By the end of 2008, Aldwickbury Park Golf Club, situated at Harpenden in 170 acres of Hertfordshire parkland, had witnessed an impressive 55 per cent rise in membership following the acquisition by Burhill Golf and Leisure Ltd in 2006. This trend has continued into 2009 with over 140 new members; bring the total at the club to 820. According to course manager Stuart Langhorn the condition of the course is one of the major factors for this surge in membership.

“We pride ourselves on being the most welcoming club in Harpenden with excellent facilities to accommodate players of all abilities,” he says. “We have the challenging 18-hole Park course, the delightful 9-hole Manor course and good practice facilities, but the overwhelming reason why we are seeing growth in membership is the investment by Burhill, which has resulted in the course condition improving year on year. Even in today’s harsh economic climate we are still attracting new members.”

Stuart has been at the club for four years, having previously worked at Woburn Golf Club for six years and prior to that at Wimbledon for the Lawn Tennis Association. He has a team of six greenkeepers, so in order to manage 27-holes successfully he needs excellent equipment and a responsive and professional service from his local dealer.

During his time at the club he has worked closely with the Benington branch of Ernest Doe and Sons Ltd, who are main dealers for Ransomes Jacobsen, the Ipswich-based turf equipment manufacturer.

“I’ve been running a Jacobsen Tri-King tees mower, an AR250 rotary mower, a Cushman Turf-Truckster and a Turfco SP1530 top dresser for some time now, all purchased from Does,” he added. “We needed to upgrade our ageing tractor with something in the 50 hp range, with the power and lift capacity to handle our Wiedenmann deep aerator, Lewis trencher and large Rotomech rotary mowing deck. Does demonstrated their Iseki TG5470 and it proved to be ideal for our requirements with plenty of power for all the attachments.

“Steve Bush and his team at Benington have been really helpful during my time here and we have a very good working relationship. Long may it continue.”

www.ransomesjacobsen.com