BLADE, GM HL TORO 18IN
A change in the club 's ownership last year was the crucial factor behind the move, according to course manager Ian Chenery.
A decision to drop membership fees led to a boost of nearly 100 members.
Chenery trialled three manufacturers' machines before settling for an all- Toro fleet purchased on a three-year finance deal.
He said: "We used to be owned by Nigel Mansell, who was happy to lease, but the new owner said he would prefer to buy. We decided that if we were going to buy then Toro was the best option. Leasing is quite expensive so financially this should be a bit cheaper. We had a good year last year but I'm just hoping for a drier summer this year."
The new fleet includes two Reelmaster 5610s, three Greensmaster 3250-Ds and a Groundsmaster 4500-D as well as one of the newly introduced Groundsmaster 5900 wide-area rotary mowers.
The new machines will tend to Woodbury Park's two courses — the Oaks 18-hole championship course and the Acorns nine-hole course.
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By Peter Driver in Racing on 7th Aug 2010 8:00
Richard Osgood, clerk of the course and estate manager at Newbury Racecourse, has returned to his local Ransomes Jacobsen dealer - TH White Ltd of Reading - for a new Jacobsen HR-9016 ride-on rotary mower for maintaining the turf on his Flat, National Hunt and golf courses. Ransomes Jacobsen is a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company.
The HR-9016 is a triple deck wide area mower, ideal for racecourse mowing as it has a 81 hp turbocharged Kubota diesel engine, a working width of over 5 metres and an impressive work rate of 16.5 acres (6.7 hectares) per hour.
Richard Osgood purchased the original HR-9016 back in March 2001 and it has provided more than nine years of sterling service mowing not only on the racecourses but also the rough and semi-rough on the 18-hole golf course that forms an integral part of the Newbury complex.
Groundsman Barry Mason is the principal operator of the wide area mower and said, "Our old machine has 6,500 hour on the clock and has served us brilliantly, but it is now showing its age and will be semi-retired...
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