Toro 04358, 04384 Articles

A Truly Revolutionary Cutting U

Lower Heights, Easier Adjusting, No Greasing

ow do you describe something new that’s so different

hardly sounds real? We’ve all heard hype and exaggeration about everything from sporting events to medications, and it can be easy to get skeptical.

However, in the case of Toro’s incredible new Greensmaster®cutting unit for riding greensmowers, all the great things you can say about it are true!

Key features and capabilities are indeed a “wish list” of exactly what a superintendent and technician wants. These features include:

and so much better that it

■ Lower height of cut (to 1/16 inch or

1.6 mm)

■ Superior quality of cut at all heights

■ Sealed bearings to eliminate greasing

(no zerks!)

■ Simplified adjustment process

■ Greater rigidity to eliminate squar-

ing-up

■ Backward-compatibility with all cur-

rent and previous units

The new cutting unit for riding greensmowers, available in 8- or 11-blade reels, replaces all 4-bolt and single point adjustment units in favor of the dual point adjustment proven on the Greensmaster

1000. With today’s emphasis on lower mowing heights for greens, and demands for improved productivity, this unprecedented cutting unit will be just what many courses have been looking for.

Love At First Sites

When Toro engineers developed the new cutting system, they knew it would be a major breakthrough for the industry. But before the equipment could be officially unveiled, it first had to be proven in the field under real-world conditions. Several test sites were chosen, and in no time at all, the cutting units were showing what they could do.

The new Greensmaster cutting unit is easy to adjust and retrofits to all Greensmaster riding units.

“They were phenomenal!” says Superintendent Pete Petersen emphatically. “The changes Toro made are fantastic!”

Petersen is the Director of Golf at the Riverbend Golf Complex in Kent, Washington — one of the busiest golfing facilities in the Northwest. Riverbend’s public 18-hole course typically does about 75,000 rounds a year, and its adjacent par-3 course adds another 40,000. Riverbend also hosts more than 100 tournaments annually.

When Riverbend was offered the opportunity to test Toro’s new prototype cutting units last year, Petersen jumped at the chance.

“They did a fantastic job,” he says about the units. “I was very, very happy with them, and had no complaints from anybody on my crew.”

Known as a challenging course, Riverbend attracts a lot of low handicappers, and Petersen says he likes to keep his poa greens firm and fast.

“We mow down to a little over a

Andy Hudgins, of Barton Creek Resort was impressed with the cutting unit’s quality of cut and ease of maintenance.

tenth of an inch,” he explains, “well below an eighth. And when you cut that short, you’re going to notice any imperfections or misadjustments. My techni-

cian is fanatical about it. Well, with these units we noticed they were holding adjustments better. Everything just seemed to be a little tighter, a little better designed.”

When the testing began at Riverbend, Petersen used the new units only on the front nine greens, with his regular equipment mowing the back nine.“But within a week, the better

players noticed the difference,” he adds.

Different Grasses, Same Results

Another test course for the new cutting unit was the Barton Creek Resort in Austin, Texas. Andy Hudgins is the busy Service Center Manager at the 72-hole facility, and he was impressed with how Toro’s new greensmower unit performed.

“I’d say the biggest thing all together is just the quality of the cut you get out there on the golf course,” Hudgins

Unit

explains. “It was really a nice, smooth cut. One of the benefits of the new design on that reel was that the attitude angle stayed the same, no matter how much wear the reel had on it.”

At Barton Creek, they typically mow their greens to an eighth of an inch (3.2 mm), and sometimes lower. To ensure consistent quality of cut, Hudgins and his staff are very thorough in their preventive maintenance, constantly checking and adjusting the mowing equipment.

“Our objective is to have the perfect product out there, and to not have our cuts looking off,” Hudgins says.

“In our area of the country, being Bermuda, and with the ultra-dwarfs that are out there, everybody is going to lower and lower heights of cut. It’s the same way with bents. Everybody wants lower heights to get that speed,” he adds.

“Of all the cutting units I’ve seen Toro come out with, they’ve probably done the best job on this one, in my estimation,” says Hudgins. “With the new grasses, it’s going to be a definite benefit.”

“It gave a super cut,” agrees Bill Perry. He’s the Equipment Manager at the 18hole Glendale Country Club in Bellevue, Washington — another test course for the prototype cutting unit.

“I also didn’t have to adjust them, because they didn’t need it,” Perry adds. “I think Toro is really ahead of the curve with this one.”

The Next Generation

Some of the technology behind the new cutting unit is not exactly new; Toro has applied a great deal of its existing knowledge and experience gained from the popular Greensmaster Flex™ 21 walking greensmower.

“We broke new ground in effective heights of cut when we introduced the Flex 21,” says Helmut Ullrich, Toro’s Product Manager for greensmowers, “but there was no rider on the market that could be integrated into that program. Now all of our riding greensmowers will be able to provide an excellent quality of cut down to 1/16 inch (1.6 mm).

“They performed like a walking greensmower,” observes Steve Kealy, Superintendent of the Glendale Country Club in Washington. “The cut was more uniform, and it seemed like they floated better over the undulations, with no scalping. The quality of cut was very high, and we were mowing at .110 (2.8 mm), which is pretty low.”

Benefits Beyond Cutting

By making the new cutting unit backward-compatible, that means any existing piece of Toro riding greensmower equipment can be retrofitted and improved.

“That gives us end-users different options,” says Barton Creek’s Hudgins. “Instead of buying a whole new machine, if you’ve got one that’s in pretty good shape, this gives you a way to upgrade your reels.”

“While a superintendent will appreciate what this cutting unit can do in the grass, the technicians will appreciate the new design even more,” explains Toro’s Ullrich. “The simplicity is the first thing they’ll notice. They won’t have to level the rollers or crawl under the machine to grease the center unit anymore.”

The precision-manufactured, bolted, die-cast aluminum frame has greater torsional rigidity, so it holds adjustment and maintains constant cutting-edge pressure. That eliminates the need for routine squaring-up or leveling of the unit.

“The bedknife and the height of cut are the only adjustments required,” adds Ullrich, “and the bedknife/bedbar assembly drops out easily for grinding.”

With the new unit’s sealed roller and reel bearings, it also eliminated any zerks and the need for greasing.

“The fact that it doesn’t require the maintenance and the greasing is just fantastic,” says Riverbend’s Superintendent

Lower heights and superior quality of cut result from the new cutting unit for riding greensmowers.

Petersen. “It’s nice not having to do that. We went six months and we never greased them. Try doing that with an older unit. Also in that six months with those units, we never had to replace a bedknife on them.”

All You Could Ask For

When you look at everything that Toro’s new cutting unit offers — better quality of cut at lower heights, no zerks, minimized adjustments, easier maintenance, and more — it’s hard not to get

excited. Then when you consider that the cutting unit can be added to existing pieces of greensmowing equipment, it just sounds better all the time.

“They’re great,” sums up Glendale’s Kealy. “They work like a million bucks.”

The new cutting system — part of the Toro Greensmaster equipment line — was officially introduced this February, but the news about it is already spreading fast. This cutting unit will definitely be a big step up for a lot of courses.

“Basically, Toro is raising the bar,” Petersen says. “This is what’s going to be next on cutting units on greensmowers.”

Refer to page 12 of this issue for correct setup and operation of the new Greensmaster cutting unit.