Husqvarna automowers continue to give a cutting edge to golf courses across Europe, providing efficiency and flexibility for your normal golf club and elite championship environments.
From starting at zero just over four years ago, Husqvarna have proven to be a leading light in robotic technology. The automowers are a huge hit in golf clubs with green keeping staff able to give their attention to the finer details with Husqvarna reducing labour pressure.
“Our journey in golf started from zero about four years ago and the progression has been remarkable,” said Andrew Lees, Global Segment Manager of Husqvarna.
“If you look at golf courses facing challenges one of those is labour. What we have seen is golf courses are using our machines to redeploy staff to add more value to the course, fairways, semi rough, rough takes a lot of man hours. If you have a really skilled greenkeeper it allows them to work on areas that really add value to the golfer by spending more time on greens, bunkers and the finer details.”
The progression of Husqvarna in the golf industry has been remarkable. 16% of golf courses across Europe use Husqvarna autonomous technology to support golf course maintenance. The benefit is the lack of labour which helps golfers who expect a high quality playing surface to get a better experience.
“Consistency is so important,” said Lees. “Our machines can cut daily which means the grass is always cut at the same level. We cut more frequently to improve the grass growth and it improves the quality and gives the golfer a more consistent appearance and playability. Our machines cut earlier in the season and later into a season, some countries use them all year round so golfers can play longer in times when they couldn’t in the past. Golfers get more months of the year to play golf so there is a huge benefit there.”
Husqvarna are giving a fine cut at championship level and the automower technology proved instrumental in keeping the rain sodden British Masters going a fortnight ago. The mowers have also been used at the AIG Women’s Open but the beauty of the machines is that the benefits can be felt at golf club level as well.
“It allows golf clubs to maintain their courses to championship level. If you look at the championships we have supported our machines are used daily. A normal golf club does the same thing so it allows them to replicate a championship environment. There are a lot more challenges with championship environments with infrastructure which creates problems that a normal golf course wouldn’t. These are things that make championship management more complex but the big thing is the ability to cut more frequently which is what happens when we do championship events like the British Masters or AIG Women’s Open, courses were cut every night. Lower level courses can do the same thing.
“Some courses use them in the morning and some use them in the night time so golfers generally don’t notice them going around. The benefit of autonomous solution is that they can be used during the night if you had staff that wouldn’t happen. It gives the team a head start so when they come in they can go straight on to greens and bunkers and not worry about the fairways. It supports the greenkeeping team and gives them flexibility.”
Sustainability is a huge buzz word in golf and Husqvarna ticks all the boxes in that regard. The machines battery operated, use very little energy and give off no direct emissions. The machines can be powered by solar which helps reduce carbon footprint and they are manufactured in a factory powered by 100% renewable electricity.
Husqvarna started over thirty years ago as a method for domestic use. They have progressed that solution into golf and heading into the future they are looking to become more customer focused which in this case would be the golfer.
The mowers are still hugely popular for domestic users meaning you can have your front and back gardens in championship condition.
“We aren’t finished with cutting we will continue to focus on that. We have completed a survey which shows that golf courses want more automation. Bunkers are an area that can take a lot of time so there is an appetite for technology, they want help to bring in more staff and retain staff,” added Lees.
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