Richard Ayling, grounds manager at Merchant Taylors’ School in Hertforshire, recently purchased four Dennis Razors – one for the school’s lawn areas and three for cricket pitch preparations.
Richard has worked at the school for nearly 23 years, and his team includes groundsmen and gardeners. “We were looking for something that was fairly simple to use, had easy height adjustment and a nice balance,” he says. “I took my staff to SALTEX in November last year and had a good look round the show to see what was on the market. We looked at various machines and drew up a shortlist. After a couple of demonstrations, we were all in favour of the Razor.”
The site at Merchant Taylors’ School totals approximately 280 acres, with 80 acres of sports fields on the main school site and 20 acres on the prep school site. The remainder is buildings, lakes, lawns and woodland.
The Dennis Razor encompasses the simple ‘no tools required’ click height adjusters for quick and easy operation, a feature that worked for Richard and his team: “Its ease of use is the best feature and I particularly like the click system on the height adjustment setting. The Razor was exactly the machine we were looking for.”
The team uses the Razor eight to 10 days prior to a game, and Richard praises the machine’s cut quality: “For cricket preparation we use the Razor to cut down to 3-4mm, but they are superb for trimming off the squares as well and they cut nicely at 15mm. Ultimately, they produce a fantastic finish on every occasion.”