Jacobsen turf maintenance equipment saves hours at Forrest Park Resort
Delivered by Ransomes Jacobsen's Scottish dealer, Fairways GM, earlier this season as part of a turf maintenance machinery and golf car package, the Jacobsen LF3800 light fairway mowers is saving hours of greenkeeping time at Forrester Park Resort near Dunfermline.
The family owned resort, set in 128 acres on free draining soil, is administered on a daily basis by Managing Director Bobby Forrester and his son, Robert, the General Manager. Chris McLeod is Head Greenkeeper at the 18-hole parkland course, which opened in July 2001 and boasts a 20-bay driving range, of which 16 are under cover.
"The spring loaded cutting units of the 3800 follow the ground undulations precisely and it has the power and traction to cope with the hills around the course, unlike our previous machine," said Chris. "The comfort is excellent, you can sit on it all day long and the overall design is very good. Access to the engine has been well thought out making routine checks and maintenance very easy. It's economical to run and we cross cut to improve presentation.
"Where it really scores is productivity. We are saving 5½ hours every time we cut the fairways, so we're saving at least 11 hours per week, which we can certainly put to good use around the course."
Commenting on the remainder of the package, Bobby Forrester said,"We've also invested in a new Turfco trailed top dresser, a Jacobsen G-Plex III greens mower and a fleet of the new E-Z-GO RXV golf cars. Chris and his team have adopted the 'little and often' approach to top dressing and this WideSpin 1530 is ideally suited to this regime as it will handle both wet and dry dressings with ease. Again we've seen productivity improvements; we've reduced the time it takes to top dress all the greens, from 10 hours to just four.
"We are extremely proud of our free draining course, which means the only reason we ever close is for frost, otherwise we're open 365 days a year. Our greens are all built to USGA specification and the undulations make putting a challenge. The new Jacobsen G-Plex III follows the contours, giving an even cut and improved ball roll. Adjustments are easy and the swing-out centre unit is a great bonus when working on the rear cylinder."
General Manager Robert Forrester concluded saying, "Our offering here at Forrester Park is not solely focused on golf. We offer fine dining in our two restaurants - the Acanthus and Blue Room; wedding packages and also conference facilities. As we grow, we'll add other resort facilities with the aim of being the premier resort in the east of Scotland."