The milestone of the ‘1000th installation’ of Hydrowick greens drainage is on the horizon for specialist sports turf contractors Djuke, and ensuring they get there is a trio of tractors from Kubota.
Djuke Managing Director Cameron McMillan is no stranger to Kubota reliability having been loyal to the brand for over 30 years, with his latest purchase of an M5-112 and L2-522 from Lister Wilder providing the dependable power to tackle every task and every terrain with ease.
Starting at the world-renowned Sunningdale Golf Club, Cameron went on to continue his course management career at Queenwood Golf Club before establishing Djuke in 2013. The contractors have gone on to become the UK’s leading specialists in Hydrowick Drainage – a patented ‘wick’ system providing the fast and effective drainage of golf greens. With more intense and prolonged periods of rainfall, Cameron explains that demand is ever-increasing meaning that reliability is pivotal to keeping the whole contracting schedule on track.
“Together with new clubs, a lot of our work is repeat custom who find that the wettest green on the course becomes the driest with Hydrowick and want to replicate that site-wide” he explains. “Our schedule is tight so we have no margin for error, and certainly no time for machinery breakdowns!”
“Kubota, for me, has always been super reliable, comfortable and capable of everything you need from a tractor.” That confidence was reaffirmed with the recent addition of the M5-112 and L2-522 in December 2024. The two new machines joined their existing L2-501, which continues to deliver exceptional performance after more than 2,500 hours of service. “Every job and every green is different so we now have machines to suit all terrain and all ground types – lightweight tractors with good pulling power for the greens, together with our new M5-112 with greater lift capacity for operating bigger equipment on fairways and sports surfaces.”
“One feature the team really like is the creeper gearbox, giving complete control over the operation of some of our bespoke and precision-based implements” he adds. “In addition the heated and air-conditioned cabs are a popular choice, keeping us comfortable in all conditions.”
With routine maintenance simple enough to conduct in-house, further servicing and support is delivered by Lister Wilder, whom Cameron has also worked alongside for more than three decades. “Everything with Lister’s is reliable and professional. You know they understand the machines inside and out which provides added peace of mind with every purchase.”
“Kubota’s brilliant build quality combined with the regular maintenance means that in over 10 years of business, we’ve never missed a job and that’s something we’re incredibly proud of.”
