Toro® Groundsmaster® 4500-D
Quality Design For A Quality Cut
T.Map
TM
Improve Irrigation Control
Factory Service School
Education Program Earns An A
+
Operator Training
ProCore®Operator Video
Toro
®
Greensmaster®FlexTM21
Exceeding Expectations
Options & Attachments
Toro®Debris Blowers
1
Issue No. 4, February 2002 Information From Toro to Help YOU and YOUR Course
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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Introducing the New
Toro
®
Groundsmaster®4500-D
T
oro has done it again! In
response to superintendents’
needs for more productive
rotaries that help them improve their
quality of cut, Toro
announces yet another
breakthrough mower.
Introducing the Toro
Groundsmaster®4500-D,
the latest addition to
our family of groundfollowing rotary mowers.
Featuring Toro’s
exclusive Contour
TM
Plus cutting technology,
the Groundsmaster
4500-D has five freefloating decks that follow the contour of the
terrain so you can get a
championship-quality
cut on undulating
surfaces.
Better yet, the decks
on the 4500 deliver a
wide nine foot cut (2.74
meters) to give you a
big boost in productivity. Also, with its 60-HP
Kubota®turbo charged
engine, full-time bidirectional four-wheel
drive and superior traction, the 4500
promises you a better cut in demanding
places, like roughs and slopes.
Power, versatility, productivity… could
you ask for more? Actually, yes, which is
why we built the Groundsmaster 4500-D
for easier maintenance, user-friendly
design, better striping capabilities, operator comfort, a quieter engine and more.
Real-World Proven
“I’m convinced it’s the best rotary
mower out there,” says Bryan Miller.
Miller is Golf Course Superintendent
at the Georgian Resort in Villa Rica,
Georgia, an 18-hole, Tom Fazio-designed
course near Atlanta. Last year, they
decided to replace their reel mowers with
rotaries in the rough areas. “We had
undulations wreaking havoc on the
mower, or it would scalp the edges,”
Miller says. So, he called Toro.
“They discussed this new mower, but
told me it was still in development,” he
recalls. “I told them if that machine was
everything it’s made out to be, we’d love
to get it here.” He arranged for a demonstration of the prototype 4500, and liked
what he saw.
“This is a great innovation,” he adds.
“I think the quality of cut during difficult times to mow is going to be even
better than reel mowers—like in heavy
grass, heavy dew or debris. It’s going to
allow us to mow these areas like we want
to and maintain the quality.”
“It didn’t bog down a bit,” agrees Jeff
Connell, another superintendent who
has had personal experience with the
4500. “It has an extreme amount of
horsepower, so you don’t have to worry
about going through thicker grass or wet
grass. With that four-wheel drive, it also
didn’t slip or make any kind of tire ruts
or spins anywhere.”
Connell is the superintendent at the
Columbia Country Club in Columbia,
South Carolina, a 27-hole private facility
designed by Ellis Maples. Presently
undergoing a major renovation, the
physical layout of the course had created
particular equipment needs.
“We mow close to 100 acres,” he says,
“and we were just not getting all the way
around the golf course as many times as we
needed to. Also, we’ve got a lot of bunker
faces that kind of go down. It seemed we
couldn’t get in without scalping.”
Last spring, Connell was invited to a
demonstration of the Groundsmaster
4500-D. He was quickly impressed.
“The biggest thing I liked about it was
the solid roller on the back and the antiscalp rollers on the front,” he says. “You
could actually mow over the top of a
bunker face and not get any kind of
scalping whatsoever. The nice thing
about the solid roller in the back is that
The New Toro
®
Groundsmaster
®
Productivity And A Quality Cut For Demanding Turf
2
The Toro®Groundsmaster®4500-D has five ContourTMPlus cutting decks that follow
the contour of the terrain for exceptional quality of cut on undulating surfaces.
4500-D
you get a nice even cut. You know, the
ground is not totally level out there, but
having this solid roller all the way across,
it’s a lot more uniform.”
Although it has a wide cutting ability,
the Groundsmaster 4500-D is remarkably versatile. It can zip through roughs
and then do great mowing on trim areas
as well.
“It gives you a large piece of equipment that acts
like a small one,”
Connell adds. “It
cuts a large
swath, but in the
fashion and
closeness of a
smaller piece of
equipment. It
acts as a trim
mower; it does
both jobs at the
same time.”
“There’s nothing
like it in this size category,” explains Tim
Koch, Toro’s Marketing Manager of
Groundsmaster Products. “It has incredible power for a nine-foot machine, with
117 foot-pounds of torque
available. The hydraulic parallel traction system gives
superb traction, and it’s truly
very strong. That means better ability to maneuver on
hills.
“What this machine is
really about is undulating
terrain and superior cutting,”
Koch says. “It’s being able to
mow in rough areas with a
rotary product.
“These features all combine
to produce a fantastic quality
of cut,” he emphasizes.
Better for Everybody
In addition to its superior
quality of cut on undulating
ground, the Groundsmaster
4500-D is more enjoyable to
operate and maintain. Among
its popular features are easy
serviceability and accessibility:
the decks can be raised or
removed quickly, and in
almost no time, the exterior
enclosures can be pulled off without
tools, so technicians can get at everything
right away.
Even with all that horsepower and
torque, the engine speed on the
Groundsmaster 4500 is quite low—just
2600 rpm.
Combined with
a variable
clutch on the
engine-cooling
fan, that means
much lower
sound levels.
“The engine
provides many
benefits in
addition to
more power
and torque, slowing
the engine down to 2600 rpm results in
a quieter operation,” Koch points out.
Other unique features include a large
operator platform and easy-to-reach deck
levers. There is even a cup holder and
extra space available for a water cooler
and other storage.
Just the Beginning
With shipments starting in early Spring
2002, the Groundsmaster 4500-D is sure
to be popular with any superintendent
who wants more power, more control and
a better cut on undulating terrain. But
that’s not all.
Also shipping in the Spring of 2002,
the even larger 4700-D features seven
free-floating cutting decks, which produce an amazing swath 12.5 feet (3.8
meters) wide! Designed for rough mowing, it will be a real productivity booster.
And because it’s from Toro, you know
it’ll perform.
All things considered, Toro
Groundsmaster mowers are taking precision cutting to a whole new level… especially on ground that isn’t.
3
“I’m convinced it’s the best rotary
mower out there.”
– Bryan Miller
The Georgian Resort, Villa Rica, Georgia.
Jeff Connell (inset) is the golf course superintendent at Columbia Country Club in Columbia,
South Carolina, a 27-hole private facility. The layout of the course is particularly suited for the
Toro
®
Groundsmaster®4500-D.
T
oro has made irrigation management easier by making it
more advanced. Building on
our history of innovations and leadership
in irrigation systems, we consistently
incorporate the appropriate technology
into our products.
The development of Toro’s PC-based
SitePro®central control system gave
superintendents an amazing way to
improve irrigation management and stay
informed. As good as SitePro is, those
capabilities can be taken to an even higher level.
With Toro’s T.MapTM, included in the
SitePro software, you can create a precise
graphic representation of your golf
course. T.Map puts a new world of
resource management right at your fingertips, because you can use it to make
instantaneous system adjustments with a
click of your mouse.
T.Map’s advanced technology interacts
with the SitePro control system database
to create dynamic graphic displays of
your golf course. Using comprehensive
interactive site maps on your computer
screen, you can accurately locate irriga-
tion elements such as
sprinklers, pipes,
sensors, pump stations, electrical lines,
valves and
wire splices.
T.Map also
shows you
the precise,
in-scale locations of physical features on
your course, such as greens, bunkers, cart
paths and so on, right down to individual trees.
With T.Map software, you simply pull
up real-time screens indicating areas in
question, and then click on the map
symbols to adjust sprinkler run times,
engage rain holds, initiate starts and
syringes, and more. Field-status monitors
tell you which satellites and sprinklers are
running and which are on hold, and alert
you to any problems.
You can also use SitePro
and T.Map to display simulations of projected water flow,
measure areas and distances,
issue work orders, help in
event planning and many
other tasks.
Control is Just a
Click Away
“With T.Map, you are
looking at your course on the
screen, just as it is physically
in the real world,” explains
Aivars Jurkis, Toro’s Senior
Customer Support and
Technical Advisor. “You get a
picture of your course with
all these dots on it to show
the irrigation stations. You
just click on the ones you
want.” It’s that simple.
“The SitePro
engine runs the irrigation system.
T.Map just allows
you to view the setup a lot more
graphically,” adds
Bill Thornton,
Toro’s Western
Regional Sales
Manager. “That
helps especially
when the
operator
isn’t a
computer
expert.”
“For example let’s say there’s a spot
that’s dry on the golf course, and you
want to give it more water,” Jurkis
explains. “Just click on the head there.
T.Map will ask you how long it should
4
T.Map
TM
Software
Picture This: Improve Irrigation Control With T.Map
TM
Tom Walker is the golf course superintendent at the Inverness Club in Toledo,
Ohio. He credits the T.Map
TM
system for providing flexibility and efficiency.
run; enter how long you want, and it will
automatically turn it on. You don’t need
to know the satellite station number or
any of that, because it looks it up for
you.”
“It’s just a great, great benefit,” says
Tom Walker, Golf Course Superintendent
at The Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
“The ability to change the time of certain sprinklers, to take your mouse and
loop around a few heads and put them
on hold for one day, two days, whatever,
it’s wonderful.”
Built in 1903, The Inverness has hosted many major tournaments, including
four U.S. Opens. It typically ranks
among the best-groomed courses in
America, so Walker has high standards to
uphold. He feels that SitePro and T.Map
have helped him a lot.
“There’s so much flexibility,” he adds.
“Not only is it an excellent irrigation
package, it also gave me an accurate map
of the golf course. I can use it for charting square footages, charting out holes,
locating drain lines, even trees,” he says.
“As far as saving me time and getting the
job done better, it’s just wonderful.”
Easy Installation
When T.Map is installed, whether with
new or existing SitePro software, it
requires a designer or consultant to provide an AutoCAD image of the golf
course—from a survey, GPS program,
aerial photos or even drawn freehand.
GPS isn’t required for T.Map, but it does
improve accuracy.
The AutoCAD data is then converted
into T.Map-shaped files and layered
color-coded images.
“What the data conversion does is to
look at all this
course info, create
what it needs to
create, and saves it
in a zip file,”
explains Toro’s
Jurkis. “That one
file is all you need.
Tell SitePro to do a File Open, and there
it will be.”
When setting up the initial AutoCAD
image, which most new courses already
have, you can determine how detailed
you want it to be.
Everything You’re Looking For
“It’s unlimited what you can do,” says
Steve Glossinger, Golf Course Manager
at Caves Valley Golf Club in Baltimore,
Maryland. “We put in all the surfaces,
contour lines, fairways, bunkers, trees,
even paths and buildings. We did just
about everything on the property.”
Caves Valley, site of this year’s Senior
Open, has relied on computerized irrigation control for several years, but T.Map
is a big improvement, Glossinger feels.
“I didn’t
know it was
going to be
this good,
quite
frankly,” he
says. “It’s
friendlier; I
picked up on
it quicker. It
has everything superintendents
are looking
for. With this
system, you
really see
your golf
course and
where your
heads are and what you’re running. After
this,” he adds, “you wonder how you
survived with the old system. It’s that
good.”
At Caves Valley, T.Map does much
more than irrigation. “You can see
your whole
course,”
Glossinger says,
“so we use it as a
tool to implement
strategies. For
example, we were getting ready to put up
corporate tents, but instead of going
down there and doing all that measuring,
with a couple clicks on the screen we
knew how many tents would fit.”
The advantages of SitePro and T.Map
are just starting to be discovered—water
conservation, irrigation troubleshooting,
locating trees for removal, determining
square footage of greens and bunkers,
measuring for paving estimates—and the
list goes on. Better yet, it’s easy to get
introduced to the program and quickly
benefit from it.
“You don’t need technical savvy to run
this,” says Walker. “You just point your
mouse at something and click. It’s 100
times simpler than programming a VCR.”
5
Golf Course Manager of Caves Valley Golf Club Steve Glossinger uses a 40 inch (101.6
cm), flat panel display with his T.Map
TM
system.
“As far as saving me time and
getting the job done better, it’s
just wonderful.”
– Tom Walker
Toro’s T.MapTMsystem provides an accurate
graphical representation of the golf course to
simplify irrigation management.
6
B
eing a leader in the equipment industry requires more
than great equipment. We
depend heavily on the people who
operate and service our equipment.
That’s why we have a long-standing
commitment to training and education,
to help ensure that customers are as
comfortable and knowledgeable about
equipment as they can be.
One of the many popular things we
offer in our training spectrum is Toro’s
Customer Factory Service Education
Program, or as it’s more commonly
known, “Factory Service School.” Our
Factory Service School is a three-day
session held at Toro’s Training Center
in Bloomington, Minnesota, including
a visit to our assembly facility at
Tomah, Wisconsin. Designed primarily
for technicians, the guests at Factory
Service School attend a variety of helpful seminars that address issues of concern to them and the industry. They
also get unique
opportunities to
meet other technical professionals
from around the
country and
exchange ideas.
Created over 20
years ago to provide training for
distributors, Toro’s
Factory Service
Schools have since
been expanded to
include technicians
from golf courses, sports facilities and
municipalities. Currently Toro offers
these end-user Factory Service School
sessions about five times a year.
Useful Information
The Factory Service School program
usually starts on a Sunday night with a
welcoming get-acquainted reception.
Then over the next three days, “students” of Factory Service School attend
informational tours, presentations and
hands-on sessions addressing such help-
ful topics as cutting unit adjustments,
hydraulics, electrical systems, equipment maintenance, diagnostics and
troubleshooting.
“It was very informative,” says Rick
Paré, Equipment Manager at Eagle
Crest Resort in Redmond, Oregon. He
attended Factory Service School this
past September. “Training is beneficial
for everybody. You always like to see
new updates and new innovations that
are coming along. The mere fact that
greens are so fast and are cut so short
now, we’ve got to be on our toes all the
time.”
In addition to the training classes
and seminars themselves, Paré enjoyed
the chance to swap notes and tips with
the technicians he met there.
“One person’s attitude on how to
maintain a piece of equipment differs
from another’s,” he adds. “Whenever
you get together with a bunch of technicians or superintendents, you always
talk about what
works for you and
what doesn’t.”
“When you hear
someone else with
a situation similar
to yours, it helps,”
agrees Michael
Koopman, another
technician who
attended Factory
Service School last
year. Koopman is
the Equipment
Manager at Old
Collier Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
“It was geared more for education,
but they gave us the option of giving
our feedback,” he says about Factory
Service School. “I think one of the best
things—and something that people are
really interested in—is when they
brought the engineers in and asked if
we had any questions for them. That
was on Monday, the first day. Then, if
they couldn’t answer a question, they
said they would get back to us before
we left for home on Wednesday.
“One thing I’ll say,” he adds, “is that
they didn’t run away from someone
who said, ‘Hey, I have a problem with
something.’ They listen to what the
people have to say.”
The chance to meet with Toro engineers and ask them specific questions
has always been one of the most popular features at Factory Service School.
The technicians in attendance know
their equipment better than anyone,
and Toro appreciates the opportunity to
get first-hand input from people who
put the machines through their paces
every day.
“They asked us if we had any problems, or if we had any questions we
wanted answered,” Paré says. “I thought
that was good; they were very straightforward.”
Customer-Focused
Given the wide range of products
Toro represents, part of the challenge
with any type of training is to make
sure it’s relevant to a particular customer, to give him or her the information they need most.
“We have two different types of
schools we offer to our customers,”
explains Jim Peterson, Toro’s Education
and Learning Manager in the
Commercial Products Division. “One
has a golf focus and the other has a
grounds focus. So the technical information we provide is specific to the
needs of the technician,” he says.
Factory Service School
Toro’s Customer Factory Service Education Program Earns An A+
Toro’s Factory Service School gives equipment managers and technicians hands-on instruction on how
to properly service Toro equipment.
Technicians benefit greatly from the interaction with Toro employees and peers at the
Factory School.
“For a golf school, we would concentrate on products used on greens and
fairways, and those things of particular
interest in a golf setting for that group
of customers,” Peterson says. “For
example, golf school might focus more
on reel-type cutting units. Some of the
most lively discussions we have at any
golf school will surround the subject of
reel-type cutting units.”
Tailoring the presentation material to
keep it pertinent and interesting is vital
when your goal is to offer truly useful
material to those in attendance. Toro
firmly believes in the value of making
information available to the people who
need it. We also believe in putting that
information to good use.
“At the end of the day, merely learn-
ing is not the goal; behavior change is
the goal, and learning is how we get
there,” Peterson says. “We want to
make sure that whenever we get into a
certain topic or subject, that the participant is able to make that leap, where
they’ve learned something new and now
they can take that and use it. We want
them to be able to do something more
efficiently, or do it in a new way that
improves their skills and abilities as a
service technician,” he says.
“Helping them to personally grow in
their occupation is what this is really all
about,” Peterson adds, “and it’s going to
benefit everybody if we can do that.”
Next Session Sept. 16–18
An upcoming Toro Factory Service
School is scheduled for September
16–18, 2002. Some of the planned topics for the program include an introduction to the ACE System to aid in
troubleshooting, and a seminar called
“Cutting System Dynamics,” which
addresses the design, set-up and adjustment of cutting units. The cost of
attending is $600 US per person, which
includes three nights’ lodging, meals,
local transportation and all classroom
materials.
If you would like to attend a Factory
Service School, or want to obtain more
information about it, please contact
your local Toro distributor.
“I’m glad that I went, and I would
love to go again,” says Paré. “There’s
still a lot to learn.”
7
TOROfor
you
R
ick Paré and Mike
Koopman both have good
things to say about their
trips to Toro’s Factory School, but their
experiences there will undoubtedly be
forever fixed in their memories for other
reasons: they were attending their sessions on Tuesday, September 11, when
the horrible terrorist attacks hit America.
“We were going through the plant, in
the special operations area, and that’s
when we heard about the plane crashes,”
recalls Paré. “So it got cut short, and we
didn’t get to see everything we would
have liked to, but they did the best they
could with the situation the way it was.”
“I was scheduled to fly out on
Thursday, but didn’t end up leaving until
Saturday,” adds Koopman. “We had to
stay all those extra nights, but Toro said,
‘Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it.’ On
Tuesday, I’m sure those Toro guys would
have liked to go home to their families,
too, but they stayed there with us. They
could have just sent us back to the hotel
for two or three days, but I don’t think
that crossed their minds,” he says. “I was
impressed with that.”
Paré was actually able to head back
home to Oregon shortly after the attacks,
but it required some fortunate coincidences.
“On September 11th, the airlines were
shut down,” he explains, “but my wife
got me connected with a salesman from
her company who was in Minneapolis
for a convention. He happened to run
into another guy from our area and a
friend of his from Boise. He told me,
‘I’ve got room for one more,’ so I hitchhiked a ride home with them. It was 30
hours… not the way I wanted to see the
country,” he says.
“But I feel so strongly about the Toro
program and wanting to return, that I
would hitchhike back!”
A Memorable Trip Becomes Truly Unforgettable
Michael Koopman upholds high standards
for the quality of his maintenance facility.
The equipment facility at Old Collier Golf
Club, Naples, Florida.
Michael Koopman services almost exclusively Toro Equipment at Old Collier Golf Club.
ProCore®Operator Video Teaches Proper Techniques
Operator
Training
W
hen you don’t do a
particular job every-
day, it’s always a good
idea to refresh your skills before
jumping into the task. With that in
mind, Toro recently released the
Toro®ProCore®Operator Training
Video (Part No. 01087SV) to help
sharpen your skills.
Recorded in both English and
Spanish, the video covers the initial
set-up and operation of the ProCore
series of aerators. These aerators
cover a lot of ground so any missteps can slow you down. Taking the
time to view this short video before
aerating is useful for new operators
as well as a nice refresher for seasoned operators. The operator’s
manual should also be read in its
entirety to ensure safe and proper
operation.
Some basic tips for good
aeration:
Make sure everything is level
from the start. Mount the aerator
on a level surface and check the
machine to see that it is level before
beginning operation.
Pay close attention to the Power
Take Off (PTO) shaft. The PTO
cannot be too long or it will damage
the shaft or gearbox. It may need to
be changed by the equipment technician.
Use the best settings. The aerator
should be set to lift about 4 inches
(10 cm) off the ground during operation. Adjust the aerator to a 4degree forward angle for the best
holes. NEVER angle the aerator
rearward or damage may occur to
the machine or turf.
Get the right tines and set the
penetration. There are a variety of
tines to choose from. The depth
chart in the operator’s manual has a
guide to tines and proper settings.
Set the tine depth the same on both
sides of the aerator. If tine depth is
changed, recheck the aerator angle
to ensure it is still 4 degrees.
Practice using the aerator. Before
actually aerating the course, find a
clear area and practice stopping and
starting and raising and lowering
the aerator. Be
sure to mark all
obstacles on the
course to avoid
things like irrigation heads and
electrical wires.
Any debris like
rocks that will
damage the aerator should also be
removed.
Start correctly.
To begin aerating,
use a low tractor
engine rpm in an
appropriate gear.
Set the speed
between .6 and
2.5 miles per
hour (.97 and
4.02 kmh). As
you begin and the
tractor moves forward, fully lower
the 3-point linkage and increase the engine speed
until you reach 540 rpm on the
PTO. The machine must be on the
ground when set at 540 rpm. The
aerator may be damaged if the tines
are not working in the turf when
operated at full speed.
Use the right front tractor wheel
as a site guide. The right front trac-
tor wheel should be used as a site
guide to maintain equal lateral hole
spacing with the previous pass. This
will allow you to use the offset of
the aerator to stay off the area you
already aerated.
Stop correctly. When finished
aerating, lower the engine rpm, raise
the aerator, depress the clutch on
the tractor with your foot and stop
the PTO.
Always stop for people. If anyone
comes near the area of operation,
move off the area you’re aerating and
stop the machine until the area is
clear. Since tines are pummeling the
surface of the turf, a tine may break
and fly off or debris may fly out
from the aerator. Always be aware of
any people around you.
The new ProCore
®
Operator
Training Video is available from
your local distributor. Other new
operator training videos available
include: the Groundsmaster®3500
(Part No. 00061SV), Groundsmaster
®
4000 (Part No. 01085SV), and the
Greensmaster®FlexTM21 (Part No.
01086SV). Each video is $16 US.
8
9
En el video vídeo de ProCore se explican las técnicas correctas de operación
Capacitación
de Operadores
C
uando un operador deja de
hacer un trabajo particular
todos los días, es recomendable que repase lo que sabe de ese trabajo
antes de volver a realizarlo. Pensando en
esto, Toro preparó recientemente el video
vídeo de capac-
itación de operadores del
equipo Toro
®
ProCore
®
(número de
catálogo
01087SV) para
ayudar a los
operadores a
mejorar sus
habilidades.
Está narrado
en inglés y
español, y
cubre la
preparación inicial y la
operación de
los aireadores
de la serie
ProCore. Estos
aireadores
cubren una
gran extensión
de terreno y
cualquier paso
incorrecto puede
retrasar el trabajo. Será muy útil dedicar
el tiempo necesario para ver este breve
videovídeo antes del de hacer trabajos de
aireación tanto en el caso de operadores
nuevos como de operadores experimentados que necesiten una buena repasada.
Debe leerse completamente el manual de
instrucciones para asegurar la operación
segura y correcta.
Sugerencias básicas para una
buena aireación:
Asegúrese de que todo el equipo esté
nivelado desde el principio. Monte el
aireador en sobre una superficie nivelada
y revise la máquina para asegurarse de
que esté nivelada antes de comenzar la
operación.
Ponga especial atención al eje de la
toma de fuerza (PTO). La toma de
fuerza no debe ser demasiado larga
porque podría dañar el eje o la caja de
engranajes. Quizá Es posible que deba ser
cambiada por un técnico especializado.
Use las los mejores regulacione-
sajustes. El aireador debe ser ajustado
para elevarse unos 10 centímetros del
suelo durante la operación. Ajuste las
puntas a un ángulo de 4 grados para que
hagan bien los agujeros. NUNCA ajuste
el aireador a un ángulo hacia la parte
trasera porque podría dañar la máquina o
el césped.
Use las puntas correctas y ajuste la
penetración. Hay diversas puntas entre
las que puede escoger. La tabla de profundidad en el manual de instrucciones
tiene una guía de puntas y ajustes correctos. Ajuste la profundidad de las puntas
al mismo nivel en ambos lados del
aireador. Si cambia la profundidad de las
puntas, vuelva a revisar el ángulo del
aireador para asegurarse de que todavía
esté en a 4 grados.
Practique usando el aireador. Antes
de empezar la aireación del campo,
busque una zona despejada y practique
parando parar y arrancandoarrancar, elevando elevar y bajando bajar el aireador.
Recuerde marcar todos los obstáculos en
el campo para evitar daños a objetos
como cabezales de irrigación y cables
eléctricos. Debe quitar los objetos que
puedan dañar el aireador, tales como
rocas.
Arranque correctamente. Para
empezar la aireación, use una marcha
lenta del motor del tractor. Ajuste la
velocidad entre 0.97 y 4.02 kph (0.6 a
2.5 mph). A medida que comience a
avanzar con el tractor, baje completamente el acoplamiento de tres puntos y
aumente la velocidad del motor hasta
alcanzar 540 rpm en la toma de fuerza.
La máquina debe estar en el suelo cuando la ajuste a 540 rpm. El aireador puede
dañarse si las agujas puntas no están trabajando en el césped cuando opera a alta
velocidad.
Use la rueda delantera derecha del
tractor como guía. La rueda delantera
derecha del tractor debe usarse como
guía para mantener el mismo espacio lateral entre agujeros después de cada pasada. Esto le permitirá mantenerse fuera
del área en que ya trabajó.
Detenga correctamente la máquina.
Cuando termine de airear, baje reduzca la
velocidad del motor, eleve el aireador,
oprima el embrague del tractor con el pie
y pare la toma de fuerza.
Siempre pare cuando vea gente. Si
alguien se acerca al área donde opera,
apártese del área y pare la máquina hasta
que la gente se aleje. Como las puntas
golpean con fuerza la superficie del
césped, una de ellas podría romperse y
salir lanzada o podría golpear un objeto
que también saldría lanzado del aireador.
Siempre esté alerta por si hay gente a su
alrededor.
El nuevo videovídeo de capacitación
de operadores de ProCore está disponible
en su distribuidora local. Hay otros
videovídeos de capacitación de operadores nuevos, incluyendo los siguientes:
Cortadora Groundsmaster
®
3500 (No. de
catálogo 00061SV), Cortadora
Groundsmaster®4000 (No. de catálogo
01085SV), y Cortadora Greensmaster
®
Flex™21 (No. de catálogo 01086SV).
Cada cinta de videovídeo cuesta $16
dólares.
W
hen Toro introduced the
Greensmaster®FlexTM21 a
year ago, the industry had
never seen a greens mower like it.
The Flex 21 had been conceived and
designed based on specific requests and
input from real-world equipment users.
Toro engineers had gone out and
talked to superintendents, oper-
ators and technicians, all with
the golfer in mind, about
what they needed in a better walk mower.
That kind of guid-
ance and recommen-
dations led to the
many special fea-
tures of the
Flex 21,
most notably its unique flexible cutting
unit, which is essential for undulating
greens and the new Ultra Dwarf grasses.
The cutting unit not only flexes from side
to side around the bedknife centerline,
but also forward and backward around
the reel centerline.
The flexible cutting unit is separate
from the traction unit so it ensures a
superior cut and less scalping than any
other mower. This innovative development allows for crisp, tight mowing at the
height you want, even on the most challenging greens.
“We developed this product based on
customers’ needs and concerns,” says Jerry
Goman, lead engineer for the Flex 21.
“We were hearing more and more about
new grass cultivars and lower height of
cut, combined with undulations and
movements in the green. There was a
need for this machine.”
Tremendously Positive
Response
“It surpassed what I thought it would
do,” says superintendent Mitchell
Wilkerson. “What they promised it would
be able to do, it has.”
Wilkerson is a Certified Golf Course
Superintendent at the 36-hole Moss Creek
Country Club of Hilton Head, South
Carolina. Last year, he was in the market
for new equipment, and had some specific
needs in mind.
“One of our problems was that we have
Super Dwarf Champion on our north
course, and we have a lot of undulations
on our greens,” he says. “At the height we
were mowing, with any little movement
we would just scalp it.”
Wilkerson had been told about the Flex
21 and arranged for a test with Toro. He
was immediately convinced. “That made
me a believer. It was just everything they
said it was.” Wilkerson reports.
His new mowers went right into action
and immediately made a difference. “On
the Super Dwarfs, it was like night and
day,” Wilkerson says. “On the undulations, we didn’t see any bruising or scalping. It was pretty dramatic.”
“It was a no-brainer for me when I saw
the difference it made,” agrees Steve
Nelson, Superintendent at Mississippi
Dunes Golf Links in Cottage Grove,
Minnesota.
“There are severe undulations on the
greens here,” Nelson explains. “My slopes
are so severe, for walk mowing there are
some greens I could only mow in certain
directions.”
Nelson had tried several different types
of greens mowers, but nothing was satisfactory. “I was still getting the scalping,”
he adds. Then he heard about the new
Flex 21 and was able to borrow one from
a friend to try it.
“When I took it out there, I could see
what it can do,” he says. “It was nice
because I had every other brand out there,
and it was easy to see the difference. I didn’t get the scalping the other mowers did.”
Cutting Shorter
With the Flex 21, Nelson was then able
to improve the putting surface of his
greens. “We wanted to start stepping
them down,” he says. “Once I saw that
the scalping wasn’t there, I knew I could
start taking them lower, and start getting
the quality and speed we needed.”
Mitch Fossey is another superintendent
Toro®Greensmaster®Flex
TM
21
Exceeding Expectations
10
Toro’s Greensmaster®FlexTM21 greens mower
offers several substantial benefits to superintendents, operators and technicians.
who was looking for a closer cut. Fossey is
the superintendent at Troy Burne Golf
Club in Hudson, Wisconsin, a new course
with very undulating greens.
“We were having a lot of problems getting good quality cuts on our greens,” he
explains, “because they’re brand new
greens on 100% pure sand base. We just
couldn’t get a mower to cut short enough
for us without damaging or scalping the
grass. They built them with some big rolls
through the middle, and some pretty
severe dips.”
Fossey made calls to find out if someone could provide an answer to his problems. He met with a Toro representative,
who told him about the new Flex 21
mower, which was then still at the
prototype stage.
“We ended up being a test facility,”
Fossey explains. “We actually ran the prototypes on that machine. We helped Toro
in the fine-tuning process.”
At the end of the testing period, Fossey
bought the club their own Flex 21s.
High Praise
“It is the best walking greens mower I
have ever used,” Fossey adds, “and I’ve
been in the business for twenty years and
used a lot of different ones. If someone is
going to walk mow, this is what they
should walk mow with!”
Other superintendents have had similar
great things to say about the Flex 21. In
addition to excellent close-cutting without
scalping, they’re pleased with the
machine’s improved operating and maintenance features.
All controls are easily reachable from
the operator position. The clutch and reel
engage from hand controls. The reel
clutch and the traction clutch have been
incorporated into a single multi-function
control lever and all controls have been
assimilated into the gearbox.
Technicians appreciate the Flex 21’s ease
of maintenance. No grease zerks means it
never has to be greased, and will keep
grease off your greens. All you really need
to check are the height of cut and bedknife adjustments. The Flex 21 has an
exclusive bedbar geometry that keeps the
bedknife aligned for the life of the mower.
When the reel wears, the bedbar geometry
remains constant to maintain a consistently aggressive, even cut with minimized
maintenance.
The Flex 21 was also designed for easy
removal of the cutting unit. Simply take
out two bolts, and the cutting unit comes
off quickly for grinding or replacement.
Golfers will notice the Flex 21 too,
because it gives them a good-playing
green with faster, more predictable ball
roll.
“I’ve had several people call and ask me
if I’d recommend a Flex 21,” says Fossey,
“and I tell them I recommend it 150%.”
“There is nothing else out there like the
Flex 21,” agrees Mitchell Wilkerson. “I
have total confidence in it.”
11
Moss Creek Country Club, Hilton Head, South Carolina, is
a 36-hole golf course with very distinctive architecture.
The Toro
®
FlexTM21 mower was a perfect fit for
the undulating greens of Troy Burne Golf Club,
a dazzling new course in Hudson, Wisconsin.
12
W
hen Toro engineers aren’t
busy developing better
products for you, they
work on ways to make those products
easier to use.
Here are several new tools that were
created to make servicing of Toro golf
sprinklers faster and simpler than ever.
These particular items were designed for
Toro 800S Series golf irrigation systems,
but all of them are downward compatible
to be equally effective with the 600 and
700 Series sprinklers.
Universal Riser Hold-up Tool
Now it’s much
simpler to
replace a sprinkler nozzle. This
versatile little
gadget slips
neatly into place
to hold up the riser while you’re working
beneath it. Multi-directional for use on
both 700 and 800S Series sprinklers, the
hold-up tool is like having another hand.
It replaces part no. 995-55.
1.5'' Valve Insertion Tool
This extremely helpful device has been
upgraded for more
efficient use, especially by providing
improved retention
of the snap ring
during valve installation. This new
insertion tool
replaces part no.
995-10.
However, if you currently have the
existing Toro Valve Insertion Tool #99510, you can also just modify and
improve it yourself with our new 1.5''
(3.81 cm) Valve Insertion Upgrade Kit
(Part No. 102-2063).
5/8'' Nutdriver
Here’s another handy tool you shouldn’t
be without. This new 5/8'' (1.5875 cm)
nutdriver is a big help for removal and
installation of all 800S Series main nozzles.
Snap-Ring Pliers
Talk about making
the job a snap! This
durable, long-handled set of pliers
provides an ideal
grip and reach for
easier removal of a
sprinkler’s valve snap
ring, as well as the
new removable rock
screen. This tool replaces
part no. 995-07.
T
oro’s line of rotary mowers
will provide excellent quality
of cut providing they are serviced correctly and consistently. Regular
scheduled maintenance will reduce problems associated with equipment wear and
tear and ultimately reduce costly
repairs. The following guide-
lines will ensure peak
performance of
your rotary
mowers.
Service Recommendations:
4 Check mower blades daily.
4 Grease gauge wheel pivots daily.
4 Grease gauge wheel axle daily.
4 Torque blades every 50 hrs.
4 Grease spindle bearings every 50 hrs.
4 Check drive belt tension every 50 hrs.
4 Check gearbox oil every 50 hrs.
4 Change gearbox oil every 250 hrs.
Irrigation Tools You Shouldn’t be Without
Rotary Mower Tips
For Smooth Operation
Snap-Ring Pliers (Part
No. 995-100).
Universal Riser Hold-up
Tool (Part No. 102-0336).
1.5'' Valve Insertion Tool
(Part No. 995-101).
R
otary mowers cut grass by
the blade’s cutting surface
impacting against the grass
stems at a high velocity. To ensure good
quality of cut, the cutting edge of the
blade must be kept in a sharp condition.
A dull blade will produce a ragged cut
and will require an excessive amount of
engine horsepower to rotate the blade
through the grass. The most common
causes for rotary mowers not giving a
good quality of cut are due to dull cutting edges and/or bent blades. Whenever
a blade is removed for sharpening:
1. Check the blades to ensure that it is not
bent and has the correct attitude in relation to the housing and ground surface.
2. The blade must be sharpened correctly.
3. Check blade balance each time the blade
is sharpened.
4. When installing the blade, tighten the
blade retaining bolt or nut to the correct
torque so it will not loosen during operation.
If blade is allowed to wear, a slot will
form between the sail and flat part of the
blade (see figure 1).
Eventually a piece of the sail may
break off and be thrown from under the
housing, possibly resulting in serious
injury to yourself or a bystander.
Sharpening Process
Before sharpening the blade, check to
make sure it is straight. Lay the blade on
a flat surface to check.
Do not try to straighten a blade that is
bent, and never weld a broken or cracked
blade. Always use a new Toro blade to
ensure continued safety certification of
the product.
When sharpening the blade, grind the
top surface only, trying to maintain the
angle of the original cutting edge. Do
not grind the bottom surface or a chisel
shape will result (see figure 2). The lowest portion on the blade that contacts the
grass must be the cutting edge or the
grass will not be cleanly cut and excessive
horsepower will be required.
To prevent possible personal injury,
wear a face shield or safety glasses when
grinding or sharpening is being done.
After the blade has been sharpened,
check the balance. This can best be done
by using a blade balancer tool. A bal-
anced blade will stay in a horizontal position on the balancer. A blade that is not
balanced will settle to the heavy side. If
the blade is not balanced, grind some
metal off the heavy end of the blade.
Blade Bolt Torque
When installing blades, be sure to
tighten the blade retaining bolt to the
proper torque. Do not use an air or electric wrench to apply the final torque. To
prevent loosening or damaged threads,
always use a standard torque wrench to
apply the final torque (see figure 3).
Check blade retaining bolt torque any
time a blade has hit a solid object.
13
Technician
tips
Inspecting and Sharpening
Rotary Mower Blades
Customer Care Available at www.toro.com/golf
DO NOT grind bottom of cutting edge.
This will cause poor quality of cut and
demand higher horsepower.
Grind top side of cutting edge only.
Ideal angle for cutting edge is 30º.
INCORRECT This will cause poor quality
of cut and high horsepower requirement.
CORRECT
CORRECT
FLAT PART
OF BLADE
SAIL
SLOT
FORMED
SAIL
WEAR
SAIL
INCORRECT Bent lades will cause poor quality
of cut and demand higher horsepower.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
14
T
oro has a commitment to
helping you have a better-
looking golf course, and sometimes it means providing you with equipment that goes beyond the mowing and
growing of turfgrass.
Our versatile line of options and
attachments includes several handy
debris blowers which you can conveniently use to remove grass clippings,
leaves, twigs, pine needles and other
debris off of your fairways, cart paths
and other surfaces.
Toro offers different sizes of blowers to
fit a variety of uses and applications.
That’s especially true since Toro recently
acquired the well-respected Goossen line
of debris blower products, now enabling
us to offer you an even wider range of
options and choices.
Whichever of our debris blowers you
select, though, it will give you a much
more efficient way of keeping your
course neater and cleaner. Instead of relying on a lot of manual labor and backpack blowers, a Toro debris blower can
simply be towed behind a tractor, or for
the more compact self-contained units,
behind a utility vehicle. In any case, a
Toro debris blower enables you to clean
up large areas in a short time, with just
one operator.
Toro debris blowers offer you bi-directional air chutes as standard equipment.
That means you can blow debris from
either side of the unit, and then simply
turn the chute to send the airflow 180
º
in the opposite direction. That’s important because it allows you to immediately
make additional passes at an area without
having to drive all the way back around,
and still blow the debris to one side.
Other standard features
on Toro debris
blowers
include heavyduty construction on a 1/4''
(.64 cm) steel
frame, plus
skid plates and
rear rollers to
help protect
your turfgrass.
Whatever
your golf
course’s particular situation
calls for, there’s
sure to be a Toro blower that’s just right
for you.
Toro®Debris Blower 400
This compact unit goes anywhere a
tow vehicle can. It generates an air discharge of 6000 cubic feet (170 cubic
meters) per minute (cfm) and a windspeed of 140 mph (225 kmh). Airflow
direction is easily changed from the operator’s seat. Solid, durable construction
promises years of trouble-free service.
Toro®Debris Blower 600
When you want to quickly clear large
areas of debris, use this Toro blower to
create a incredibly powerful wind force
of over 9000 cfm (255 cmm) at a velocity
of 153 mph (246 kmh). The rugged 600
Series includes a second rear roller to provide even more protection for your turf.
BL-3000 Debris Blower
This versatile self-powered unit (Model
No. BL3000PT) packs a lot of force,
with 6170 cfm (174.7 cmm) of airflow
at a velocity of 145 mph (233 kmh).
This hitch-mounted blower is easily
towed behind any utility vehicle. Airflow
can easily be changed from the operator’s
seat with the electric control kit.
You know what it’s like to have
unwanted leaves, pine needles or other
natural debris detracting from the beauty
and playability of your course. So trust a
hard-working Toro debris blower unit to
keep your turf looking better… with a
lot less time and labor.
Also now available from Toro is
Goossen Industries’ powerful line of
Versa-Vac and Mid-Vac products. These
machines will help you maintain high
quality turfgrass and become more productive at cleaning up your course. For
more information on Toro’s new blower
and vacuum products, talk to your Toro
distributor.
14
&
Options
Attachments
Toro®Debris Blowers
An Easy Way To A Cleaner Course
Toro®Debris Blower 600 (Model No. 44536).
Toro
®
Debris Blower 400 (Model No. 44523)
Toro’s new debris blower products allow quick
and powerful clean-up of golf course areas.
15
Innovation Drives Year of Solid Performance
New And Upgraded Products Introduced At GCSAA In Orlando
D
id you happen to invest in a
Toro® Greensmaster® Flex
TM
21
in 2001? How about a
Groundsmaster®3500-D? These are two
of our innovative products that helped
lead Toro to a year of profitability amid
economic and world turmoil.
Beyond delivering products that help
make your job easier, what does it mean
for you when Toro turns a profit when
the economic odds are stacked against it?
More new products, upgrades and
enhancements to existing products.
New Toro Products
Introduced at the 2002
GCSAA Conference and Show
n The 800S Series Sprinklers offer the
ultimate in performance, reliability,
and durability at the lowest cost of
ownership. The new Spike-Gaurd
TM
solenoid offers more than twice the
surge protection than the other sprinklers.
n 720G Series Sprinklers–Toro captured
the strength and performance of a
golf sprinkler in a small-diameter
body that’s ideal for tee boxes,
approaches and other block system
areas with special requirements. Fully
adjustable for optimal performance
with MultiMatrx
®
adjustable flow
nozzles and the TruJectory feature.
n Smart OSMAC–Now give your E-
OSMAC and OSMAC RDR narrowband satellites standalone capability!
Simple satellite programming with
the use of a laptop, the Smart
OSMAC User Interface software and
a serial cable.
n Groundsmaster®4500-D/4700-D–
These powerful rotaries will stripe
rough and trim areas with productive
9-ft. and 12.5-ft. cutting swaths.
n Greensmaster®3150–The most often
relied on riding greens mower from
Toro gets a new look. It has the same
great features you’ve trusted for years,
but now your operators get additional
comfort from easier joystick control,
plus added safety with the ability to
exit the machine from either side and
optional Roll Over Protection System
(ROPS). The redesigned hydraulics
control leaks better and provide
dynamic braking and suspension traction control.
n Multi Pro®5600–Toro’s latest concept
in spraying is expanded into a
machine with a 300-gallon tank. The
Multi Pro series now has faster reaction time—it’s instantaneous—and
more accurate spray control from the
Pro ControlTMsprayer system.
n Workman®3000/4000 Series Heavy
Duty Vehicles–Ten years after Toro
changed the definition of how a heavy
duty vehicle should perform, the original Workman gets a boost with up to
25 percent more horsepower. It’s available in three engine configurations.
n Reelmaster®2000-D–With a new
engine and greater operator comforts,
this new triplex mower offers excellent performance at a real value.
Upgrades, Accessories and
Attachments for Existing
Toro Products
n New Reelmaster®5000 and 6000
series fairway mowers can now be fit-
ted with powered rear roller brushes
for grass clipping dispersion.
n A new adjustable height-of-cut kit
allows for a higher cut—up to 1-3/8
inches—on Reelmaster®5200-D and
5400-D mowers.
n Improved verticutters are available for
the Reelmaster®3100-D, 5500-D
and all 6000 series Reelmasters.
n Hydraulic hose replacement kits
prepackage all the components
you’ll need to service your Reelmaster
®
5000 and 6000 series mowers.
n The redesigned Workman includes an
optional high flow hydraulics kit for
added hydraulic power. Also watch
for new Workman attachments to be
introduced in 2002 including a
Vicon® Spreader.
n Outfit your Flex 21 any way you
want with optional light kits and specialized bedknives, groomers, brushes
and rollers to meet your needs.
n Debris Products–A host of new debris
products are now available under the
Toro brand, following the acquisition
of Goossen Products. Look for the
Toro Versa-Vac and several new blowers for your debris management needs.
The Toro®Groundsmaster®3500-D was introduced
in 2001.
Introduced last year, Toro’s Greensmaster
®
FlexTM21 can be customized for your course
conditions.
We Appreciate Your Feedback
Bulk Rate
U.S.Postage
PAID
St. Louis, MO
Permit #1977
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, contact toroadvantage@toro.com or
fax 952.887.8693. Send us your ideas for future topics or tell us what you think about this
issue. We hope to hear from you soon.
Send Address Changes to:
Canyon Communications, 1630 S. Stapley Dr., Suite 117, Mesa, AZ 85204 or toroadvantage@toro.com
©2002 The Toro Company, 8111 Lyndale Ave. S., Bloomington, MN 55420-1196
T
oro commercial turf equipment and irrigation systems can now be
acquired in one easy step with Toro Financing. Offered in partnership
with GE Capital Vendor Financial Services, Toro Financing makes
obtaining the products you want even easier.
You can choose the solution that best meets your needs:
n Conditional Sales Contracts
n Leases
n Seasonal Skip Payment Plans
n Municipal Financing and Leasing
Irrigation systems including pipe, wire and labor costs can be financed by courses
with the required credit rating using conditional sales contracts.
“We’re excited to be bringing financial solutions to a new marketplace and are
committed to providing flexible options to organizations managing landscapes with
Toro equipment and irrigation systems,” said Jim Kelly, Senior Vice President
/General Manager of GE Capital Vendor Financial Services. “We’re bringing our
superior customer service, vast resources and financial expertise to Toro Financing to
help Toro better serve their customers.”
“We’re pleased to be able to extend these financial offerings to irrigation systems,”
said Bill Hughes, Vice President/General Manager at Toro. “A golf course can renovate its irrigation system and get equipment to for its fleet in one transaction from
one manufacturer. That’s unprecedented.”
Initially, Toro Financing will be available to golf courses, municipalities, schools,
universities, sports organizations and others who purchase commercial turf maintenance equipment and irrigation systems in the United States.
Introducing Toro Financing
Enhanced Financial Solutions for Acquiring Equipment
and Irrigation Systems
New Services
www.toro.com
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