A range of modern JD golf course equipment at Bearwood Lakes
The JD F935 front rotary mower, one of the first machines Golf & Turf sold into the commercial groundcare market after it became a John Deere dealer in 1987
wrapped up with contract maintenance and John Deere Credit finance to add value.” In line with the steady
expansion of the business, Golf & Turf moved from its first shed to the Country Gardens garden centre at Sunningdale in 1989, and then to Bramshill when it became part of the Burdens Group in 1991. The dealership moved to its present site at Eastheath House in Wokingham in 1992, and has a hire department based at Beenham near Reading. It currently employs twenty- nine people, including eight in the service department, five in parts and five in sales, and has a turnover of around £6 million. “Joining Burdens gave us
the extra stability of belonging to a larger group, as well as access to the bigger agricultural and utility tractors in the John Deere range, which have been very successful in the groundcare business,” says Tom Scanlon. “Another key element was the introduction of the hire business, which was started by Simon Reynolds in 1993 and is now run by Mark Noble. It’s been a resounding success. All the equipment that we sell, we hire, and if the demand is there, we’ll buy it in to hire it out. This department has six staff covering an area from the Midlands down to the south of England, and the stock value of the equipment in the hire fleet is currently worth £2 million.” “The hire department has built up and continues to maintain a sound customer base, by providing solid and reliable advice and service, and by only using machines that are less than three years old. About 95 percent of the hire business is with commercial and golf course customers, including renovation equipment that’s
generally only needed once or twice a year. The advice Mark gives is second to none, and he always makes sure that customers get the right machine - many people know what they want to do, but they don’t necessarily know what they need to do it.” “Our latest venture is golf buggy hire, which was started by our sales director, James Moore, two years ago. We have around sixty buggies in the fleet, which are used for short-term and event hire as well as the longer-term rentals for golf clubs, and this business is growing steadily too.”
“I like to think we have a good working relationship with all our suppliers, and the more we sell, the better it gets!” adds Tom Scanlon. “The more successful we can be as a dealer, the more suppliers want to be associated with you and support you, to join in with that success. I have to say, though, of all the suppliers we deal with, and there are a lot of very good ones out there, none are better than John Deere for training, support and back-up, and their spares set-up, in particular, really is second to none.” “As a typical example, I
remember a chap living nearby came in looking for an operator’s manual for a 1930s tractor he had personally imported from the US. Our guys found the part number, Langar had a copy on the shelf and shipped it overnight. It was here the next day, and only cost him £15! John Deere is leading the field comfortably on dealer support in that sense, and no-one comes close to consistently performing so well in this area.” “We also don’t like selling things we can’t support, so we always try to have two or three apprentice service technicians undergoing
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training at any one time on the various manufacturers’ service courses. Once again, John Deere has really been driving this aspect forward over the years with its Turf Tech and Parts Tech training programmes.”
Over the years, Golf & Turf
has received many awards from its suppliers, including Hayter Dealer of the Year (twice) and Dennis Outstanding Dealer, and it has remained in the top three John Deere groundcare dealers (ranked by sales) since it started business in 1987. Typically though, Tom Scanlon isn’t one to let the dealership rest on its laurels. “Several of the senior staff
here have been with Golf & Turf for twenty years or
Steve Coone and the greenkeeping team on the 11th hole
foreground), and dealer salesman
Golf Club, with course manager Daniel Lightfoot (right,
more, so there’s a lot of experience across the business, which is great for continuity and for the strength of the relationships with both our customers and our suppliers - and we have to continue to grow,” he says. “We want to be John Deere’s number one groundcare dealer, full stop.”
Customers in London and the south-east of England are invited to attend the Burdens Golf & Turf Commercial & Sports Open Day on Thursday August 4th, at Danes Hill School in Oxshott, Surrey. The day’s events include talks by Chelsea FC Head Groundsmen, Jason Griffin, and Peter Craig of The Hurlingham Club, plus demonstrations of equipment throughout the day. For further details contact Ray Bennett on 07956 243342 or e-mail
ray.bennett@
golfandturf.co.uk
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