AusLeisure

A long and productive relationship between Toro Australia and Melbourne’s Eastern Golf Club (EGC) has been a critical component in the development of the Club’s impressive new course in the Yarra Valley, designed by Greg Norman.

Toro Australia has been working with the club since the project’s inception to supply and service a full range of turf care and irrigation equipment, including the myTurf® fleet management system and the Toro® Lynx® Central Control system backed by Toro’s National Support Network (NSN).

Staged development of the 27-hole course and 9-hole par-three course is continuing, with 18 holes opened in July 2015.

The new course has been designed to capture the stunning Yarra Valley views and will be one of the top-ranked courses in Australia. It will also feature a new clubhouse, conference facilities, boutique accommodation in the Yering Gorge cottages, a golf teaching academy and other attractions.

In addition to its supply and service role, Toro Australia is a corporate partner of the new course, enabling the company to utilise the facilities for conferences and accommodation.

Eastern Golf Club General Manager Ben Telley said the partnership with Toro Australia had been a major factor in the development of the new club.

Telley stated “Toro has a very personal approach, and we have developed a strong relationship with them.

“At our previous course at Doncaster, we used a variety of product brands for course irrigation and equipment.

"This is the first time we have had a full suite of products and services from the one company, which has proved to be a successful approach for us,” Telley said.

“The connectivity between equipment and technology through the use of myTurf is critical for maintenance and fleet management to ensure peak productivity and return on the significant investment we have made.”

Turf equipment representative Michael Licht of Toro Australia added the supply of equipment to the EGC includes, to date, 11 specialist mowers from the Groundsmaster®, Greensmaster® and Reelmaster® ranges, two sprayer units, nine utility vehicles, a tow-behind spreading unit, and even grinding machines for the club’s workshop, as well as the myTurf fleet management system.

Licht stated "we are taking a phased approach to this project, as we supplied the club with ‘grow-in’ pre-used equipment for the early development of the course that we have gradually replaced with new equipment as the turf and course grows and develops.

“MyTurf allows the club superintendent and technician to accurately monitor their equipment fleet. The technology updates hours of use automatically for each piece of equipment as it enters and leaves the maintenance facility, alerting the technician when servicing is due and providing online access to manuals, reminders, support and the ability to order parts online.”

Toro Australia also supplied EGC with Foley grinding equipment to maintain the fleet of cylinder mowers, by keeping the cutting units sharp and returning them to manufacturer’s specifications for optimum performance. The company has a distribution arrangement with Foley, which is a market leader in this area.

Licht also stated "it has been extremely rewarding to have worked with the superintendent, Clayton Howell, and the club at their original location in Doncaster, through the concept and development stages for the new course and its construction.

Toro Australia Irrigation Regional Manager, Chris Linklater-Williams, had been working with EGC on the new course for about a year prior to installing the Lynx Central Control System with a Toro GDC decoder system and more than 2,500 Toro® Flex800™ Series Sprinklers (formerly known as 835S and 855S sprinklers).

He concluded "we will continue working with the club over the next six months to provide comprehensive support.

“It’s in keeping with our long-term approach to customer support, which continues for years after the installation is completed.

Turf equipment supplied by Toro Australia at the Eastern Golf Club:

• myTurf® Fleet Management System
• Toro® Multi Pro® 5800 Sprayer x 2 units
• Toro® Reelmaster® 5510 Fairway Mower x 2 units
• Toro® Groundsmaster® 4700 Wide Area Mower x 2 units
• Toro® Greensmaster® Flex 2100 Pedestrian Greensmowers x 5 units
• Toro® Greensmaster® 3400 Triflex x 2 units
• Toro® Workman® MDX Mid Duty utility vehicle x 6 units
• Toro® Workman® HDX Heavy Duty utility vehicle x 3 units
• Toro® MH400 Material Handler (large tow-behind spreading unit)
• Foley 652 cylinder grinding machine
• Foley 672 bedknife grinder

Irrigation equipment supplied by Toro Australia:

• Lynx® Central Control – GDC Decoder
• Flex800™ (835 Series) sprinklers x 1700 units
• Flex800™ (855 Series) sprinklers x 1000 units
• Turf Guard

Click here to contact Toro Australia via their entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory.

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