Lighter mowers aid Portmarnock

29 November 2011

Greenkeeper Mark O'Brien and Gary Johnstone (standing) with one of the GP400 mowers

New lightweight mowers are helping greenkeepers at the Portmarnock club in Ireland keep green surrounds cut tight, despite the famous links course’s undulating terrain.

Links manager Gary Johnstone bought the new Jacobsen GP400 mowers from local dealer Kevin Broderick. “We have three GP400s, all with the three-wheel drive option, and they cope really well with the slopes around the course,” he said.

“We use them for greens surrounds and tees and I believe they cut tighter and collect better than any other mower in this class. Our lightweight fairway mower, the Jacobsen SLF 1880, has 18 inch cutting cylinders; quite small by fairway standards but that allows the units to follow the undulations on our links closely. Its smaller footprint makes it very manoeuvrable and less abrasive to the grass.”