quail hollow club banks on jacobsen® for wachovia victory

PGA Tour agronomist proclaims, 'best conditions i've ever seen.'

As the nation watched, Quail Hollow Club unfurled its impeccable turf for the fourth annual Wachovia Championship last May. The tournament had already established itself as a premier event — just one of the reasons 10 of the world’s top 11 players chose to compete in this year’s tournament. In addition to being a sponsor of the tournament, Jacobsen® is also the official turf care equipment supplier to the famed Charlotte, North Carolina, course. The Quail Hollow fleet features GK 518s™ on the greens, SLF-1880s™ on the fairways and AR-5s™ on the roughs. In addition, most mowers at Quail Hollow Club are outfitted with the MAGSystem™.

Thanks to Quail Hollow Club superintendent Jeff Kent, his staff and his fleet of Jacobsen equipment, the course was in flawless condition. In fact, the superiority of the conditions prompted PGA Tour agronomist Jeff Haley to say, “This is the best (conditions) I’ve ever seen. I’ve been with the Tour for more than 20 years, I’ve covered the entire United States, and this is the most consistent — the best — I’ve ever seen. There is hardly a blemish on the entire golf course.”

That’s extremely high praise from an industry veteran. But more importantly, Haley adds, the players praised the conditions as well.

“Good comments, very good comments (from the players),” he says. “You typically don’t hear them talking about how good the golf course is. If you don’t hear anything, you’re usually pretty happy. But to hear them compliment the golf course over and over again is very satisfying.”

"MAGKnife helps me do my job better." - Head technician Jerry Blackwelder

Mission accomplished
And if that wasn’t enough, Kent read several player comments to his crew before a 5 a.m. mow. One said, “When you get up to the tee here, you really have to think before you grab a club.” Kent says that alone is proof his team accomplished what they set out to do — provide top-notch conditions that challenge the greatest players in the world with some of the greatest conditions in the world. Kent uses Jacobsen equipment to help his team achieve world-class results.

“We’re across-the-board Jacobsen,” Kent says. “We’re using the GK 518 greens mowers, which I think is an elite mower for putting greens. We tried seven or eight different types of mowers to mow these greens because there are severe undulations on them. I think it’s the best product for the situation.

“We’re using SLF-1880 fairway mowers with groomers on them on a regular basis,” he continues. “I think that has a lot to do with the tight, fast conditions. We’re not only cutting the grass horizontally, but we’re also cutting vertically. It’s an important aspect — something Jacobsen offers that’s unique to the industry. The super-lightweight fairway mowers also proved invaluable during the weekend downpours. The 1880’s light footprint minimizes compaction when mowing soaked turf.”

MAGSystem is a hero
There were other heroes during the week, including the MAGSystem. Because of its timesaving design, head technician Jerry Blackwelder was able to mow sharp every time. The MAGSystem also proved crucial when an operator accidentally hit an object on a tee. As designed, the MAGKnife popped off and another was installed in minutes. Again, this would only be possible with the superior performance of another Jacobsen-exclusive product.

“The operator was back mowing in a matter of minutes,” Blackwelder says. “With a conventional screw-type bedknife, we’d be down 30 to 45 minutes. All we had to do with the MAGKnife bedknife was clean off the back and pop it back on. We can put a good, sharp bedknife on the course anytime.”

Blackwelder estimates it takes at least one-third less time to change bedknives with MAGKnife.

“It saves the club money and there is a better mower going out on the course on any given day,” he adds. “They stay sharp just as long as conventional bedknives.”

Quail Hollow is converting the SLF-1880s to the MAGSystem.

“We had a fairway mower hit something that broke a blade on the reel,” Blackwelder says. “The mower was down more than two hours. If it had been equipped with a MAGKnife, we’d have been back mowing in less than five minutes. The MAGKnives are working very well for us. The new magnets give us a ‘truer’ bedknife. They have a stronger pull and the edge is uniform across the entire bedknife.

“It’s my responsibility to put on the course the best piece of equipment for the finest quality-of-cut,” continues Blackwelder, who has been at Quail Hollow 21 years. “If that doesn’t happen, I’m not doing my job. MAGKnife helps me do my job better. I’ve got a better bedknife going out. With a traditional screw-type bedknife I might grind the front edge to get by a little longer, but with MAGKnife I just pop one off and pop on a sharp bedknife. We’re out the door and back to cutting.”

Kent’s take on the MAGSystem: “Anything that utilizes the mechanic’s ability to the fullest and saves time is critical. Jerry’s probably the most important guy at the facility. Anything that saves him time is money well spent.”