The Secret’s in the Schedule

The Secret’s in the Schedule

For the past 16 years, Steve Keller and his greenkeeping crew at the Juliette Falls golf course in Dunnellon, Florida, have put tens of thousands of miles on their Toro^® fleet. And the results speak for themselves.

Originally purchased as a lease-to-own package in 2006, their fleet consists of Reelmaster^® fairway mowers, a Greensmaster^® TriFlex™, half a dozen Greensmaster^® Flex™ walking greensmowers, two Sand Pro^® bunker rakes, Workman^® utility vehicles and a couple ProCore^® aerators.

A mild-mannered Groundsmaster^® affectionately named “Grandma,” is also part of that 16-year-old fleet. Because Grandma is not too fast, easy to operate and “bulletproof” according to Keller and his team, it is ideal for training new crew members with little experience. As Keller puts it, “When someone’s experience is a little questionable, we put them on Grandma so they can learn the ropes.”

We pretty much stick to the Toro maintenance schedule and what they recommend for intervals for oil changes, hydraulic oil changes, and so on

– Tom Reynolds, Lead Technician, Juliette Falls Golf Course

So how has their equipment lasted this long? The secret lies in following their trusty Toro maintenance schedules. “We pretty much stick to the Toro maintenance schedule and what they recommend for intervals for oil changes, hydraulic oil changes, and so on,” stated Tom Reynolds, lead technician for Juliette Falls. “We also have two technicians with capacity and know-how to take on that type of maintenance schedule.”

Another factor to their equipment lasting so long is attributed to the course being in the northern part of Florida. That part of the state experiences a cooler winter climate, resulting in a dormant turf — and a dormant turf doesn’t require mowing. During these winter months, Keller and his team store away the greenkeeping equipment until spring rolls around.

Keller also described how a strong and reliable partnership with Wesco, his Toro distributor, has helped get down equipment up and running again faster. “Sometimes we’ll order parts from Wesco and we’ll get a shipment from them the very next day,” said Keller. “We’ll also call the shop for troubleshooting, and they’ll take the time to explain it or send over maintenance instructions.”

To top it off, Keller explained that choosing a supportive brand like Toro has made all the difference. “I can’t count how many times I’ve called other companies for any kind of assistance, and they just go ‘huh, never dealt with that before.’ And when we call Toro, we never have that problem. You just can’t beat Toro’s service.”

Want to share your “Million Mile Mower” story? Send us an email with your story and we might feature it in an upcoming article. Email turfequipment@toro.com with the subject line “Million Mile Mower” to get in touch. Or check out our other “Million Mile Mower” stories.

Read more from this month’s Toro Advantage:
Enabling On-The-Go Golf Course Irrigation Control
How to Maintain and Adjust Reel Mower Cutting Units