BATTERY POWER FOR OPEN

PICTURED ABOVE L-R: Mike Turnbull, Reesink Turfcare; James Bledge, Royal Liverpool Golf Club; Jon Cole, Reesink Turfcare and Steve Halley, Cheshire Turf Machinery

The Open returns to Royal Liverpool Golf Club for the 13th time in July and helping prepare the course is a raft of battery powered Toro turfcare machinery.

Machinery dealer Cheshire Turf Machinery who has worked with Royal Liverpool for over 20 years and Toro’s UK distributor Reesink Turfcare will be providing extensive championship support and a fleet of machines for the duration of the event.  

Steve Halley, managing director of Cheshire Turf Machinery, said, “It really has been striking how enthusiastic and excited links manager James Bledge  and his team are about staging The Open. We are delighted to support their efforts to make the event as successful as possible.”

While most of the machinery fleet at the links at Hoylake on the west coast of England is Toro, on the greens, tees and surrounds will be the Toro eFlex 1021 lithium-ion battery-powered pedestrian greensmowers and Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 all-electric ride-on greensmowers.

Links manager James Bledge explained, “We have a new par 3 which will be the biggest change since The Open was last hosted here - it is a very short but challenging hole with stunning views of the estuary and Wales. What hasn’t changed is the club’s commitment to sustainable course management in that we’re always looking for the best carbon-neutral options. And when you find a pedestrian greensmower that provides this level of precision and quality, powered by a battery, you don’t look anywhere else.

“The weather will dictate the greens speed for the week and the work we have done in the last year will ensure we have more control over this. For us that’s six teams of two out doing single and double cuts with the eFlex 1021 pedestrian mowers.”

James continued, “The greenkeepers are the heroes here. They’re the ones out there putting in the hours and miles; they are an extremely talented team.” 

“I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this. Creating the most diverse volunteer team handpicked from all the best places, bringing together someone from every championship venue, having mentors from across the world to turn to and having the best brands and businesses to work with has been rewarding and will be an incredible opportunity for everyone involved. It’s great to see everyone come together with the common goal to put on the best event possible.”

Jon Cole, divisional business manager at Reesink Turfcare, added, “It’s a privilege to be a part of The 151st Open and supporting the team at Royal Liverpool throughout the Championship again. We have worked with at least 30 of the 40 host venues of The Open that have taken place in our 40 years as Toro distributor and to be involved is always an honour.”