Golf Business News – Royal Troon and Toro on course for Open Championship to remember

Royal Troon Golf Club, host of this year's Open Championship, has signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Reesink Turfcare and Toro equipment ahead of the 10th oldest golf tournament later this month.

The deal has provided course manager Billy McLachlan, who has managed Scotland's world-famous links for 31 years and oversees the course's renovation for four Opens, with a range of world-class equipment, including the latest electricity. mowers, 152 renewal.

Preparations for the tournament have been years in the planning, starting with the club's exit from the 2016 tournament with drainage work and the installation of what McLachlan described as Toro's 'transformational' new irrigation system.

“Finding the certainty of the irrigation method that allows us to stand up and work hard depending on the weather; being more targeted and efficient with our water usage and having a completely different level of precision and control throughout the tournament will be revolutionary,” he said. “It will take a lot of pressure off.”

McLachlan, who has been using Toro equipment for years, felt the time was right to commit to Reesink, especially during the tournament. In addition, he had his eye on sustainable haircut options. He said: “We specialize in power equipment and have been very impressed with the Toro Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 and Greensmaster e1021 walk-behind lawn mowers.

“Having all-electric turfcare equipment is a new addition to our fleet at The Open and I'm looking forward to the huge benefits it will bring. First, they will allow us to go out to any places we need without disturbing the spectators or the flow of the game and we know that we can work all the necessary hours, because they are very quiet. “

Jon Cole, divisional business manager at Reesink Turfcare, commented: “For electric power to play such an important role in another Open Championship sends a great message. Like diesel machines, battery-powered mowers can handle the production demands of cutting quality and the level of work required by a global event.”

The club has a range of Toro machines and has included new versions of the Toro Reelmaster 3575 and Groundsmaster 4300 for mowing fairways and roughs respectively as well as medium and heavy duty vehicles in the final delivery. There are Toro ProCore 648s that will come in handy for back-to-back event work.

McLachlan continues: “Having Reesink's support throughout the tournament will be important. We'll have more models of the same equipment we've been using and more experts, which gives you a lot of peace of mind.”

So what can players and spectators expect to find at Royal Troon when they play or sing for this month's tournament? McLachlan says it will definitely be bigger and better than before. “There are nine new players who have extended the course as a whole – I think it sits 36 yards short of the record at Carnoustie in 2007 – and the event has sold out, ensuring a record attendance of around 250,000, which is more than that. 70,000 people since the last time we hosted it in 2016. Grandmas, restaurants, temporary buildings, services, everything is big to keep up with the increase in numbers.”

With a team, years of planning, and Reesink and Toro by their side, Royal Troon Golf Club is well positioned to deliver a tournament to remember.