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February 12, 2009
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The Jacobsen Eclipse 322 was well-received at this year’s Golf Industry Show. |
Following the successful launch of the Eclipse walking greens mowers in 2008, Jacobsen’s new riding greens mower – the Eclipse 322 – will be ready this spring to be taken for a ride.
At demonstrations this spring at select golf courses around the United States, golf superintendents and operators will see for themselves how this newly-designed mower, featuring a hybrid or battery-powered system and the elimination of hydraulics in the machine, rides and cuts.
By fall, if everything goes according to plan, golf courses will have the Eclipse 322s in their mower fleet.
The 322 was built with the golf course operator and technicians in mind. In fact, its introduction follows five years of input from customers about what they wanted in a riding greens mower, says Quinn Derby, product manager for the 322.
“It is a completely new, from-the-ground-up design with lots of new features that make the operator more comfortable and make it easier for the technician to work with,” says Derby. It was featured earlier this month at the Golf Industry Show (GIS) in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Interest in the 322 was high at the GIS, says Joe Cunningham, Jacobsen’s vice president of marketing. “I spoke with people from Saudi Arabia, Japan and Argentina as well as the U.S. and they were ready to place orders as soon as it was available. They recognize the fuel savings and its simplicity in that there are fewer parts and less maintenance costs,” he adds.
A cleaner ride and reduced noise is also a factor driving interest, says Cunningham. Seventy percent of all new golf courses are built in residential areas, compelling golf course operators to be as sensitive as possible to noise pollution and environmental concerns.
This is the first riding greens mower to feature either a hybrid engine or battery-powered system, making it far less costly to operate and maintain than the traditional gasoline or diesel-powered hydraulic machine. With the hybrid model, the battery can be replaced by a gasoline or diesel hybrid engine, which drives a generator that provides electricity to the system.
Without hydraulics, there is no risk of leaking or breaking hoses, which can spill oil on the greens. “Elimination of hydraulics was a big issue among customers,” Derby says.
The controls on the 322 allow the operator to easily adjust the mower and the reels that control the cutting, providing a cleaner cut and healthier grass.
Golf course operators have also been enthused by the 322’s ability to be a Total Greens Management System – easily fitting attachments onto and off the machine to handle a variety of jobs. “In a difficult economy, our customers need machines that can do more than one thing. Versatility and flexibility are key,” Derby says.
Jacobsen plans to add a “cost calculator” so golf courses can measure for themselves its potential savings in reduced fuel costs, time and maintenance costs. “Depending on the usage of the machine, you may be able to make up the cost differential in two to three years,” Derby says. Jacobsen projects that operating costs could be lowered by 80 percent using the battery version and by 40 percent using the hybrid version for the average course that cuts 300 days a year.
“Customer feedback has been phenomenal,” he adds. “This is a machine that is matched to the demands of today’s golf course business requirements. No other product compares to the Eclipse 322.”
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