Jim Cassidy, Course manager Ashridge Golf Club
I have been in charge of maintenance and development of the club for the past fourteen years. I have seven permanent staff and take on two additional seasonal staff during the summer. I report to a committee team of eight who are responsible for running all aspects of the golf club.
General comments/summary
The Cub Cadet is a solid machine, comfortable and stable, but some of the plastic components and switches may let it down. It would be interesting to see if sprayers and other attachments could be fitted.
I have only tried the Kubota RTV 900 to compare and would say that the Kubota in my opinion would be my choice between the two, due to its reputation and my past experiences.
Overall Rating 3.63
that from the way it accelerates. (5) IS: 4-wheel drive would be used on the farm in winter. Drove over very rough, but dry, ploughed field easily in 2-wheel drive. (5)
JC: Engine power and performance is excellent. 4-wheel drive would be useful when conditions dictate. (4)
KB: Engine power and performance was very good. The 4-wheel drive might be used but very rarely in our situation. (5)
SJ: Amazingly powerful - overkill for most golf course operations. It would be unlikely that the 4-wheel drive facility would be of much use in general operation around the golf course, but extremely impressed by its traction. (4)
13) How would you rate the smoothness of the ride over rough terrain? How did you rate the unit if tested on hills?
TJ: The Cub Cadet was tested over a variety of obstacles around the college grounds including speed bumps, kerbs and small grass slopes and it performed extremely well even though these were relatively small obstacles. The overall ride was very smooth and comfortable and gripped surfaces very well. Rating: 5
RW: It rides very smoothly, even in rough terrain and it copes with going up and down hills more than adequately. (5)
IS: It has a smooth ride, especially over rough terrain and it copes well with inclines. (5)
JC: The ride is smooth for the driver over rough terrain because of the seat, the passenger will not be as comfortable. (4)
KB: The smoothness of ride over rough terrain was exceptional. Unit was fine on hills. (5)
SJ: Extremely smooth in ride, you could barely feel any bump in the ground, which could be seen as a down point also! Being so smooth the tendency is to drive too fast
Ken Bates, Assistant Groundsman Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
I have worked at Wolves full time for two years, before that I used to help out on match days at Molineux.
There are three of us on the ground staff myself, Wayne Lumbard and Terry Carver.
Between us we look after Molineux, the Sir Jack Hayward training ground, the adjoining St Peter’s School sports field and the dome, which is an artificial surface, a total of eleven pitches. My main role is working at the training ground.
General comments/summary
The Cub Cadet was a nice machine to use, I was very limited to what daily jobs I could use it for, I do not think it would be that useful in our environment, mainly because of the capacity of the back work space.
A good machine for the right environment. Overall Rating 3.66
for the environment it is being used on. I tested the unit off road extensively, on our estate.We have many steep valley and river crossings, all of which the unit took in its stride with considerable ease. (5)
14) Did you test the loading capacity and would 409kg be suitable for your application?
TJ: The rear capacity was too short for most of our uses such as transporting standard length grounds tools such as strimmers and brushes. Looking at the vehicle it was surprising to find that it was only capable of carrying 409kg especially when the build quality and power of the machine are taken into account. It was also found that the height of the rear cargo box made it difficult to load and off load heavier objects such as a pitch marker. Rating: 3
RW: We didn’t test the loading capacity.
IS: Capacity in the back was fair but not overly large. The model we were trialing only had manual tip which, if you want to get right back in to the heap to tip, means you are standing right in the heap. Not ideal. Also, to save your back, I would pay the extra for an electric lift bed. After we had scarified we top-dressed. The Cub was used to collect bagged loads that are stored on the farm. This it did quickly and with no effort collecting 20 x 25kg bags at a time. (4)
JC: The load capacity was not tested, the unit did not have a tipping mechanism which is an option and should be standard. (2.5)
KB: Loading capacity was okay for small jobs but definitely not suitable for the main jobs required on site. (3)
SJ: Didn’t use the full payload, in my opinion the loadbed in too high off the ground. It would be a slight health and safety concern for me, operators lifting machines and materials; other golf course utility vehicles have easier loading. (3)
Sean Jarvis, Course Manager Astbury Hall Golf and Leisure
At the moment we only have nine holes which were built three years ago. A back nine is currently under construction, and a third nine is planned in the near future
General comments/summary
Not a machine for me and a golf course environment, too noisy, and basically overkill for what I would need. In a general estate or an agricultural use I believe the machine would be excellent. For the price, I’m led too believe there’s not a lot of change from £10k, I could buy two smaller utility vehicles more suited to my situation.
Overall Rating 3.46
15) In general was the machine easy to use? Did you like the machine? .
TJ: Overall I liked the machine and it was easy enough to operate and a comfortable ride. Rating: 4.5
RW: Easy to use, and gave us an overall good impression. But the noise that it makes while in operation is a sticking point. Whilst we did like a lot of aspects of this machine it wouldn’t be my personal choice. (4)
IS: The machine was easy to use, and gave a good impression. I preferred it to the Club Cars and the John Deere Gator we currently run. (5)
JC: The machine was easy to use and I think everyone who used it liked it including myself. (4)
KB: Machine was easy to use but found that the tipping could have been a little easier and the back workspace was too high. (4)
SJ: Easy to use, easy to tip loads, although I would expect a vehicle in this sector to come with an electric tip not manual. (3)
Response from E P Barrus
We would like to thank Pitchcare for giving us the opportunity to have our machine trialed at so many different venues.
We would like to re-affirm that the noise issue, as detailed by most of the ‘testers’, is currently being addressed. Silencers will be fitted for the coming season whilst retro-kits will be available for existing models already in the marketplace.
PITCHCARE SUMMARY
Thanks to our members for carrying out these tests. It is clear that the machine is a tad noisy for some environments, an area that Barrus are addressing. However, with an average score of 3.89 out of 5, that’s a pretty good result for a new model onto the market.
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