga foothold in mainland Spain, Portugaland the Canary Islands.

Already established in the UK, Pro-Playwho produce yardage books, claim to bebusier than ever and are even consider-ing the possibility of expanding into theSouth African and American markets.

Owner Kevin Randall (above right), whois an 18-handicap golfer, said: “Within theUK, probably no more than 25 per cent ofall golf clubs actually have a yardagebook, so there was a massive opportunity.

“But even so, you still approachpublishing with trepidation. There is noguarantee of success.

“The key has been creating a uniquepublication which reflects the quality andprestige of a club’s course and facilities.The Canaries is now probably our topoverseas market.

“The tourist authority is promoting theislands, Tenerife in particular, as a golf-ing destination and private hotel groupsare investing a tremendous amount ofmoney building golf courses.

“Pro-Play planners are certainly not anoff-the-shelf product,” added Randall.“Each guide takes about two months toproduce with a graphic for each hole,either two or three dimensional, withcolour coded tee information to eachhazard.”

Guides’ Fairway to Success


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COVER STORY

Cover StoryAn exciting new development is promis-ing golf clubs new revenue opportunitiesfrom their buggy fleets. With golferswanting every possible technology thatpromises to reduce their score, a GPSsystem called GolfPlus promises to fulfilboth players and clubs expectations.

By harnessing GPS technology,GolfPlus provides consistently accuratedistance measurements from ball togreen, enabling golfers to know anexact yardage from their ball to thecentre of the green at all times.

Developed and manufactured inHigh Wycombe, GolfPlus brings state ofthe art technology to your golf course,

adding a new dimension to a golfers�round and, in turn, creating new revenuestreams for your club.

Already in use at Magnolia Park,Buckinghamshire, head professionalJeremy Dale commented: �We�ve neverhad so much demand for buggies fromour members and guests.

�GolfPlus has created new revenuestreams from our buggy fleet that wepreviously never thought possible, andwe are now looking to expand our fleetas a result,� he confirmed.

�Previously available GPS systemshave been imported from the USA andhave been expensive and overlycomplicated,� explained GolfPlusmanaging director, Colin Surman.

�By being developed, manufacturedand supported within the UK, we areextremely confident that our customerswill receive excellent service and relia-bility from their GolfPlus GPS.�

A six-month long program involv-ing rigorous on-course testing hasensured that GolfPlus is reliable androbust, leaving nothing for the profes-sional to worry about other than thequeue of golfers wanting a GolfPlusequipped buggy for their round.

The system consists of a high-reso-lution colour display monitor, which isunobtrusively mounted at the front ofthe golf buggy and is also powered bythe buggy.

As the buggy approaches each tee,the relevant information is automatical-ly displayed on the monitor: providinghole number, length, par and strokeindex as well as a brief description ofthe hole and points to note.

After teeing-off, GolfPlus providesan image of the hole being played,together with the yardage from yourball to the green, an electronic courseguide in effect.

GolfPlus offers increasedrevenue from buggy sales

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News

The Sports Turf Research Institute hasbeen awarded the Investors in PeopleStandard. The formal assessment includeda full review of STRI’s planning processesand training and development systems.

Positive feedback highlighted detailsof good practice within the STRI acrossthe entire range of principles set by theIIP standard.

The IIP Assessor praised STRI’s strongcommitment to staff development and itspolicy of equal opportunities: “Peoplewithin the organisation feel that theircontribution to the STRI is recognisedand that they are valued; during inter-views I was told many times that peopleenjoyed working at STRI.”

STRI was commended on their compre-hensive business plan, and good relation-ships between the management and thestaff association. Managers were gener-ally identified as strong role models whohad high standards of professionalexpertise, experience and qualifications.

Chief executive, Gordon McKillop,praised all STRI staff for their contribu-tions and sustained commitment over thelast few years in working towards achiev-ing the IIP award.

He also expressed his considerablegratitude to Linda Howell of BusinessLink for West Yorkshire for her guidance,support and encouragement throughoutthe entire process.

STRI receive award

A Yorkshire golf club is to appealagainst a ruling which decided a bridle-way can run straight down the middle ofits new 13th hole.

A public inquiry was held last year todetermine if Dorman’s Path should runalongside, or straight down, the 13thfairway at Redcar’s Cleveland GC.

The club diverted part of the pathaway from the fairway to keep walkerssafe and prevent them from holding upplay.

However, some locals objected, claim-ing the path had always taken the moredirect route.

Planning inspector Michael Gibbonssubsequently agreed historical evidenceshowed the path should be further to theleft, running down the fairway.

He determined Dorman’s Path andFisherman’s Crossing, which traverses thecourse between Coatham and the beach,should both be designated bridlewaysand have their historical routesconfirmed.

The club must now apply to Redcar andCleveland Council if it wants Dorman’sPath to remain where it is.

Club captain Barney Woff said: “Thepath is to the right of the fairway andeveryone is using it without any prob-lems, so I don’t really know what theinspector was thinking.

“He has listened to a few objectorswho, in all honesty, have hardly walkedthat path in years.

“We just hope common sense willprevail.”

Yorkshire club to appealover bridleway ruling

Bonus forWicklow

Members at an Irish golf club got morethan they bargained for at their clubsannual general meeting - news that thenew clubhouse was built for €600,000fewer than expected.

The clubhouse at Wicklow GC, whichwas opened in December of last year,was expected to cost IR £2.4m (€3m).Instead, it cost just IR £1.9m (€2.4m),a rare bonus in these days of risingconstruction costs.

The club has also taken another majorstep forward in embracing equality forlady members - and 31 of the 150 ladymembers have taken up full membership.

Any lady who was a member before1993, when the club extended to 18holes, could upgrade to full membershipwithout a fee.

Overhaulcomplete atDore

A major irrigation programme, lastingsix months, has been finished at Doreand Totley GC, near Sheffield. Formerlybuilt on agricultural land, the course hasseen a complete re-instatement of itsirrigation system.

The contract - which was completed inDecember of last year - involved five newholes being constructed.

North Staffs Irrigation were awardedthe contract following exploratorydiscussions with Robin Hume Associateswho acted as irrigation consultants.

As service contractors for the previousirrigation system, North Staffs wereasked to again tender against the speci-fied design.


The Press Association has signed a deal with the PGA to supply www.pga.info withdaily updates and live news feeds from around the world. The PA’s global network ofreporters will provide in-depth coverage of the USPGA and European tours, the fourmajors and all other tournaments. PGA commercial director, Mike Gray said: “Given

the global nature of golf and the ever-growing number of tournaments, we decided itwas essential to provide visitors to our site with the best possible news coverage.”

PGA signs up with the PA

Golf course and driving range safety isfast becoming a key issue of concernwith an increasing number of high valueclaims from players and course neigh-bours who are encouraged to resort tothe law for settlement of claims anddisputes.

Insurance underwriters now look forproof that clubs and owners are diligentand careful in the safe management oftheir course or driving range.

Following numerous accidents, PGADesign Consulting have published twoguides; Design Guide for Golf DrivingRanges and Safety Guidelines for GolfCourses.

It is important for clubs to realise thatthe committee members, directors, golfprofessionals and course designers are alltargets for the victim’s insurers, and PGADesign Consulting have thereforelaunched a safety audit scheme to helpclubs ensure that they stay on the rightside of the law.

PGA Designoffer advice

The £2.6m phase one clubhouse development at Surrey National GC (formerly HappyValley) is now open.

The new clubhouse has all the benefits you would expect from a new build, plus theadded bonus of a function suite with dining for up to 200 guests including featurefireplaces, air-conditioning, a sprung dance-floor and a private bar area.

The new clubhouse has a sense of exclusivity about it, which is confirmed by thelarge balcony with futuristic aluminium railings with views over the 18th green andsurrounding water features.

New clubhouse to benefit all

News


GolfPlus have been swamped withenquiries following their launch atJanuary’s BTME Clubhouse Exhibition,including Sir Michael Bonallack whostopped by to have a demonstration.

“We are delighted by the levels ofenquiries we had at the show,” comment-ed Colin Surman of GolfPlus, “particularlyas it was the first time we had exhibited.

“We were also encouraged by howmany clubs were planning to expandtheir buggy fleets for the coming season,and how they are increasingly seeing golfbuggies as a source of profits.”

GolfPlus’s buggy GPS system adds anew dimension to a golfers buggy round,and in the process drives greater demandfor buggies promising golf professionalsexciting new revenue opportunities fromtheir buggy fleets.

“Being a British designed and manu-factured product, we are able to guaran-tee our customers the very best in serviceand support,” added Surman.

“We work closely with regional andnational buggy distributors to make surethat we can offer the same or next day partreplacements, and in doing so, minimisingthe impact on the golf operation.”

Already in use at courses across the UKand Europe, GolfPlus is fast establishingitself as the professional’s choice.

Buckinghamshire’s Magnolia Park headpro Jeremy Dale commented: “We’venever had so much demand for buggiesfrom our members and guests.

“GolfPlus has created new revenuestreams from our buggy fleet and wehave now expanded our fleet from sevenbuggies to 17 as a result.”

Sir Michael takes an interestin GolfPlus GPS system

The London GC, in Kent, has been putup for sale by its Japanese owners. Theclub, near Brands Hatch, was built tenyears ago at a cost of £40m.

It has two championship courses - oneof which was designed by Jack Nicklaus,who is also honorary captain.

It attracted the rich and famous - ClintEastwood, Sir Sean Connery and evenBarings trader Nick Leeson - but it may godown as one of the sport’s great financialdisasters after estimated trading losses ofaround £10m over the past ten years.

Chesterton HMH, the specialist proper-ty agent, has been appointed to sell thebusiness on behalf of Masao Nagaharaand Hiroshi and Toru Nishoyama, thegolf-mad Japanese businessmen who ownthe club. To become a share-owningmember of the London GC costs a stag-gering £27,708 and a non-share membercosts £8,900.

Corporate membership costs £52,793as a share member or £9,400 as a non-share member. Share-owning membersenjoy lower annual fees. The company’slatest annual accounts have beendelayed by three months, according toCompanies House records.

Huge lossesforce LondonGC to sell

North-eastset to benefit

Northern Racing’s plans to revampNewcastle racecourse into an all-weathertrack also include improvement andexpanison of the adjacent Parklands GC.The company hopes to spend in excess of£10m on the overall improvement project.

Also in the north-east, picturesqueNorthumberland course Hexham has beenawarded this year’s NE and NW PGAChampionship.

The event will take place on July 31 -August 1 while the NE and NW PGAMatchplay Championship will be at DeVere Slaley Hall later in August.

The Manor House Hotel, nearMoretonhampstead in Devon, has beenpurchased by Peter de Savary fromMeridien Hotels, who had acquired theproperty when they took over PrincipalHotels two years ago.

The price paid was believed to be inthe region of £7m, and de Savary expectsto spend a further £8m on improvementsto the property.

The 18 hole course, which was designedby JF Abercromby and Herbert Fowler andopened in 1929, measures just over 6,000yards.

Donald Steel has been commissioned tocarry out improvements to the coursewhile maintaining its character andauthenticity. The only hole where majorchanges are expected is the 18th,described by de Savary as “being in needof significant improvement.”

There will be a new drainage scheme toimprove playability throughout the year,a state-of-the-art full irrigation systemand new equipment to maintain the golfcourse. “Investment at the property hasbeen lacking for the past thirty or fortyyears,” said de Savary.

De Savary acquires ManorHouse Hotel


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News


Members at a Durham golf club are upin arms over plans to build a park-and-ride scheme on their 17th hole.

They fear the local authority will put acompulsory purchase order on the land atMount Oswald Manor GC to clear the wayfor buses and cars.

And they claim that would drive awaypotential new members and severelydamage the club’s reputation.

The plans would mean tearing up thepar-four, 283-yard hole and could affectother holes which border the 17th.

General manager Nigel Galvin said: “Nogolf course wants to be reducing itsyardage on holes and I don’t think anygolfer wants to play a shorter hole.

He added: “It would threaten our cred-ibility. We would have to cut the courseto nine holes, which players would goround twice. But I think that would meana loss of members.”

Golf course consultant John Nicholsonwho has been a member of the club forfive years said: “This is a good course toplay on. Not only is it attractive, it’s alsoan important community resource.

“For the council to completely disre-gard people’s views like this is anabsolute disgrace.”

A Durham County Council spokesmansaid the authority was looking at severaloptions and had not yet made a finaldecision on the scheme’s location.

Park and ride will drive awaymembers, claim club

Hills deniesRyder claims

The director of the European Ryder Cuphas denied suggestions the EuropeanPGA Tour wanted financial aid from theUS PGA following the need for extrasecurity at last year’s event.

Richard Hills strenuously deniedreports claiming the European Tour want-ed a $1.6m contribution towards thesecurity arrangements at The Belfry.

He said: “We are not asking for onepound, let alone one million.”

The extra security had been asked forby US officials because of the continuingthreat of terrorist attacks and thatrequest increased five-fold the initialinvestment set aside for such matters,taking it to $4.4m

Floratine Internationalannounce new distributors

Floratine International chose BTME toannounce two new distributorships.

Turfcare Solutions, the recently formedEnglish division of the Turfcare Groupwhich has been trading in Ireland underthe Turfcare banner for the last 12 years,will represent Floratine in the south ofEngland.

Pro Grass, based in Harderwijk, centralNetherlands, will take sole distributionrights for Floratine in Holland.

Pat Galavan (pictured left), Turfcare’smanaging director, who has been adistributor for Floratine in Ireland for thelast three years says that he has foundtheir technology to be second to none.

“Turfcare and Floratine are continuingto move forward, and we are pleased tobuild on our association,” he said.

David Snowden (pictured right),Floratine’s marketing manager added:“Irish Turfcare are very successful distrib-utors for us in Southern Ireland, andonce the decision was made for theirexpansion onto these shores, we knewthey would be ideal to increase our pres-ence in this important golfing area.”

The appointment of Pro Grass comes asa result of the Dutch company’s goodmarket penetration and technicallystrong sales staff.

Jan van Mondfrans, md of Pro Grasssaid: “Dutch greenkeepers are very keenfine-grass managers and they like just-in-time management. Floratine repre-sents a step forward in fine turf mainte-nance and we expect to be a solid part-ner for the Floratine group.”

Park Hill Golf Club, Seagrave, havebeen working with Sudbury-based AFTTrenchers to eradicate drainage problemson the clubs practice area.

The course, which was opened in1994, was built on a very high claycontent, which has caused problems overthe years.

In an effort to keep the course openall year round, head greenkeeper DeanCooper turned to AFT Trenchers, whotogether, produced a capital investmentprogramme to drain not only the practicearea but also the entire course.

The AFT45 chain and boom trencherwith slitting wheel was selected as themost suitable equipment for the job,with trenches up to 1.2m deep being cutand drainage pipes being laid.

Work is also being undertaken on anew reservoir to save water and theanticipated savings will then be utilisedwithin the course’s pop-up tees andgreens irrigation system.

Investmentpays off forPark Hill

HRH Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, has been learning how to improve his golf-ing skills following a visit to Bristol-based Institute of Physics Publishing. During hisvisit, the Prince was shown articles from the Institute’s on-line archive, his favourite

being The physics of golf. This article highlights many ways in which physics isapplied to golf - for instance how you can tell the difference between skilled and

unskilled golfers by taking measurements of their downswings.

Prince takes golfing advice


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Martin HawtreeFellow of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects

Cobalt Concepts has been appointed todistribute OnCourse throughout Europe.

Following a successful period ofmarketing the greenkeeping software inthe UK, Swedish software developersEpani decided that Cobalt’s network ofEuropean contacts and its offices inFrance and Italy made it the ideal part-ner for expansion into these newmarkets.

Cobalt’s European business develop-ment director, Claire Coombe, explained:“We are working with experienced teamsin each region of Europe to market anddistribute OnCourse to greenkeepers andcourse managers.

“They will be providing local trainingand support thus minimising the effectof language differences. The Europeangolf market is one of the fastest growinggolf markets in the world. Our entry willfurther consolidate OnCourse as one ofthe global leaders in course managementsoftware.”

Cobalt andEpani team up

Club Car has launched Free Ride, a programme that aims to make Club Car fleetsaccessible and affordable for clubs of all sizes. Robert Drewery marketing director ofClub Car Europe explains: “Our aim is simply to make the acquisition of golf cars aseasy and convenient as possible.

“Free Ride is specifically designed to meet the demands of golf clubs of all sizes.Whether clubs have some cars already or are exploring the benefits of cars for the firsttime we want them to gain first hand experience of the advantages of using a Club Carfleet with minimum initial commitment.”

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Poor Relations


There is a renowned lap-danc-ing club in Harrogate calledSpearmint Rhino. A spokes-man for the club admits that

its busiest time of the year is the weekthe BTME is at the Harrogate Centre.

And if you were a greenkeeperintent on a good night out with yourmates, you would not have had toomuch difficulty finding the venue.

Its location in Oxford Street is welldocumented and even publicised viaflyers at the BTME itself. If, however,you wanted to visit any of the 53exhibitors in the Clubhouse exhibition -located if you were unaware in Hall D -you may have struggled to find them.

Many of those exhibitors weredisappointed with the number of visi-tors to the hall on what was, we are reli-ably informed by the organisers, arecord attendance for the event.

As if to support their view, one ofthe few signposts pointing visitors tothe Clubhouse exhibition, was still thesubject of discussion at lunchtime onthe second day, with organisers in heat-ed debate as to which was the best loca-tion for it.

Christened �the morgue� by onewag, Hall D was out on a limb. Whilebusiness appeared brisk at all the standselsewhere, some Clubhouse exhibitorswere forced to talk to each other in anattempt to relieve the boredom.

One felt moved to comment: �It feltlike we were holding a small familygathering in an upstairs room while the

society wedding took place down-stairs.� It was hard to argue with thatview.

Visitors to the exhibition are famil-iar with its layout - it�s all on one level.So if a hall is upstairs and not wellsign-posted, they are unlikely to stum-ble across it, particularly if to get thereyou need to walk a hospital-style corri-dor only to be confronted by a set ofclosed double doors.

I walked this route at least half-a-dozen times during the three days andmet just one other person - and he wasa member of HIC staff.GrumblesAnd to get exhibitors� grumbles out ofthe way in one fell swoop, it shouldalso go on record that one Hall Dexhibitor felt the Clubhouse exhibitionwas inappropriately named now it waspart of BTME - a view supported by amember of HIC staff who was only tooaware of the lack of numbers meander-ing through Hall D.

Many, she felt, thought theClubhouse exhibition contained nothingmore than fittings and furniture for thebar area. One has to feel some sympa-thy, however, with organiser PaulineThompson.

She explained: �Last year people inthe Clubhouse exhibition complainedthat, as people had to walk through it toget to the BIGGA section it was noth-ing more than a corridor.�

Pauline discovered, to her cost, thatan exhibitor is never satisfied. "

David Bowers visited the BTME and Clubhouse exhibitions at Harrogate last month - andwhile there was little doubt the event, organised by BIGGA was a success, he found itwasn�t without one or two problems.


Retrospectively, most expressed anopinion that given a choice, they wouldrather be �a corridor� - at least peoplepassed through.

But those with a gripe in theClubhouse area of the exhibition were, itmust be said, in a minority. Mostexhibitors were located, as per usual, onthe ground floor. And most exhibitors, asper usual, enjoyed a beneficial few days.RecordA record number of visitors, 5,693,registered over the three days - and afair few more may have made their wayin unregistered via the car park.

So for the majority of companies,exhibiting at Harrogate was once againmoney well spent.

After all, you don�t get giants likeJohn Deere, Ransomes Jacobsen andToro spending lots of money on impres-sive stands if it�s just a pr exercise.

Bretton King, of Ecosolve was onewho was delighted with the results ofhis trek north. He explained: �FromEcosolve�s perspective, it was a verygood three days.

�We had a broad spectrum of visi-tors to the stand, both new customersand clients we have worked with in thepast two years either asking for morework or providing feedback on workalready done.

�We also discovered one or two golfclubs who visited not just with thegreenkeeper, but also with the secretaryor general manager. He was then ableto show them the machine he had beentalking about.

�I believe that was probably a resultof the Clubhouse exhibition being thereas well. We will certainly be returningnext year.�

BIGGA�s Scott MacCallum echoedthe views of King when he said: �Wewere delighted with the entire week.The feedback we have had so far fromsome exhibitors is that they did recordbusiness at the show. And we hadrecord figures for attendance too.�

So another successful year for theBTME - and probably for SpearmintRhino as well - but it will be interestingto see how and where the Clubhousepart of the exhibition is marketed andpositioned in 2004.

David Bowers visited BTME theeasy way. He flew to Leeds/BradfordAirport - just 12 miles from theHarrogate International Centre - fromHeathrow with British Midland. One-way flights start at just £35 includingtaxes. See www.flybmi.com for details.

The BTME is a must for membersof the trade media in the turf, horti-cultural, amenity, golf and sundryother industries. Companies chooseJanuary in Harrogate to officiallylaunch many new products or talk oftheir plans for expansion.

A captive media is essential - afterall, many pay pr companies a decentwedge for hosting a briefing or pressconference.

It is therefore extremely gallingfor both media and exhibitor if thepress briefing facilities do not meetthe required standard.

There is absolutely no problemwith the hospitality shown tomembers of the media.

The press room is comfortable andwell laid out. It is regularly topped upwith media packs, tea, coffee andbiscuits. The occasional Danish pastryeven surfaces, much to the delight ofthe assembled throng.

No, it is when the actual briefingsstarted that problems ensued this year.The people delivering the briefingsare not actors. They have not beentrained to throw their voice to the rearof an auditorium.

And while the gathered hack packpaid due respect and remained silentin interest, the same can not be said ofthose in the adjacent exhibitors�lounge.

The rooms are not separate. Theywere split merely by wall dividersensuring that any noise in one trans-ferred easily to the other, and that isparticularly unhelpful when one istrying to hear a speech.

In addition, I witnessed poor JaneLeyland, of Barenbrug, call a halt toher briefing on two occasions assomebody - a member of centre barstaff presumably - emptied a selectionof glass containers into a skip locatedoutside, near the emergency exitdoors.

She bravely soldiered on but itwas clear she was ever-conscious ofthe likelihood of further interruptions.

So please, for the benefit of themedia - and more so out of courtesyto the paying exhibitors - would it bepossible to have an enclosed venuefor such briefings?

Or even could BIGGA invest in asmall clip-on radio microphone to aidus ageing scribes in our vital quest?

BTME 2004; A plea to the organisers

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Are you thinking about putting golf cars on your course for the first time, or adding toyour existing fleet, but want to see the benefits before you commit?

The Club Car �Free Ride� programme allows you to explore the many benefits of owning Club Car golf carswith minimum commitment.

We will provide you with a number of demonstrator cars plus technical and sales support to staff for anagreed period FREE OF CHARGE.

Like all good things places on the programme are limited. If you would like to know more contact Club Carnow on +44(0)1204 690515.

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Loose Change

FINANCE

The game of golf just ain�twhat it used to be. With theadvent of greater exposure,golf is being played with an

entirely different perspective on how acourse should perform from hole-to-hole and across the seasons to thoseprevalent just 20 years ago at grass-

roots level. And changing demographics have

revolutionised the business modelfor the majority of clubs, who are

now working towards incorporat-ing other leisure pursuits along-side their core business, as wellas more family-focused facili-ties.

So for the sport�s rank-and-file operators, it does indeedlook like �constant change ishere to stay�. The financiers wespoke to who are funding all the

adjustments and improvementsgolf�s incumbents have to make to

compete today all seem to think so. Take Peter Banister of Debit

Finance Collections plc, for example.

He believes DFC�s business isgrowing because the profile of golfmembers isn�t what it was. �The oldbrigade of golf club membership madeup of senior executives and retiredgentlemen is changing for the younger,working man,� he observed.

DFC�s debit finance service collectsand passes on the fees they collectmonthly. The transaction between them,the club and the golfer is regulated inthe UK by the Consumer Credit Act,which means that the clubs� membersare tied into an enforceable agreement.Should they default on the payments,DFC handles all the chasing, above andbeyond administering each agreement.

For a company that collectsmembership fees on behalf of theleisure industry, this change has clearlyhad a significant effect on the numberof clubs responding to their offer.

�It can only grow and grow,� contin-ued Banister, �because a direct debitarrangement is more suitable for theworking man who would rather not paytheir green fees in one lump sum. "

Continuous changes to the golfing industry have not only transformed the way the game isplayed, but also the ways in which decision-makers need finance to acquire and sustaintheir clubs. Rob Wright tugs at the purse strings of the financiers.


This finance model appears to beconvenient for both clubs and theircustomers. �Clubs might not be able toget a direct debit facility themselves,�said Banister.

�Usually they resort to a standingorder and have to raise the paperworkthemselves.� And the scheme makesmembership more attractive to thegolfer.

So with competition among golfclubs as it is, this can mean that clubsare less likely to lose their members toother clubs offering monthly payments.

To offer the facility to theirmembers in the UK, clubs need aconsumer credit licence to be able toextend regulated and enforceable creditagreements. Completing a straightfor-ward application form and submitting itwith a fee of £275.00 is all it takes tosecure the necessary paperwork.

Then, once the service has beenarranged with DFC, �we�d provideenough credit pre-printed credit agree-ments, complete with the club�s detailsand figures to send out to all theirmembers to sign and send back. Oncein, the job�s done.�DownsideSounds ideal. Any disadvantages? �Theonly downside for the club is cashflow,� acknowledged Banister, �as theydon�t receive the huge injection of cashwhich typically comes with a pile ofmembership fees coming in each year.

�But we can advance sums onmonies coming in the form of develop-ment loans for clubs already up-and-running.�

This kind of lending - asset-basedfinance, where a lender loans a sumbased on receivables or inventory -comes in various forms. And some-times, a change in the law has driventhe market for golf finance.

�In 1994, the European Union ruledthat private members clubs couldn�tcharge VAT on subs,� recalled JohnWestrope, groundscare manager forHumberclyde Groundscare Finance.

Humberclyde have been financinggroundscare equipment since 1989, andas Westrope added: �As three-quartersof a club�s income comes through

subscriptions, this effectively meantthat everything a club bought couldonly have 25 per cent claimed in VATin relation to income.�

Westrope explained that this meantthat VAT bills for clubs suddenlyskyrocketed and to even-out their cashflow, several clubs started to considerfinance for the first time �as a means ofspreading or deferring VAT payments.�Capital�I also think there�s a continuous moveamong clubs looking to present theircourses to members in better shape, sothey�re needing to minimise capitalexpenditure and release revenue to fundongoing costs.

�We�ve seen quite a demand forupdating and refurbishing irrigationsystems for golf courses and we�rehappy to lend finance for that kind ofdevelopment, too.�

Humberclyde have several financialproducts available for both groundscareand farm operators to choose from.These include hire purchase, whichgives outright ownership and carries theoption of guaranteeing interest chargeson a fixed base rate.

Operating lease products take intoaccount ongoing maintenance coststhroughout the life of the asset, whilethe finance lease option is more akin torental. However, at the end of thefinance lease agreement, the borrowercan either continue to use the equip-ment at a nominal rent, or sell it and usethe proceeds as a deposit on their nextpurchase.AdvantagesEach of these options offers varyingadvantages over the others. Some canbring tax efficiencies, while othersdon�t affect the ratio to which a compa-ny is financed by debt capital in rela-tion to its equity - known as gearing.Healthier businesses are oftenperceived as having lower gearing.

So how do you choose a financesolution that�s best for your business?�Take a good look at what you�ve got,�outlined Westrope.

�Assess. Is it adequate for yourcurrent and future needs? What�s asensible life cycle for it?

�SO WHEN BUYING EQUIPMENT, CONSIDER WHAT THE OBJECTIVE IS.

HOW MUCH WILL THE PURCHASE EARN OR SAVE THE BUSINESS?

IS THE COST JUSTIFIED? AND CONSIDERING THE CASH FLOW

ELEMENT WHEN PURCHASING THE MACHINE IS VITAL.

IT MAKES ENORMOUS SENSE TO BUDGET ACCURATELY.�


�Is your existing kit about to besuperseded with newer and bettermodels? If it�ll need updating regularly,consider putting it on a 4-5 yearreplacement cycle.�

�And get professional advice,�recommended Sean Jones, sales manag-er for ING Lease UK Ltd. �As you payfor an accountant who probably has agood understanding of your business,why not get their advice?�

ING Lease are also involved in agri-culture, groundscare and machineryfinance, as well as specialist officeequipment - but predominantly sales aidasset finance, that is, financing equip-ment purchases at the point of sale. Factor�The biggest single factor to consider isthe cost of the purchase, rather than theprice,� Jones continued. �The biggestdiscount on a machine isn�t necessarilythe best deal. The true cost is onlyuncovered when you have to get rid ofit.

�It�s important therefore to consideryour purchase in terms of your annualexpenditure and budget.

�If you�re using it for several years,why not pay for it over the same periodof time? You don�t pay the staff �ssalaries two to three years in advance.And no piece of kit works harderbecause you pay cash for it.

�So when buying equipment,consider what the objective is. Howmuch will the purchase earn or save thebusiness? Is the cost justified? Andconsidering the cash flow element whenpurchasing the machine is vital. Itmakes enormous sense to budget accu-rately.�

ING Lease have a number of tie-upswith manufacturers and some are exclu-sive, such as with Ransomes Jacobsen.

By working closely with the produc-ers of equipment, �we�ve been able toaddress specific needs of theircustomers.� As a result of such symbiot-ic relationships, new ideas can emerge.

�We�ve just completed a multi-million pound investment to provide e-commerce trading via internet access,�Jones announced. �Essentially this willmean a groundscare machinery dealercan provide quotations right through tosigning a contract very quickly on-line.�

Launched initially in the UK, INGLease plan to roll the scheme out acrossEurope over the next few years. �Wevery much see this as how the businesswill develop in the future,� exclaimedJones.

�All finance companies have to becompetitive and we�re all buyingmoney at the same rate, so you should-n�t find a massive difference betweenus. Yes, you can negotiate on interestrates, but where you�ll see the mostdifference is in service.

�This initiative will allow dealers tovery quickly transact business fromquotation through to documentation.

�And once the internet comes intoits own, the costs of transactions willalso come down dramatically. Theparameters of our business could comedown to as little as £500, as opposed toa minimum of around £2,000 at themoment.�

Large sums of money can changehands using finance companies. INGLease have just completed a £3mfinance deal for a landscaping project.Other financiers are prepared to dealwith even bigger sums.

Farming and Agricultural Finance ispart of NatWest Bank and are essential-ly mortgage lenders offering long-termloans for rural and leisure projects.

�Where we differ form a bank,though,� explained Philip Coysh, theirnational business manager, �is that wehave no annual fees, so the borrowersaves on bank charges and there�s noannual review, so the club won�t hearfrom us once the loan�s been agreed ifthey don�t want to. We find that theydon�t want a bank manager telling themhow to run their business.

�We�re also prepared to lend overthe long term; banks will typically onlygo for ten years or so. This helps keepthe payments down and thereforelowers the risk. So if it�s for major capi-tal expenditure, it makes sense toborrow over a longer term.�

FAF see their future largely servingexpanding businesses, developing theirexisting facilities, putting in better onesor restructuring borrowing. For exam-ple, FAF have just leant £1m restructur-ing existing borrowing at Crondon Parkin Essex, home to the world�s longesthole - an 860 yard par six!Advice�Our advice is to look at alternatives tothe traditional lending channels,�offered Coysh. �You don�t have to gowith your existing bank, neither do weattach strings as to where your otherborrowings lie, so customers don�t haveto have all their eggs in one basket.�

FAF like to keep the entire processtowards securing a loan as straightfor-ward as possible. �We like to see 2-3years� accounts and obviously a busi-ness plan. The important thing is for aclub to develop a relationship with us sothat they understand what we canoffer.�

Which makes sense, because ifyou�re going in to such a strategicallyimportant relationship, you�d do well tounderstand who it is you�re ringing thechanges with.

�ALL FINANCE COMPANIES HAVE TO BE COMPETITIVE AND WE�RE ALL BUYING MONEY

AT THE SAME RATE, SO YOU SHOULDN�T FIND A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US.�


ELY

E Y

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I relyING”.

rely on me,customers

“My

Peter Broadbent,Head GreenkeeperEffingham Golf Club,Effingham, Surrey.

on

If you’re planning improvements to your business, you should talk to ING.

As one of the world’s major financial organisations, we have a major presence in the groundscare market enabling us to bring a flexible approach to funding new developments and equipment.

ING offer agreements with a range of flexible and innovative features:

Cash flow matched repayments including VAT

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Credit lines to support financial budgeting

For one of our national finance specialists to call on you.Call: 01932 359290

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Committed to your business

By Royal Appointment

CLUB INSIGHT


Without doubt absencemakes the heart growfonder. After a break of39 years, the Open

Championship returns to Royal Liverpoolin 2006. Already hotels are taking book-ings, and it is estimated that during theweek at least £50m will be spent.

There are confident expectationsthat the championship will attract atleast a quarter of a million people to theWirral with 40,000 visiting Hoylakeeach day. The average spend perperson will be a minimum of £300.

These are just some of the forecastsmade by the Borough of Wirral. Thecouncil statisticians say the vast influxof money will be spent on accommoda-tion, travel, souvenirs, gifts, meals andentertainment. It is impossible to esti-mate the amount, but the Wirral Pressand Public Relations office have had avery good try.

And they could well be short of themark. The Open Championship isbelieved to be the third largest event inthe world in terms of internationalmedia coverage.

Over 1,000 print journalists fromaround the globe use the press servicesupporting the championship and thisdoes not include the TV and radiocontributors. The value of such hugeexposure for an area with Wirral�s aimsis incalculable.

The decision of the Royal & Ancientto select Hoylake in three years time isvital to Wirral�s Economic RegenerationStrategy. This ten year programmeidentifies the peninsula�s coastline,sporting opportunities and heritage ascrucial assets with immense potential asa resource for tourism development.

Timing has been of the essence. Itis widely accepted that the venue whichhosts the championship in the yearfollowing a St Andrews Open gainsconsiderably as the interest generatedby the previous year�s flagship event isstill very high.

The younger breed of golfing fansmay not be that familiar with Hoylakeand the Wirral. It is an area six milesby nine and there sits a magnificentchampionship course that has hostedten Opens, the first in 1897. "

After considerable re-development and years of campaigning, Royal Liverpool has won itsplace back on the Royal and Ancient rota. John Vinicombe examines the historic club,which will once again host an Open Championship in 2006.


The local authority runs four cours-es on which 170,000 rounds wereplayed last year. With 20 miles ofcoastline the Wirral attracts visitors inits thousands.

The 457,713 who stayed locally in2001 spent £31.7m. Of that figure, over-seas visitors splashed out £7,007,285.The total tourism spend was £98.5m.And yet Hoylake itself is no beauty spot.As a spectacle of golfing architecturethere is nothing to go wild about... until itcomes down to card and pencil.

Few clubs in the British Isles aresteeped in as much history but since1967 when the last Open was stagedthere, Hoylake has lagged behind thetop venues.

In the years since the elegant andbeautifully mannered ArgentinianRoberto de Vicenzo pipped JackNicklaus by two strokes to lift thetrophy the demands of the Open interms of infrastructure, space and trafficmanagement ruled Royal Liverpool out.

Now, however, with plans in placeas a result of the three-way agreementsigned by the R&A, Royal Liverpooland Wirral Council, the Open is on theway back. One essential catalyst in thereturn was the purchase by the club often acres of land adjacent to the courseplus the commitment to build a newpractice ground close to Meols Drive onthe municipal course.

Peter Dawson, secretary of the R&Asaid: �Royal Liverpool is a club with along and distinguished history and weare delighted that we are now able tobring the Open back to this wonderfulcourse at Hoylake.

Many people have contributed to theagreements that underpin the decisionand it is right that Royal Liverpool,

which is justly regarded as one ofBritain�s outstanding links, will againbe put to the test by the world�s topgolfers.�

Already the R&A have taken all 47rooms at the Leasowe Castle hotel astheir headquarters and it won�t be longbefore all hotel accommodation andprivate houses near the course will havebeen snapped-up.

No wonder Steve Maddox, chiefexecutive of Wirral Council, isbubbling: �Both Wirral and Seftonboast some of the finest golf courses inthe world. Now we are also celebratingthe fact that we will have an annualMerseyside Festival of Golf in theregion.

Hopefully this festival will go someway to both enthusing local peoplemore about the sport and putting theregion on the map as a major interna-tional golfing tourist destination.�

Between now and 2007 the festival isexpected to generate an additional touristexpenditure of around £3.3m attracting43,000 tourist visits and encourage 8,600to stay overnight in local hotels. TheWirral has a total of 16 golf courses anddriving ranges, an extraordinary numberfor an area of its size.

The main attraction will see thenewly sanctioned English SeniorsOpen. It will be played for five yearsbased alternately at courses in Seftonand Wirral. It is when you learn of suchenterprise that the question has to beasked why all too often we Brits tend tohide our golfing lights under a bushel.

It wasn�t always so. Let�s turn thepages of history back to 1869 when anumber of exiled Scots met at the RoyalHotel, Hoylake and decided to constructa course on the warren where the race-

course of the Liverpool Hunt Club hadexisted since 1849.

Since amateur Harold Hilton becamethe first Open winner at Hoylake 106years ago some of the greatest names inthe game have triumphed there in a widerange of events. And a fair number werewitnessed by Bernard Darwin whosereputation as a golfing man of lettersplaced him in a class of his own.

He played Hoylake in the AmateurChampionship in 1898 and just beforethe Great War watched J.H. Taylor�sgreatest achievement in winning theOpen there in, �such wind and rain ashas seldom been seen.� As the yearspassed it was clear that Darwin fell inlove with the course.

�Give me Hoylake. It looks flat, open,dull, almost ugly, with its rectangular turfwalls and the houses stretching out furtherand further along its edges; but what a golfcourse! Its greatness inevitably growsupon us the better we know it.

�There is one hole there beyond allothers which illustrates this quality andthat is the seventh, always known as theDowie. Here is a little three-corneredgreen tucked under a turf wall, with an outof bounds cabbage field on the other side.

�In front of the green is a ratherscanty, straggling patch of rushes, andround the edge of the green runs theshallowest, most insignificant grassydip; and that, except for some newbunkers a little way to the right, is all.

�Yet this is a magnificent one-shothole, demanding the highest golfingqualities, whether of heart or head or oftechnical skill. The same may be saidof that wonderful first hole which atfirst sight may seem to consist only intacking round two sides of a field withnothing in the way.�

�ROYAL LIVERPOOL IS A CLUB WITH A LONG AND DISTINGUISHED HISTORY

AND WE ARE DELIGHTED THAT WE ARE NOW ABLE TO BRING THE OPEN BACK TO THIS

WONDERFUL COURSE AT HOYLAKE.�


Fact FileClub: Royal Liverpool Golf Club

Meols Drive, Hoylake,Merseyside L47 4ALEngland

Telephone: 0151 632 3101Facsimile: 0151 632 6737Email: [email protected]: www.royal-liverpool-golf.com

Secretary: Group Captain Christopher Moore CBELinks Manager: Derek Green

Course Info: 18-holesRed Course: Par 70, 7165 yards (Opened 1869)

Members: 810Green Fee: On Application

The great chronicler knew nothing,of course, about yardage charts or tech-nology that helps propel a ball vastdistances. He only just came to termswith steel shafts in the early 1930s andthen reluctantly.

But he had the eye and heart of agrand old golfer and put down on paperwhat he saw. �In some respectsHoylake is like St Andrews. It is essen-tially not the heroic golf of big moun-tains and spectacular carries.

No man has ever said Hoylake istoo short - the last five holes - the Field,the Lake, the Dun, the Royal, the Stand- make up the most strenuous andpunishing finish in all the world of golf.�This clear flat historic expanse ofHoylake blown upon by mighty winds,has been a breeder of mighty champi-ons.�

Who might prevail there in 2006?Of the 10 Hoylake winners, only twohave been Americans; Walter Hagen in1924 and Bobby Jones in his GrandSlam Year, 1930.

And what drama attended Jones�final round when, cruising to victory, hetook five strokes to get down from 20yards on the eighth and then had a sternbattle to win by two.

The next Hoylake champion, AlfPadgham had to commit burglary alongthe way. On the last day he had anearly tee-off time but had left his clubsin the professional�s shop overnight.

He found it locked and broke in beforegoing on to win his only Championship.

Hoylake has hosted more majorchampionships than anywhere except StAndrews and Prestwick. Peter Alliss,who played his first Open there in1947, knows it better than most. Thegreatest difficulty, he says, is distancejudging. Even with yardage chartsplayers have been know to ditherbetween a seven iron or three wood.

�On the first tee you are immediate-ly confronted with a typical Hoylakeproblem, the internal out of bounds andit is not too difficult to knock one offthe course at 17 of the holes,� he saysin his, Good Golf Course Guide.

�The practice ground is out ofbounds and threatens both your driveand second shot to this 428-yd hole. Ifyou should happen to hit your drive intoit, you may be comforted by thethought that one Victorian Open cham-pion, having done just that, said, �Mon,it�s like driving up a spout!��

Come July 20-23, 2006 the golfingworld will descend on Hoylake, the firsttimers among spectators a triflenonplussed at the sight of the Victorianclubhouse and wondering where thedanger lies on what seems a flat andseemingly uninteresting landscape.

By late afternoon on the Sundaythey will have had their answer andHoylake will, assuredly, have anothergreat champion.

�ON THE FIRST TEE YOU ARE IMMEDIATELY CONFRONTED

WITH A TYPICAL HOYLAKE PROBLEM, THE INTERNAL OUT OF

BOUNDS AND IT IS NOT TOO DIFFICULT TO KNOCK ONE OFF THE

COURSE AT 17 OF THE HOLES.�

All things Green


With the majority of theUK�s turf professionalsat BTME in January itcame as no surprise to

see many leading companies launchingnew products.

From cultivars to ride-on mowers,they were all introduced to the industryin Harrogate - and if you missed any ofthe launches, hopefully this round-upwill sate your appetite for all thingsturf.

Essex-based Headland AmenityProducts introduced its new Liquid TurfHardener - a sulphur-free formulation,high on calcium with added magnesium.

Nitrates produce a rapid uptake ofthe two elements, which in turn reducesstress on grass plants, increases strengthand enhances disease resistance.

Low application rates of up to 40litres per hectare mean cost-effectivetreatment, applied as and when required,regardless of season. When additionalnitrogen sources are added, applicationrates shrink to 20 litres per hectare in300 to 600 gallons of water.

Trials held throughout the winterindicated the product is excellent atmaintaining a strong, hard grass plantand aiding disease resistance.

Visitors may have been attracted tothe Johnsons stand because its occupantswere in full waiting regalia - completewith trays of champagne. But once theshock had worn off their attention wouldhave been taken by the company�s newcultivar Manor, Agrostis Tenuis.

The company claims it is a �top-class variety with an exceptional pedi-gree from the market-leading breedingcompany in Europe, DLF TrifoliumA/S�.

It offers a superb combination ofboth high-shoot density and tolerance toclose mowing, thus reducing weedinvasion.

And ideally for the golf industry:�Manor provides a true putting surfaceas well as attractive year-round dark-green colour.�

While many greenkeepers are interest-ed in keeping bugs away from their turf,Suffolk-based Terrain Aeration Serviceswas actually recommending them.

Using the company�s Airforcemachine, which penetrates to a depth ofone metre and employs compressed airto create underground fissures, TASwas extolling the virtues of its newservice which injects oil-digesting bugsinto contaminated soil.

Travelling at the end of the final airblast and carried by dried milledseaweed, the bugs - which need air tobreathe - rise upwards into the fissures,settle at different levels and begin todigest the problem.

As the machine moves on to a newsection, more bugs are spread on to thesurface of the original area. These bugsmigrate downwards through the newly-created fissures, towards those alreadyfeeding. And once the area is decontam-inated, the creatures die.

Director Lynda Green explained:�The service is economical and eco-friendly with no mess.

�At the moment the only alternative isthe dig-and-dump method which entailsusing a specially registered land-fill site.Even then, the turf manager is left with anunsightly hole in the ground.�

At a product briefing, specialist seedbreeders Barenbrug UK advocated aradical re-think in the use of perennialryegrass.

Astonishingly fine-leafed varieties,purpose-bred after years of researchmean perennial ryegrass can now be usedin fine turf situations in addition to thetraditional role as the main component ofmixtures for winter games pitches. "

Fresh from his annual jaunt to Harrogate, David Bowers (pictured) investigates what�snew for 2003 within the fine turf sector. His discoveries include some oil-digesting bugsfor use on contaminated soil, and a radically new perennial rye-grass.

WHILE MANY GREENKEEPERS ARE INTERESTED IN KEEPING BUGS AWAY FROM THEIR TURF,

SUFFOLK-BASED TERRAIN AERATION SERVICES WAS ACTUALLY RECOMMENDING THEM.

The Jacobsen LF-1880 is the lightest 5-gang fairway mower on the market, weighing in at under a tonne. Patented, articulating 46cm (18") reels precisely follow ground contours delivering a smooth, uniform finish on undulating fairways, approaches and surrounds.Call today on + 44 (0)1473 270000 to find out about the Jacobsen LF-1880, LF-3400, LF-3800 and LF-4677.

Greens mower precision with fairway mowerproductivity: the NEW Jacobsen LF-1880

www.ransomesjacobsen.comCentral Avenue, Ransomes Europark, Ipswich IP3 9QG England. Tel: +44 (0)1473 270000 Fax: +44 (0)1473 276300


Cultivars like the new Bargold andBareine perennial ryegrasses are unliketheir older counterparts, in that they arefine-leafed and tolerant of mowingdown as low as 5mm.

The company insists the new culti-vars establish well with other finespecies like fescues and bents to give auniform, aesthetically-pleasing sward,with a true playing surface.

Northern sales manager JayneLeyland explained: �Their fast estab-lishment and resistance to invasionfrom annual meadow grass allows earlyor late overseeding to take place, there-by extending the �renovation window�.

�Their high-wear tolerance increas-es usage potential and maximisesrevenue.�RondoSurrey-based Charterhouse TurfMachinery introduced the Rondo utilityunit as an all-round workhorse forgroundstaff wanting to stay at the fore-front of technology and health and safe-ty requirements.

Made by the Italian companyAntonio Carraro, the slim 1m-wideRondo can accept dedicated implementsfor rotary mowing with grass collection,sweeping, gritting, snow clearance andlitter gathering.

Permanent four-wheel drive andhigh ground clearance allow it to tacklerough terrain and obstacles like kerbs,while an articulating body means therear wheels follow the path of the front.

Power comes from a 22hp or 30hpYanmar diesel engine designed for lownoise levels and emissions.

Charterhouse also showcased their�mower for all seasons� - the newBunton walk-behind rotary mower.

Made in the USA by Bunton, anddistributed in the UK by Charterhouse,the machine features a rugged design tocope with the intensive and roughhandling typical of general everyday use.

Lastec was delighted to announcethat Blairgowrie GC course managerAlan Holmes has taken delivery of hissecond Articulator in four years.

The club, situated approx 50 milesnorth of Edinburgh at the foot of GlenShee - known for its ski resort - hasthree courses: Rosemount (18 holes);Lansdowne (18 holes); and The WeeCourse (nine holes).

�We are on a glacial deposit of grav-el and stones with only four or fiveinches of topsoil,� explained Holmes.�The club is over 100 years old, andoriginally hosted Rosemount and TheWee Course, both of which would havebeen cut from the heathland and pineforest mostly by hand.

�As a consequence, these two cours-es have very acute undulations on thefairways and semi-rough, but any largescale smoothing out would meanimporting topsoil from elsewhere, andthreatening the unique character of thisheathland environment.

�We only undertake minor renova-tions, and in each case are careful tobackfill with identical material fromelsewhere on the course and use amatching rootzone.�

He added: �We found the Articulatorcould cut at a height of one and threequarter inches without scalping.

�One machine can deal with thesemi-rough on all our courses, and thearticulators work comfortably with our35 hp. tractor. Nothing else could givequite the quality of cut and performance.�

Campey Turf Care Systems, fromMacclesfield, officially launched itsnew Koro deep verti-cutting rotorattachment, offering the opportunity tocombat thatch problems mechanicallyrather than chemically.

Fitting on to the Koro FieldTopmaker instead of the standard rotaryblades, the attachment cuts through andremoves fibrous thatch, encouragingwater, air and nutrient permeation.

It also deals with troublesome later-al grass growth that can lead to weak,shallow-rooting turf.

The company also revealed a usefulally in materials handling - the heavy-duty Super Scub Hydra motorisedtipping wheelbarrow.DrivePowered by a 6.5hp Honda petrolengine, the machine features hydrostaticdrive for easy control of speed. Itsinherent strength renders it suitable forthe carrying of excavator buckets,concrete, store, hard-core, soil and sand,with a maximum laden carrying weightof 750kg.

Hayter was promoting its Harrier 56and stressing its ability to cope withlong grass while still leaving a finish asgood as a cylinder mower.

Used mainly by commercialcustomers from grounds maintenanceorganisations, the Harrier is now usedincreasingly for the maintenance of teesas well as other areas around the course.

With a 56 cm width of cut, the abili-ty to cut as low as 13mm and height ofcut adjustment without the need fortools, the Harrier can maintain a widevariety of areas around the course.

The split rear roller allows theHarrier to be used easily in the mostconfined areas and will also stripe theturf if required. Being a rotary, divotspresent no problem to the machine.IdealA spokesman for the company said:�The Hayter Harrier 56 is the idealmachine for any golf course requiring amachine that is capable of cutting awide variety of areas yet still leavingthe grass to the high standards demand-ed by golf club members.�

One of the most eagerly-awaitedlaunches was the new fungicide fromthe Scotts Company and a large crowdwas drawn in by promises of a reversalof pesticide withdrawal trends.


The classic Hayter Harrier 56 roller rotary mower is capableof picking up tees and divots quickly and effortlessly. Thesplit ribbed roller with a differential aids manoeuvrabilityaround the tee, and gives the traditional striped finish.

No tools are needed to adjust the height of cut, which cango as low as 13mm (1/2”) giving you total control over eachtee. Built in front fins on the deck noticeably improve thecutting quality and collection ability and the large capacitygrassbag is easy to remove and fit.

The Harrier 56 can be used all year round and will minimisecompaction of tees particularly during the winter months.

So versatile, the Harrier 56 can be used in so manyareas around the club, you’ll wonder how you managedwithout one.

For more information, call 01279 723444, [email protected] or visit our website: www.hayter.co.uk.

Sorts divots, tees, cuts and stripes in one go

The Hayter Harrier 56 is a quick, yet precise, solution to your tee problems.

Heritage, which contains a newactive ingredient to offer �unparalleledcontrol of fusarium disease�, belongstop a new class of highly-effective,environmentally-sound fungicidesdeveloped from naturally-occurringchemicals found in saprophytic wood-land fungi.

In UK development trials, and incommercial use throughout the USA,Canada and Japan, the product hasproved superior to other available treat-ments on every level.

Heritage disrupts the mitochondrialrespiration of target fungi and preventsthe pathogen from transferring energy,leading to the death of the fungal cells.

It is then absorbed through the leafblade, crown, root and stem, beforemoving throughout the plant, via thexylem vessels, to providing totalprotection.AdvocateOne advocate of the new product washead greenkeeper, Chris Kennedy ofWentworth.

He said: �We were one of the firstUK courses to try out Heritage duringthe development process and we agreewholeheartedly with the Scotts team -Heritage is a superb fungicide.

�We will certainly be using it as ourprimary protection against fusariumfrom now on.�

�WE WERE ONE OF THE FIRST UK COURSES TO TRY OUT HERITAGE

DURING THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AND WE AGREE

WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITH THE SCOTTS TEAM -

HERITAGE IS A SUPERB FUNGICIDE.�


TURF GROWERS AND INNOVATORS OF TURFGRASS SYSTEMS

Everything Inturf

INTURF The Chestnuts, Wilberfoss, York YO4 5NTTelephone 01759 321000 � Facsimile: 01759 380130E-mail: [email protected] � Web page: www.inturf.co.uk

PARTS& EQUIPMENT

IRRIGATION& DRAINAGE

SUPPLIES

TURF SUPPLIES& ACCESSORIES

9960 Indiana Avenue, Suite 12Riverside, California 92503 USA

Phone 001 (909) 343-2100 Fax 001 (909) 343-2110Visit us at www.agripacific.com

Golf & Turf Maintenance ProductsWholesale Distributor for Export

Supplying golfcourses and contractorsworldwide.

We’re handlingshipments as smallas one box of partsto complete irrigationpackages, with manyfinance options available.

Almost 100 years of experience ingrass. Annual production of over80,000 tons of seed, grown in 25carefully chosen countries. Sold throughan efficient marketing organization,spread across the world. Our ownbreeding stations in various climatezones on 5 continents. A staff of 550dedicated people, satisfying demandingclients in almost 100 countries all overthe world. Proud of these figures? Of course we are. But far moreimportant we believe, is how webecame so successful.The answer to that is Quality. The Quality of our bredvarieties, our seeds, our packaging, our service, our people.

So, if you want the best seed under thesun, call 01359 272000 and we willbe pleased to advise you.

THE BEST SEED UNDER THE SUNTHE BEST SEED UNDER THE SUNBarenbrug UK Ltd., 33 Perkins Road,Rougham Industrial Estate, Bury St.Edmunds, Suffolk IP30 9NDTel:01359 272000 Fax:01359 272001E-mail:[email protected] www.barenbrug.co.uk

In October 2002, the English GolfUnion estimated that there were40,000 spare membership places ingolf clubs throughout the UK.

Reasons were varied, but possiblythe most significant cause being that intoday�s busy society, many golferssimply don�t have the time to playenough golf to justify expenditure onthe annual membership and entrancefees required to join a club.

Executive Membership is an innova-tive scheme with an accompanying soft-ware package that allows golf clubs tooffer potential and existing members amore flexible and low cost approach tomembership without weakening thecashflow of the club.

When a member joins a club, optingto purchase an Executive Membership,they buy a number of �units� whichgives them limited use of the course.

For example, a round of golf on aSaturday morning may cost ten units,while during the week it may cost fourunits. Points are available in varying sizebundles, with a sliding scale discountensuring that the more a member purchas-es, the more points per pound they receive.

Members have the option to buyadditional units throughout the year ifthey want to play regularly. This entitlesthem to full playing privileges and ahandicap at the club and offers greatervalue for money as unused units can beredeemed for guest play or carried overto the following membership year.

The club retains financial control bysetting the price per unit and the mini-mum number of units purchased peryear, as well as the number of pointsredeemed per round of golf.

The Executive Membership schemeremoves the need for golfers to payupfront annual subscriptions, only to endup playing a handful of rounds per yearand subsequently questioning whether tostay a member of a club or to resign. Likeany business, retaining customers costsless than gaining new ones, and this prin-ciple is at the heart of the scheme.

With differing levels of affordabilityand different social pressures across thebroad spread of members within anyclub, Executive Membership enables aclub to spread its tee-time demandacross the week.

Peaks and troughs in demand arelevelled-out as the more price sensitivemembers chose to play at times of daythat afford them best value for moneyfrom their points balance.

Members obtain greater value formoney from their membership, promptingthem to more easily justify their expendi-ture and retain their membership on alonger-term basis, regardless of how muchor how little golf they play annually.

Perhaps the days of having vacancieswithin a golf club�s membership cannow be put behind us, with the ExecutiveMembership scheme holding the key tofull membership lists and long termcustom.

Executive Membership is managedby a software package which controlsthe purchase and redemption ofmembers� point balances. The schemerevolves around a membership cardwhich all members use to check-in atthe club prior to their round of golf.

The software and the scheme areinclusive, and provide club manage-ment with powerful reports of courseutilisation, points redemption patterns,financial performance and the like.

Case StudiesHemsted Forest GC in Kent has beenacting as a pioneer for the scheme withgreat success; it now boasts a member-ship of over 1,700 with capacity for afurther 300 members

Rye Hill GC is averaging 22 newmembers per month, and Golf de Ganayin France has been overwhelmed by theschemes success.


Firm Focus

COMPANY PROFILE

Executive Membership;The Future of Golf Club Membership

Cobalt ConceptsWimpole House, London Road, Sunningdale SL5 0DP

Tel: 01344 870067Fax: 01344 872312www.cobaltconcepts.com

The Hired Linguist

INTERVIEW


People have told me I shouldwrite a book,� smiled GlynnPatrick, when asked if hehad any funny stories from

his globetrotting career.And if the two he told are any gauge

of the merit of such a project, publish-ers should be queuing up with theirchequebooks in the near future.

What would also come over in abook of Patrick�s life is his warmth,amiability and an ability to succeed.AbilityThe latter is certainly engendered by hisability to ensure customers receive thebest possible service from his company- whichever company it is he is workingfor.

Glynn Patrick, 56, is now generalmanager (UK) of Mox. Just a fewmonths ago he was sales and marketingdirector for Ipswich-based Textron.

�We parted on good terms� heinsisted, when asked about his unex-pected departure.

He evidently did not want to talkabout the reasons for his sudden deci-sion to leave the Suffolk company, andwhatever the reasons for his departure,to his credit they remain a closelyguarded secret.

Within a few weeks, Mox came call-ing and Patrick was only too delightedto hitch his wagon to the expanding

contract hire company. And the topbrass at Mox knew they had landed oneof the industry�s biggest fish.

Patrick has been involved in theindustry with Textron for the best partof a decade, coming from Masseywhere he had been employed aroundthe world for more than 25 years.

At Jacobsen he helped set up theEuropean operation and having left herejoined Textron two years ago. �I cameback to sort out the European situationagain,� he explained. �I will be workingwith Textron again in the future. Thewhole Mox concept is to work with allleading brands to offer finance for theirequipment.�

A father of three grown-up children,Patrick made good use of his timebetween jobs.

He was working on his 91-year-oldmother�s farm in Lincoln - where hehimself was brought up - and has over-seen conversion of some outbuildingsinto living accommodation to ease hermobility. Busy�She�s on her own and has refused toleave. She never wanted to go anywhereelse, so I converted some of the barnsinto single-level accommodation. That�skept me more than busy,� he smiled.

Mind you, he hasn�t yet sold her abuggy to aid her movement around thefarm�s land.

Fittingly for a man whose businessacumen is now employed largely in thegolf industry, Patrick enjoys a round inhis spare time - when he has some.

�My handicap has gone from a goodlow handicap to high teens which provesI�m not playing enough. When I was atMassey we always said if anybodyjoined the company with a single-figurehandicap we�d fire them on the basisthey weren�t working hard enough.

�I also engage in sports in the winterwhich are probably politically notacceptable any more. I shoot and bringlots of pheasants out of the sky. I�m in asmall syndicate in Suffolk within thefarming community.

�But I look forward to getting thisthing running well and maybe helpingwith the European side at a later date.While I�m in the UK I�m not usingmost of my languages.�

Patrick is almost too modest to admitto fluently speaking French, Spanish,German and �some Italian�. He is a manwho is comfortable and confident in hisbusiness. His expertise with languagescomes from reading German, Frenchand Economics at Surrey University.

�I came out of university not know-ing what I wanted to do. I was a farmboy in London so I did a post-gradqualification in engineering. And then Ijoined Massey to work on sugar-caneharvesters - and toured the world.

Not so long ago, Glynn Patrick was one of the main movers and shakers at Ipswich-basedTextron. Fluent in four languages, the 56-year-old is now general manager of Mox UK.David Bowers shared a cup of coffee with the story-telling charmer at Harrogate recently.

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�In the 70s I filled two of thosefamous 70-page passports,� he addedwith what was fast becoming a trade-mark, self-effacing smile. He has settleddown in the UK again after living -during his time with Massey andTextron - in 12 different countries.

Now, in his new position at Mox, hewill be settling in the slightly lesscosmopolitan surroundings of North-ampton. And he is firmly aware of whathe wants to bring to the business.

He said: �I have a brief to help withoverall supplier relationships and assist-ing the French head office in that area.And also in the strategic direction ofwhat we want to do and where we wantto do it - the geographical coverage,maybe even the product range and thetype of finance.

�The main area we concentrate on islong-term contract hire and our mainarea of expertise is in golf buggies.Across Europe there are more than10,000 owned by Mox.

�We will take the same multi-brandconcept into turf equipment and workwith the appointed dealers of the differ-ent brands and we provide, throughthem, the contract-hire service to indi-vidual course, multi-course owners orlocal authorities.

�The market has been prostituted ina way, but I would say that it is becausepeople haven�t offered a good service totheir customers and have had tocompensate by dropping their price.Demand�I genuinely believe that there is astrong demand in the market for highquality, comprehensive services from acontract hire company.

�What has spurred the golf marketin the UK is mobility and allowingaccess to courses for people who cannotwalk the whole layout. That haspersuaded lots of courses they shouldhave buggies on course and then theyrealise it�s a means to increasingrevenue.�

It hasn�t taken Patrick long to get upto scratch with Mox, but he also knowswhat he can bring to the table.

�When I was at Jacobsen EZGO Iwas the person who brought Mox - orSEPS as they were then - and EZGOtogether. That relationship has devel-oped and Mox is by far EZGO�s biggestcustomer in Europe.

�I want to make sure all our servicesare co-ordinated and focussed on thosewho use our equipment. The customeris still right. He pays the bills at the endof the day.�


Portfolio

01473 270000

Closer to home for BartramIpswich GC has signed an exclusivefive-year agreement with Bartram

Mowers, which will see the Ipswich-based dealers supply the club with arange of Ransomes Jacobsen equip-

ment. Club secretary Neill Ellicesaid: “The quality of the equipmentcoupled with value for money, were

among the main reasons that weturned to Bartram Mowers.”

020 8341 6767

Disability no BarrierA revolutionary new portable ramp-ing system has just been launched

offering an economically priced andhighly versatile solution to a great

many problems. Roll-a-Ramp enablesquick, comfortable and safe entry

for clientele with mobility problemswho may previously not have beenable to participate in a wide range

of leisure and sporting pursuits.

01279 723444

Hayter Dealer AwardsAt the annual dealer dinner heldduring BTME, Hayter awarded the

prestigious Top Professional DealerAward to Jon and Ben Morgan (right)

of Keith Morgan Mowers. TheOutstanding Dealer of the Year Awardwent to Mitchell Industries, while the

Special Achievement Award went toTrevor Howard and Mick Livingston of

Gibson’s Garden Machinery.

01480 226800

Celtic Manor prepareCeltic Manor has signed a unique

Toro deal to provide course machin-ery equipment on a rolling replace-

ment programme until 2010, when itwill host the Ryder Cup. Valued at

over £200,000, the kit includesToro’s innovative Flex 21 greensmow-

ers, Groundmaster 4000-D roughmowers, Workman utility vehiclesand Reelmaster 3100-D mowers.

0161 339 9000

Mono swings it at BurhillMono Pumps has installed two

Murtrator pumping systems at BurhillGC, which are efficiently and effec-tively disposing of raw sewage from

the club’s facilities. The contractincluded the removal of all the exisit-

ing equipment and installation oftwo new Mutrator systems, togetherwith all necessary pipework, valves

and wall mounted control panels.

01939 200611

In the swing with Tri-GolfHawkstone Park in Shropshire is

backing the PGA and GolfFoundation’s Tri-Golf initiative and

encouraging youngsters in its regionto swap their pencils and rulers for

golf clubs. Traditionally not a schoolsports, the programme aims to intro-duce primary school children to the

long-term health and social benefitsof golf at an early age.

01797 320636

Versatile or What?DED has launched the high-speed

Star SP500 printer that prints at upto 7.5 lines per second - more than

15% faster than its nearestcompetitor. Ideal for ticketing appli-

cations, its splashproof designprotects the unit against accidents

associated with many hospitalityenvironments, as do the protective

covers for power supplies.

01480 226800

Toro look NorthChester-le-Street Golf Club, has

entered into a five-year agreementwith Toro for turf maintenance

equipment. As part of the deal, theclub has taken delivery of five new

mowers including two Greensmaster3250-D ride-ons, a Reelmaster

6500-D for fairways, a Reelmaster4000-D rough-cutter and a

Reelmaster 2300-D for tees.

Count on it.

© 2

003

The

Toro

Com

pany

From the front nine to the backyard,you can count on us.

With over 88 years of experience, Toro is the most trusted supplier of turfequipment and irrigation systems to golf courses, parks and individual lawnsaround the world. Our commitment to providing innovative, high qualityproducts and systems to help grow and maintain turf is legendary. We careabout preserving the tradition of golf. We also care about providing the rightsolution to you. Make Toro the preferred name at your home today.

www.toro.com

RENT AND WIN

we will stop renting.THE DAY GRASS STOPS GROWING,

MOX UK - Member of LeasePlan Group - Tel : 0870 1646 004 - Fax : 0870 1646 009

Do you need quality turf and grounds care equipment? With long-termcontract hire there is no initial investment and your equipment isinsured and kept in perfect condition. You can also benefit from ourFull Maintenance Service option. Go to the European leader: click onwwwwww..mmooxx-iinntt..ccoomm

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