Kerry Jones, Golf Facilities Manager at Garnant Park Golf Club, is delighted with his Jacobsen HR5111 batwing rotary mower purchased from RANSOMES JACOBSEN, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company. In his opinion “it has, without doubt, the best climbing ability and massive output of any rotary mower.”

Kerry has been at Garnant Park since 1995, when he joined the club during the initial growing in period. It opened in 1997 and to date has almost 400 members and is visited by numerous societies. Set in 120 acres of rolling countryside overlooking the Brecon Beacons National Park, the 18-hole, 6575 yard course is quite hilly in places and this is where the Jacobsen HR 5111 comes into its own.

“We previously used a Jacobsen HR 4600, which was excellent at following the contours and undulations,” he added, “but it couldn’t cope with the demands here at Garnant Park. We are one huge grass factory and this is where the 5111 really scores. Not only does it follow the contours, its output is prodigious. Traction is excellent and it will climb anywhere. To maintain all the semi-rough areas used to take three days, but we have reduced that by half with the 5111. It really is a superb mower.”

As Golf Facilities Manager, Kerry is not just responsible for the five members of the greenkeeping team; he also has overall responsibility for the complete operation of the Carmarthenshire Council operated club. This extends to further 14 staff in areas such as catering, the Pro Shop and administration.

“80% of new members here are new golfers and our aim is to provide them with the best possible experience to ensure that they stay with us,” he concluded. “We were voted Best New Course in Wales in 2004, an accolade we were delighted to win and many comments on golfing websites are very complimentary about our greens and the overall condition of the course. We can only achieve this with dedicated staff, good course maintenance equipment and first-class after-sales support, which we get from the Ransomes Jacobsen organisation.”

Ransomes Jacobsen is a subsidiary of Textron Inc., an $11 billion multi-industry company operating in 32 countries with approximately 40,000 employees. The company leverages its global network of aircraft, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, Fluid & Power, Textron Systems and Textron Financial Corporation. More information is available at www.textron.com.