Robomow

[Tony Ristola]

Has anyone seen a course with these robotic greens mowers?

I believe they have the potential to return a lost design ideal for a lot of courses that can't afford to walk their greens.  Small, lighter robomowers could usher in a return to placing bunkers right up to the edge of the green on any course with a decent maintenance budget. You wouldn't have to worry about someone being in a hurry with their triplex, doing those 180 turns on the greens edge any longer. Could also bring about the end of the dreaded triplex ring. These would be good during grow-in too by eliminating the chance of impatient supers from bringing out triplexes too early.

Of course, time will have to pass, and prices drop for it to happen, but that happens with time with most products.

If there is a next big thing that will have an impact on design without an increase in costs, could this be it?

[PCCraig]

Are any golf courses already using them?

[Kirk Gill]

Are you talking about GPS-guided lawnmowers? An interesting concept, certainly. Anyone have any direct experience with them?

[Ross Harmon]

I don't have any direct experience, but I know someone who works for Precise Path and found this video on their website:
http://www.youtube.com/precisepath

Interesting technology for sure, I have no idea what the price is though.

[Jeff_Brauer]

I have seen these demonstrated.  Most who have experiemented say that its not quite ready to be fully trusted.  Funniest thing I ever heard was a super being told that its weird to look at a the computer where the operator would be, with its cold, blank look.  Other super says, "looks just like me crew!"

[Troy Alderson]

The mower does not use GPS.  It uses some sort of laser locating device.  I do think there is a lot of potential with the mowers.  They are around $40,000 each and they do not eliminate staff.  The mower only redistribute the staff to other jobs while the mower is cutting the green.  I see about three to four on an eighteen hole golf course.  An employee can trailer the mower(s) out to a green(s), set it up and let it cut.  Change the hole, hand rake the bunker, fix ball marks, what ever job.  I think the job would be two mowers and one operator.  I have not penciled out the savings, but have talk it over with our GM and we both think there is a return.

[Greg Chambers]

Of course the mower eliminates staff.  If you're mowing a green, and a person is not the operator, then that position has been eliminated.  You can say that the tasks are redistributed, but those tasks had to be accomplished by somebody anyway, and it usually wasn't the guy or gal responsible for mowing the green.  So you've eliminated staff.  You say there is a return, of course there is, because now you don't have to pay somebody to mow greens.

[jeffwarne]

The mower does not use GPS.  It uses some sort of laser locating device.  I do think there is a lot of potential with the mowers.  They are around $40,000 each and they do not eliminate staff.  The mower only redistribute the staff to other jobs while the mower is cutting the green.  I see about three to four on an eighteen hole golf course.  An employee can trailer the mower(s) out to a green(s), set it up and let it cut.  Change the hole, hand rake the bunker, fix ball marks, what ever job.  I think the job would be two mowers and one operator.  I have not penciled out the savings, but have talk it over with our GM and we both think there is a return.

I find it amusing that they've invented something that mows the green for you so you can hand rake the bunker

seriously though, Why would you spend $40,000 on a unit unless it reduced man hours?
and how could there be a savings without reducing man hours ?(although I'm confident the GM can answer that question perfectly )
and if you're maintaining current staff and "redistributing" them, either the budget goes up (to purchase the unit) or you have to reduce staff hours

[Tony Ristola]

Like all things, I'd expect the mowers to come down in price. In the mid 80's cell phones were 10G a shot.

I wouldn't want one left alone in operation, but as noted have someone doing another job. Cutting surrounds, the fairway, raking bunkers, adjacent tees. It would be cool if they could have the thing automatically adjust the mowing height and have it cut the surrounds or tees too. In 10 to 20-years it will be interesting to see what progress has been made.

An couple added advantages  are: if they are accurate, the outer form of the green won't change, and I'd guess there are no hydraulics, so there goes the dreaded hot oil streak across the green when a hose or its connection malfunctions.

[Joey Chase]

Hawks Landing in Orlando has implemented them on a trial basis at least.  I would be interested to hear how they like them.  It would be a nice tool as the employee that would've been mowing could cut cups, or rake bunkers or do many other tasks around the complex.

[Don_Mahaffey]

You think we've got flat boring greens now, wait until they have to roll 12 and be cut by a robot.

I know the perception here is of brain dead crew members who would just as soon spin the triplex one foot off the green or mow everything is a circle and shrink greens, but reality is if any of those things are happening, you need new management, not crew members.

There are reasons why every task in the work force isn't yet done by a computer or robot. Certainly there are many applications for automation, but until a computer can tell me about an irrigation leak, poor quality of cut, mower out of adjustment, animal damage, unforeseen disease or insect outbreaks, or other issues, then I'll be sticking with the human eye and brain.

A golf course is not an assembly line.

[Tony Ristola]

Don,

I agree golf course design or management is not an assembly line; I'd say I'm a proponent of the school who eschews it, but see these machines as a solution to a few challenges.

The human eye can be used before and while the robomower is doing its thing, and regardless of how precise and loving a human operator is, they can and do deviate; especially on greens requiring sharp turns.

You usually never see a hydraulic leak until you come back and make the next pass, or unless you have operators with eyes in the back of their heads. Of course walking mowers don't have that problem. This would solve that headache.

These robomowers look small, and will likely become as small as humanly possible, so they should be quite versatile. I see no reason why the greens need be flat.

These mowers do not negate the need of the human supercomputer, but I can foresee them providing time for other details in the vicinity.

Time will tell. I know I'd want a handful of proven mowers with the cost of labor in the EU.

[PCCraig]

Here's a link to the Castle Pines' Superintendent's blog with a video of the "Robomow." I have to admit that it's impressive. But I wonder how much these cost?

http://cccpgcm.blogspot.com/2012/02/future-is-here.html

[RDecker]

I'd like to see how the Robomow handled it when the last guy out leaves his hubcap ballmarker on the Green and robomower has to pick it up before it takes a chunk out of it's own reel.  The green should be the last place where you want to eliminate the "human element" in course maintenance.

[Sean Remington (SBR)]

       I am not sure how these things are going to fit into golf course maintenance but it's likely they will find a place.   You can eliminate some man power but you still need a person to take the robo mower out to the green, unload it and start it on it's way.  I would assume that person would walk the green prior to starting the mower and observe the mower the first few minutes of operation.  Then he would go and start another robo mower on another green.   Seems to me that one worker could manage two robo mowers.  For every two robo mowers in use you could realocate one worker to another job.   What I think might be the real advantage of the robo mower is that it can work without light.  This means the greens can be mowed at 3 or 4 in the morning.  Use the set up guy would need some lights to check out the green and start the robo but then the mower could be left in the dark to do it's thing.  Most of us already have lights on our regular mowers and these work alright but by using the robo mowers early in the morning with a few less staff involved you can keep the bulk of the staff working during the daylight hours with out killing OT.

       There is potential here but if given the choice I would keep my manpower on the most important part of the golf course, greens.  At it is I think it is a shame that most of the season it's a race to get on and off the greens just a fast as we can.  It would be nice is if I had the extra time and manpower to dial the greens in every morning.