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Spring 2010

All-Wheel Steer Loader Excels at N.J. Golf Course

Low ground disturbance, attachment versatility and impressive lifting capacity sell course on A300

A300

Golf maintenance crews operate the Bobcat A300 all-wheel steer loader with a Brushcat™ rotary cutter and replace the hand-held trimmers in the course's rough areas.

A Bobcat® loader was the furthest thing from golf course superintendent Gary Arlio's mind until he learned about the one-of-a-kind A300 all-wheel steer loader with its low ground disturbance, exceptional lift capacity and many attachment options. Arlio is a golf course maintenance veteran and currently serves as superintendent at Valley Brook Golf Course in Bergen County, New Jersey.

It took Arlio a few years to convince the Bergen County Board of Supervisors that the cost was worth the investment. "I think what finally convinced the board was the idea of sharing the machine," Arlio says. "It's not just valuable for the golf course, it can be used for the entire Bergen County Parks Department in a variety of ways, especially with all of the different attachments."

As superintendent at the public golf course, Arlio and his crews are responsible for maintaining all of the fine areas, rough areas, drainage and parking lots — that's where the Bobcat A300 comes into play. The new A300 arrived in the fall of 2009 after nearly four years without an excavating or grounds maintenance machine.

"The A300 is quick and versatile, and it has a nice lifting capacity," he says. "We use it with the pallet fork to unload trailers. When we're done, we'll use the Power Bob-Tach™ system to easily change attachments and go onto the next project."

All-wheel steer illustration

Minimize turf damage and tire wear with the all-wheel steer mode, or turn a switch to skid-steer mode for optimum maneuverability (shown with red arrow).

Arlio jokes that some of his maintenance crew were surprised to see him driving it on the course. Equipped with turf tires, the A300 travels across even fine turf areas without causing a bit of damage. "I'll guarantee you that you're not going to see where I drove the machine," he says. "I don't know why more golf courses don't have one."

In addition to the A300, the course owns a Bobcat backhoe attachment, Brushcat™ rotary cutter, snow blade, pallet forks and bucket attachments. According to Arlio, his grounds maintenance crews can cut the native grass areas on the 110-acre course with the Brushcat rotary cutter in considerably less time. "We spent 400 man-hours cutting our native grass areas in 2008," he says. "We spent 50 hours in 2009 with the new Brushcat rotary cutter. My guys previously used hand-held trimmers, and then all the grass would lay down, so we had to take it away. The Brushcat rotary cutter mulches it and it's ready for winter."

Arlio has plans to purchase additional attachments to replace subcontractors for projects such as stump grinding. "A stump grinder attachment will pay for itself in less than a year," he says.

For more information about the Bobcat all-wheel steer loader, visit the A300 page.

A300 replaces aging backhoe loader

Aging backhoe loader

When Gary Arlio arrived at the Valley Brook Golf Course four years ago, the only earthmoving machine — a backhoe loader — was inoperative. Today that machine is nearly covered with grass and weeds while a new A300 and attachments has replaced the old machine. "The board didn't want to spend the money to fix it," he says. "The all-wheel steering is what sold us on the A300. It's just a really good machine to have on a golf course.".

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