In an effort to help support industry education, Jacobsen recently donated new Jacobsen ECLIPSE walking greens mowers to thirteen of the top turfgrass programs in the United States.
Turfgrass colleges and universities typically manage large turf plots that need to be maintained with the same professional equipment used on golf courses and sports fields. Jacobsen recently delivered ECLIPSE walking greens mowers to Clemson University, Texas A&M University, Auburn University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Florida, The Ohio State University, Mississippi State University, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Cornell University, Delaware Valley College, Gateway Community College and North Georgia Technical College.
Not only do the donations take some of the financial burden of turf maintenance off the schools, it also gives students the opportunity to operate some of the most advanced pieces of turf equipment on the market today.
“At The Ohio State University’s Turfgrass Science Program, our classes revolve around what professionals say you’ll need to succeed as a turfgrass manager,” said Dr. Karl Danneberger, Professor of Horticulture & Crop Science at The Ohio State University. “Giving our students access to professional Jacobsen equipment really shortens the learning curve by giving them a real-life taste of what they’ll be doing in the field.”
Jacobsen ECLIPSE walking and riding greens mowers are the only products to feature variable frequency-of-clip, onboard backlapping and a choice of either hybrid or battery drive. The advanced technology of ECLIPSE mowers allows turf managers to reduce the amount of stress on their turf, especially when mowing greens.
“It is always exciting when we can give our students the experience of ultimate professional care on the greens,” said North Georgia Technical College Turf and Golf Course Management Instructor Joshua Jackson. “We keep a tournament level putting green active on campus as our lab, and this new technology ensures that we can maintain it with the least amount of stress to the plants.”
“We have long believed that supporting education benefits the industry as a whole,” said David Withers, President of Jacobsen. “We will continue to support education through equipment donations, scholarship programs and special events like our Future Turf Managers seminar in Charlotte, North Carolina later this year.”