New turf maintenance equipment and golf cars at Gaudet Luce Golf Club

Situated close to the M5 at Hadzor on the outskirts of Droitwich in Worcestershire, Gaudet Luce Golf Club has taken delivery of new course maintenance equipment and a fleet of E-Z-GO golf cars from TH White Ltd, their local Ransomes Jacobsen distributor. E-Z-GO and Ransomes Jacobsen are Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) companies.

The club is part of the Little Lakes Leisure group which also owns Little Lakes Golf Club at nearby Bewdley. Andrew Laing is the Group Head Greenkeeper and responsible for course maintenance at both locations. He has a team of seven at Gaudet Luce and five at Little Lakes.

“Last season we purchased two Jacobsen G-Plex III greens mowers and a Jacobsen LF-3800 light fairway mower,” he said. “One of the G-Plex’s is based at Little Lakes as are 10 out of the 15 RXV golf gars that we purchased.

“We originally operated LPG buggies manufactured by a competitor which did not perform well and we also had major service issues with the dealer. We then moved over to E-Z-GO’s petrol TXT cars, which served us well. However, we have recently introduced a policy within the group to improve our green credentials, so when the buggies came up for replacement we went for the latest electric model from E-Z-GO, the RXV.

“We had one on demonstration from TH White’s and it performed exceptionally well, particularly at Little Lakes, which is more undulating than here. We equipped the buggy shed with electrics for overnight recharging and they have been very well received by members and visitors at both venues.”

Martin Fernihough, Managing Director added,
“We like to think of ourselves as a forward thinking club, chipping away at some of the more prosaic traditions associated with the game of golf. For example, I don’t think it will be long before we have a lady Club Captain here. We also have an executive committee consisting of a mix of management and members which run the club and a young and very enthusiastic greenkeeping team doing a terrific job at both venues.

“We’re an inclusive club and are particularly proud of our longstanding support for the English Blind Golf Association; we have hosted the national championship for the past six years, with some sterling work done by Terry Hartley, our Golf Chairman and a team of dedicated members.

“We also have a crèche on site, a hair and beauty salon, a sports rehabilitation clinic, and we host the Russell Adams Golf Academy. We also have superb corporate facilities featuring the latest AV equipment and broadband access.”

The original nine-hole course at Gaudet Luce opened 1995, was an immediate success and extended to 18 holes a year later. Four new holes were added in 2003 and the course now consists of two contrasting loops; the opening nine, which are wide and open and the back nine that require accurate positional play. The nine-hole Hadzor course opened in 2004, creating a superb facility for all ages and abilities.

Ransomes Jacobsen is a subsidiary of Textron Inc., a $12.6 billion multi-industry company operating in 28 countries with approximately 42,000 employees. The company leverages its global network of aircraft, defense and intelligence, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, Ransomes, Textron Systems and Textron Financial Corporation. More information is available at www.textron.com.