Aberdovey Golf Club, Wales

Nestled between the Cambrian Mountains and Cardigan Bay, the scenic Aberdovey Golf Club’s 18 hole championship links course was established in 1892. Assistant head greenkeeper Rhys Butler saw the Tru-Turf roller in action at St Andrews and was highly impressed. “You could really see the results,” he explains. “It is such a simple concept but produces a superbly smooth finish to the greens.”

Aberdovey’s Tru-Turf roller was delivered in April, and Rhys was keen to try it out. “We are able to achieve more pace and smoother greens, which enables us to cut less often and leave a longer sward, “he says. “The roller is so easy to use and manoeuvre – it is built onto its own trailer and we simply hitch it onto the back of the quad between greens.”

Rhys also reckons the Tru-Turf Roller represents good value for money. “It is well worth the cost for such fantastic greens. Golfers notice the increased pace of the greens and have commented on how much better they are.


Downfield Golf Club, Scotland

At Downfield Golf Club near Dundee, the Tru-Turf roller was purchased in spring 2007 to help prepare the 18 hole parkland course for its Open qualifier.

“The RS48-11C has been a major influence in improving green speeds, while retaining a sensible height of cut. The greens surface is left smooth and fast and more importantly not under any stress.” explains course manager Paul Murphy. “We have been able to increase mowing heights by 1mm and the greens are still running fast and smooth. Even for tournaments we can cut at 4mm, which is better for the turf in the long term.”

In use three times a week, with a couple of rolls immediately before a tournament, the roller has really made a difference, says Paul. He points out that the spiker really sets the Tru-Turf RS48-11C apart from the competition. “This attachment gently opens up the surface and lets the air in, it is very useful.” After a year’s hard use, Paul reports that the RS48-11C still looks like new. “It is extremely robust, and we believe it is the best on the market. I have recommended the Tru-Turf roller to other greenkeepers and there are now a lot of Tru-Turf models in this area!”

La Moye Golf Club, Channel Islands

La Moye Golf Club, home to the Jersey Seniors Classic, invested in two new Tru-Turf rollers for use on its 18 hole championship course this spring.

“Ride-on greens rollers are the ideal rolling solution, and the Tru-Turf is the best I’ve used.” says course manager Richard Cutler. “For producing smooth greens and improved ball roll it can’t be beaten.”

He also finds that the spiker roller provides useful additional aeration, further enhancing its benefits for turf health. The Tru-Turf roller’s reputation for durability and use of proven components was also a factor in the purchase. “The Honda engine is known to be reliable
and the roller looks really well built,” adds Richard.

 

St Andrews Links, Scotland

At perhaps the most famous golf course of all, the Old Course, St Andrews Links – which Tiger Woods recently described as his favourite – two new Tru-Turf RS48-11C rollers joined five existing models last year.

Links superintendent Gordon Moir, who is responsible for all turf matters at St Andrews Links, says: “We now use a Tru-Turf roller on all seven of our courses two or three times a week. It is ideal to keep green speeds up, and works so well that we have been able to keep
our cutting heights up. This reduces stress on the sward and results in healthier turf.”

Gordon reports that the Tru-Turf roller is also extremely user-friendly. “It is straightforward to operate and to manoeuvre around the course. The rollers also follow ground contours well, which gives a very smooth finish and is also ideal for restoring surfaces after deep
aeration work.”

 

The London Golf Club, England

The London Golf Club has a long history with Tru-Turf and enjoyed support from Double A, who supplied additional machines to back up the club’s own equipment for its recent European Open tournament.

Assistant course manager Glenn Kirby says that the Tru-Turf is the best greens roller of its kind on the market, explaining: “It is just so manoeuvrable with its Easy Trailer system. The two roller steering means that it is easy to use, so new operators can be trained quickly. We have a large team to look after two 18 hole courses and it is essential for our greenkeepers to be able to use many different machines to a high standard.”

Quality greens are essential for the prestige tournaments and corporate fixtures held at the London Golf Club, and Glenn comments: “The Tru-Turf roller has improved green speeds, reduced the frequency of cutting, enabled us to maintain higher cutting heights and minimised stress on the turf.”

Having used the Tru-Turf rollers since 1995, the London Golf Club can also testify to the build quality of the machine. “They are extremely well built, but also simple so that any maintenance can be done in-house. We have always enjoyed excellent back-up from
Tru-Turf and expect it to be even more seamless now that Double A is representing the brand in the UK.” says Glenn.

He delivers the ultimate compliment: “I would recommend the Tru-Turf Roller to any course manager – it is the simplest and most reliable roller that I have used.”

Westin La Cantera, San Antonio

We recently completed our ninth Texas Open here at the La Cantera Golf Club. We felt this year's event was the best so far. The condition of the course was praised by many of the PGA Professionals. Our toughest challenges preparing for the Open are the bunkers and the greens. We eliminated any concerns with the bunkers last year by lining and adding new sand to the bunkers. The grain in our greens is always a concern as the tournament is played on Bermuda grass greens late in the season.

With the use of the Tru-Turf Greens Rollers we were able to have consistent greens speeds without jeopardizing turf quality. We were mowing at just under an 1 /8 of an inch and speeds of over 11 feet on the Stemp Meter. We heard nothing but good comments on the smoothness of the greens.

I was very impressed with the ease and quickness that the greens could be rolled with the Tru-Turf Greens Rollers. The great feature is there is no trailer to load and unload from, we just unhook from the cart and start rolling. The traction on the Tru-Turf Roller is the best I've seen, there is no spinning or slipping at any degree of slope.

I will definitely be requesting a Tru-Turf Greens Roller for our next year's capital purchases. This was a product that did exactly what it was supposed to do.

Thank you,
Brad C. Hines
Troon Golf Senior Agronomist

 

The Dominion Club/Hunting Hawk Golf Course

I would like to express my satisfaction with your 'Turf Greens Roller. I host the Nationwide Tour's Greater Henrico County Open, and this past year was the first time was fortunate enough to use your roller. Set up for a demonstration to use during our tournament, I was amazed at the ease of use your rollers provided. My staff loved the convenience of operating your machine.

What it did for our greens was the clincher. It smoothed our greens to a tremendous consistency, with an increase of almost 12" on our green speed! Every player I talked to loved the greens, and I know it was the roller that added the final consistent topping for our greens to achieve the top tournament conditions.

After the tournament, I spiked and rolled the greens the Monday following the tournament using the built in spiking attachment. Its ease of use in the same unit was also a plus.

I have since bought a unit for our facility, and plan to buy a second. Thanks for introducing us to your product. I recommend it to anyone looking for a rolling unit.

Sincerely,
Rick Briggs, Director of Grounds

 

Nemacolin Woodlands Resort

I would like to thank you for donating the Tru-Turf Greens Rollers for the PGA Tour 84 Lumber Classic of Pa this past September.

The rollers were very easy to use, they are self-contained. With the Tru-Turf roller there is no trailer to mess around with, just unhook the pull frame from the cart, fold up the hitch, roll the green, and go to the next. It is amazing how quick and smooth they are. Actually the rollers worked so good to smooth out and true up the greens, that half way through t tie tournament we had to stop using them because greens speeds were becoming to fast. I was so impressed by the rollers that I am going to purchase 2 for next year. Thank you for the help.

Respectfully,
Brian D. Anderson, Golf Course Superintendent