|
|
|
|
|
|  |
John Deere at Druids Glen
Druids Glen in Co Wicklow is often referred to as ‘The Augusta of Europe’. The flora and fauna of the Glen provide a colourful backdrop to one of the most prestigious parkland golf courses in Ireland, while the forests and streams produce a haven for wildlife. The championship course hosted four consecutive Irish Opens from 1996 to 1999 – the last of which saw Sergio Garcia win his first professional trophy – as well as the Seve Trophy in 2002.
When the course opened in 1995, it was maintained by a fleet of John Deere equipment, specified by then course superintendent John O’Sullivan. John rejoined the club in May last year, having run his own golf course consultancy business for 12 years, and he has recently overseen the introduction of a complete new range of John Deere course maintenance equipment, bought from local dealer Dublin Grass Machinery at Castleknock.
The fleet being used by John and his greenkeeping staff of 20 now includes four 3235C fairway mowers with fairway tender conditioners, fourteen 220C and 260C walk-behind greens mowers, a Pro Gator heavy duty utility vehicle with HD200 sprayer and shrouded boom, two TX Turf Gators, a 1200A bunker rake and two JX80 walk-behind rotary mowers.
The club has four Pro Gators altogether – all are fitted with wider low ground pressure tyres and a hydraulic system to take specialist attachments when necessary, but are also used as general runabouts. "Because of the size of site here, we often have to travel two or three miles in a round trip across both courses," says John. "We’ve found the Pro Gator is the handiest machine for this, and it can carry a bit more weight than the smaller models."
One of the club’s older John Deere machines is a 1070 compact tractor, bought with the original fleet in 1995 and still going strong. "It just shows what you can do with good machines and good mechanics," says John. "We have two mechanics, one each for the Druids Glen and Druids Heath courses, and all the servicing and maintenance is done in-house.
"Our main focus is to make sure the Glen course is kept to championship standard, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. Investing in new machinery means we can benefit from the latest technology to keep the course at the required level. There’s a lot of competition out there – this part of Ireland in particular probably has more golf courses within a 20 mile radius than anywhere else in the world, so we need maintain consistently high standards all year round."
Having had what was effectively a 12 year ‘sabbatical’, John O’Sullivan is now relishing the challenge of getting back to the coal face, as he puts it. "was the right time for me to come back into greenkeeping, and also the right golf club,"he states. "here are very few places I would have come back to, and Druids Glen is not just any golf course."
|
|
|
|
|
|
