New Course Picks Turfwerks, Jacobsen Over Tough Competition
January 01, 2009
Landing a new golf course as a client offers both big challenges, and great opportunities for new business. As a brand new course set to open for play in the summer months of 2009, investors involved with Wedgewood Cove Golf Club in Albert Lea, MN, had their pick when it came to making a decision about turf equipment. In August of 2008, when it came time to make that final call, Mitch Stewart and Turfwerks helped Wedgewood Cove decide to go orange.
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| Four G-Plex IIIs will help Wedgewood Cove prepare for its first season in 2009 |
Albert Lea is a small town of about 27,000, and was left without a local golf course after the Albert Lea Country Club closed several years ago. In 2006, interest in building a new course began to peak and investors began to get serious at the beginning of 2008.
"We first met with the Wedgewood Cove investors at the Minnesota Golf Show, and we convinced an active partner to come with us to the Jacobsen meetings at the big Golf Industry Show last year," Stewart said. "He came with us to Charlotte, and we took him out to the Sage Valley Golf Course in South Carolina and he liked what he saw."
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| The versatile AR-522 was part of a large package of Jacobsen equipment sent to Wedgewood Cove in the fall |
Despite a good impression from their visit to Jacobsen headquarters, there was stiff competition for Wegewood Cove as a client from several other equipment dealers, including a prominent competitor located just half an hour north of the course. When it came time for Wegewood Cove to find a superintendent, a past Jacobsen client of Stewart and Turfwerks was chosen, helping to reinforce Jacobsen as the best option.
"I had sold the superintendent some Jacobsen machines at his previous course, so when he chose to move up to Wedgewood Cove, that relationship worked out very well," Stewart said. "When they started making final decisions, they chose to go with us, right in somebody else’s backyard."
When the deal was finalized, the course ordered two LF-3400s, four G-Plex IIIs, an AR-3, an AR-522, a Cushman utility vehicle and several Greens King walking greens mowers to get the course in shape for its upcoming first season. Thanks to the efforts of Stewart and Turfwerks, Wedgewood Cove will be using Jacobsen for a long time coming.
For more information on Jacobsen and the company's expansive international dealer network, visit www.jacobsen.com or call 1-888-922-TURF.
About Jacobsen
With over 90 years of experience in the turf maintenance industry, Jacobsen has built a legacy of precision craftsmanship, legendary quality of cut and unmatched expertise. Dedicated solely to delivering perfectly groomed turf, Jacobsen equipment is used on some of the finest golf courses, sports fields and other formal turf areas across the United States and the world, through an extensive distribution network and the international Ransomes brand. Additional information about the company can be found at www.jacobsen.com.
About Textron
Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, 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, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems. More information is available at www.textron.com.
For further information, please contact:
Adam Slick, Public Relations and Communications Manager
Jacobsen
704-504-4867
aslick@textron.com
