Do Golf Courses Use Robotic Mowers?

Robotics and electronics have found their way into most areas of our lives. For example, mundane tasks like vacuuming the floor, coffee making, or mowing the lawn these days require robots and electronic equipment.

Golf courses use robotic mowers to keep their lawns lush, green, and well pruned. The popularity of golf has increased since 2020. As a result, the competition between golf course owners became fierce. Robotic mowers ensure pristine golf courses year-round, attracting more players.

This article investigates why golf courses use robotic mowers and the benefits and challenges of using robotic mowers. Do robot mowers work on hills?

Why Do Golf Courses Use Robotic Mowers?

Following are a few reasons golf courses opt for using robotic mowers.

• Better performance. Golfers perform better on greens trimmed by robotic mowers than those prepared with conventional double cutting and rolling.
• Dramatic stripping results from using robotic mowers set to mow in a different direction every day of the week. Dramatic stripping ensures pristine greens without sacrificing ball speed.
• Labor costs get lowered by using robotic mowers. Fewer laborers are needed when tending to golf courses with robotic mowers.
• Time gets saved by using robotic mowers, seeing it only takes a robotic mower 25 to 30 minutes to complete each hole on a 4,500 square feet course.

Benefits Of Using Robotic Mowers On Golf Courses

Robotic lawnmowers has large benefits compared to traditional mowers and they are well developed to tackle all the operations with precision without damaging the golf courses.

Following are some benefits of using robotic mowers on golf courses that need consideration.

• Saving money in financially challenging times is a number one priority. Robotic mowers save time that equates to money, fuel, labor costs, service costs, and parts. For example, robotic mowers can mow lawns for up to 18 hours, covering 1.25 hectares with little downtime for charging their batteries.
• Little supervision is needed when operating a robotic mower. Less control frees up time for laborers to tend to other green-keeping duties.
• Robotic mowers are programmed to run on their own and only need assistance in being moved from one green to another. The mower will move to its docking station after mowing a preset area and then sends an alarm to the user interface. The robotic mower does not need constant supervision, which frees up time and saves money.
• Robot mowers operate in near silence without adding to noise pollution.
• Another positive is that these mowers do not use fuel, thus minimizing air pollution.
• The most surprising benefit is the consistent playing conditions produced by the robotic mowers. Constant good playing conditions ensure good games. Using the mowers results in “always cut grass” conditions, seeing they the lawns get mowed regularly.

Is a Robotic Mower the Perfect Solution for a Golf Course?

Yes, automatic mowers are the best solution for golf courses and are favorable than manual mowers like

• Zero Turn Mowers
• Front Mower
• Lawn Mower

Here are few key considerations of mowers for golf courses.

• The cost of energy
• The slope of the golf course
• Area of the Gold course (How big the golf course is?)

What do Golf Courses Think About Automatic Lawn Mowers?

Golfrange, München – Brunnthal, Germany – He says that the golf course is using seven Automower® robotic mowers on the practice range. Everyone is fully satisfied with the result. From the greenkeeper to the Management and – not to mention – the golfers. Source

https://youtu.be/PbOyyPZFb4Q

Challenges Of Using Robotic Mowers On Golf Courses

Following are some challenges of using robotic mowers on golf courses that need consideration.

• Robotic mowers come with a very high price tag putting them out of reach for many golf courses. Therefore, every facility wishing to acquire a robotic mower will need to carefully consider the cost-benefit of owning robotic mowers.
• Challenges also arise with the quality of cutting done by robotic mowers, and this issue needs urgent attention. Rotating or replacing the blades more frequently does not rectify this problem to everyone’s complete satisfaction.
• A well-adjusted “old school” mower may still outperform a modern autonomous mower even when changing blades on the robotic mower more often.
• Robotic mowers create boundary issues since they need wire enclosures to ensure the correct areas get mowed. In addition, these wires hinder entry to many courses, which causes a lot of frustration.
• To combat the wire enclosure issue, companies started to use ground wiring to direct the robot mowers. However, ground wiring brought a set of new challenges. Installing ground wires is expensive; the wires interfere with the proper aerating of the soil and complicate trenching and repairs to irrigation.
• Servicing robotic mowers seems to be either very simplistic or highly complicated. Robotic mowers consist of many cameras, sensors, onboard computers, radar, and sonar systems that make maintenance and services elaborate. In addition, servicing calls for highly trained mechanics that charge higher fees, which adds more to the running costs of robotic mowers.

• Liability concerns go hand in hand with autonomous mowers. These concerns include bodily harm to humans and property damage. Who would be accountable if such an event occurred? There are no official rules and regulations to be followed when operating an autonomous mower. Authorities are tending to resolve this issue.

Consider This Before Buying A Robotic Mower

Robotic mowers are expensive items, and proper research needs to be done before purchasing to ensure that adequate utilization of the robotic mower is possible.

Before buying a robotic mower, buyers should consider the following.

• The size of the golf course plays a significant role when deciding on what robotic mower to buy. Golf courses can range from 70 acres to 100 to 190 acres in size. Therefore, it is crucial to choose a mower that will be able to handle the load.

• Determining the size of the battery needed for effective mowing also depends on the size of the course. In doing so, it will be easy to decide on how many mowers will be required to service a specific area properly.
• Obstacles like shrubs, trees, and lighting will force mowers to use more battery power to maneuver around without colliding with something. The additional use of battery power means that the battery will need charging more often, leading to longer operating hours.
• The cutting deck of a robotic mower refers to the bottom of the mower. The cutting deck is the area where the blades spin. Some makes of  Robotic mowers come equipped with a floating deck that automatically adjusts the cutting height to ensure even cutting in all spots.
• The mower’s cutting width determines the size of the swatch area that a mower will cut on a single pass. For example, mowers used for cutting golf courses need a cutting width of around two feet. The wider the mower, the quicker the cutting time will be.
• Consider buying a robotic mower that offers flexible programming options. Flexible programming allows setting up schedules and choosing the correct cleaning mode for different zones.
• Finally, choose mowers with large wheels. Large wheels optimize mowing even on uneven terrain. Therefore, choosing a mower with wheels that can handle slopes of up to 30 degrees is advisable.

Conclusion

Golf courses that use robotic mowers claim to have cut up to 80% on their annual expenditure, saving on labor, parts, services, and fuel. Despite their price, robotic mowers are here to stay.

A robotic mower can cost up to $4000 but at the same time it reduces labor costs. Using a robotic lawnmower also solves problem of labor shortage.

References

https://blog.parker.com/site/usa/en-US/details-home-page/commercial-robotic-lawn-mowers-may-be-used-on-a-golf-course-or-field-near-you-us

https://www.golfcourseindustry.com/article/robotic-greens-mower-cadet/

https://icrowdnewswire.com/2021/03/19/the-best-robotic-lawn-mowers-for-golf-courses-in-2021-2/

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/course-care/green-section-record/60/04/rise-of-the-machines-autonomous-mowers-on-golf-courses.html