Toro helped prepare Royal Liverpool for the Open

The Open returned to Royal Liverpool Golf Club for the 13th time this July and helping prepare the course for the world’s golfing greats was Toro turfcare machinery.

While most of the machinery fleet at the famous links at Hoylake on the west coast of England is Toro, leading the charge on the greens, tees and surrounds were the Toro eFlex 1021 lithium-ion battery-powered pedestrian greensmowers and Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 all-electric ride-on greensmowers.

A dedicated team of greenkeepers under the watchful eye of links manager James Bledge made the final preparations to the course and Toro was there every step of the way. In fact, the previous time the club hosted the world’s oldest and most popular golf event in 2013, it had just taken delivery of six eFlex 1021 greensmowers and while plenty has changed since then, what’s stayed the same is the machine still entrusted to look after the greens and tees.

James explains: “We have a new par three which was the biggest change since the Open was last hosted here – it is a very short but challenging hole with stunning views of the estuary and Wales.

What hasn’t changed is the club’s commitment to sustainable course management in that we’re always looking for the best carbon-neutral options. And when you find a pedestrian greensmower that provides this level of precision and quality, powered by a battery, you don’t look anywhere else.

“The weather dictated the greens speed for the week and the work we did in the last year ensured we had more control over this. For us that’s six teams of two out doing single and double cuts with the Toro eFlex 1021 pedestrian mowers.”

Joining the pedestrian mowers on the frontline was Toro’s Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 all-electric ride-on greensmower.