Successful partnership leads to second agreement plan
Having been at Edgbaston Golf Club for 31 years, course manager Eddie Mills knows more than anyone what’s best for the club, which is why he recently signed a second five-year agreement plan with Toro.
Just one mile from the centre of Birmingham, the course provides golfers with 144 acres of stunning parkland, including a lake and woodland nature reserve, so keeping the maintenance up to a high level is no easy feat.
“I’ll have been at the club for 32 years this August and course manager since 2007, so I know the course pretty well to say the least,” says Eddie. “Before we signed our first agreement, we had a real mix of things in the shed, but we always preferred Toro.”
Despite seeing early on the clear benefits of Toro, the club needed to wait for the right circumstances in order to sign an agreement deal. But it was only a matter of time, says Eddie.
“Since our first agreement we’ve had a great relationship with Jon Lewis at Reesink Turfcare and our back up service provider, Redtech Machinery. With the first agreement we saw a real improvement to the course, and I predict we’ll experience the same outcome with the updated fleet.”
The club’s comprehensive fleet is a mix of like for like renewals and some new additions, including three Greensmaster TriFlex 3420 mowers, one of which is set up for surrounds and approaches with universal groomers. Plus, three GR1600 hand mowers, a Reelmaster 3575-D fairway mower with groomer brushes, Groundsmaster 4000-D, Groundsmaster 3500, Reelmaster 3100 Sidewinder, Groundsmaster 7210 zero turn rotary mower, Multi Pro 5800-D sprayer and a new TYM T654 tractor to boot.
“We are constantly trying to improve the club and the course,” says Eddie. “So maintaining and updating the fleet on a regular basis is really important.
“I particularly like the Reelmaster 3100-D Sidewinder, it’s compact, really economical fuel wise and leaves an excellent finish. The new TYM T654 we have is another of our favourites, it’s versatile, robust and really comfortable to use.”
With the club’s 125th anniversary coming up in a couple of years, there are big plans in the works for the future, and it’s likely Toro will be a part of that.
“Now that we’re close to reaching such a milestone anniversary, we’re starting to look at what the next 125 years will look like for the club,” Eddie concludes. “If Toro continues to deliver on performance and price, that partnership has the potential to continue as we take that next step for the future of the club.”
