Joe Wollner, golf and grounds superintendent at the 27-hole Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge resort for the past 11 years, has recently added a Jacobsen AR522 fine cut rotary mower to his fleet, specifically to maintain the Alec’s Nine executive course. Jacobsen is a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company.
The AR522 is a five deck articulated rotary mower with a 7’ 6” cutting width that follows ground contours with precision. It features Jacobsen’s TrimTek mulching technology, which keeps the clippings suspended longer and provides a high quality finish.
“A couple of years ago, one of my machines went down the day before a holiday weekend and my local Jacobsen dealer, Turfwerks, loaned me an AR522 and, boy, did that do a great job,” Wollner commented. “I was really impressed with the cut quality, but at that time I just didn’t have the budget to make the purchase, as I’d just bought a Jacobsen AR3.
“Recently we were looking to improve the visual appearance of the Alec’s Nine without doing any major renovations to the course and I recalled how well the AR522 had performed. I contacted Greg Bondy at Turfwerks to request a demo and we mowed the course, just before a management meeting. The management team was delighted with the results and so impressed that we purchased the demo unit the following day!
“We are cutting to a height of 1½ inches and the course has never looked so good.”
Joe began his career at Terrace View Golf Course in Mankato, MN back in 1984 and has worked at various courses across the North and Midwest. He has also worked in the lawn care sector and in chemical distribution, so has a rounded knowledge of the turf business.
“We have two typical Minnesota courses here, cut through woodland with a lot of water features,” he added. “We are proud of our reputation as the oldest family-owned course in the State and we are certainly one of the best maintained,” he added.