FORE Magazine

Top Menu

  • About Me
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Home

Main Menu

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login

logo

FORE Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
Winter 2020
Home›Issues›Winter 2020›Robotics of Man & Machine

Robotics of Man & Machine

By Judd Spicer
January 27, 2020
2789
0
Share:

ROBOTIC MOWERS ARE STARTING TO FIND THEIR ROLL

THE CONTINUED mesh of man and machine is coming to a golf course near you. With a strong economy’s building and construction jobs contributing to a dearth of course maintenance workers, new and emerging autonomous mowing products from Cub Cadet, Husqvarna, John Deere and others are starting to see industry shifts across agronomy circles.

“Labor is the largest crisis that the industry is facing across the nation right now; it’s very difficult to attract and retain talented individuals in a good economy,” said Jeff Jensen, southwest regional representative for the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. “Due to the crisis, I think robotic mowers have the potential to assist us with the ongoing shortage.”

On a day last autumn, a Cub Cadet demo day of its new INFINICUT RGX autonomous green mowing system was held at Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage. Nearly 40 industry professionals, club managers and superintendents were in attendance.

The RGX system, in its final stages of field testing, triangulates with satellites for sub-inch accuracy using a real-time kine-matic GPS system. Usurping the specs of its autonomous predecessor, the RG3, the RGX virtually eliminates size constraints. The mower’s lithium-powered battery offers a life span commensurate with the life of the mower, and can cut approximately 50,000 square feet of green on a single charge.

“If you ask most superintendents what keeps them awake at night, big picture, it’s labor,” said Tony Whelan, the director of sales and marketing for Cub Cadet. “Can they find enough people to maintain their property? The ROI is in this; otherwise, it wouldn’t be happening. But you have to want to accept the technology.”
Currently, Cub Cadet’s autonomous mowers are being used at the Presidio GC in San Francisco and at the Santaluz Club in San Diego, among other locations.

“Sunnylands is always trying to be at the forefront, so I think this machine isn’t far off from being a reality for our operations. And I do think this is the future,” said Nicholas Hanson, director of agronomy/landscape at the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands. “Talking to my colleagues around the desert and elsewhere, nobody has gotten back to the labor levels that they were at since about 2008. This machine might help close that gap.”
From the vantage point of its operators, the unit isn’t designed to replace man; rather the RGX is about machine assisting man.

“This allows you to deploy your resources to perform more skilled tasks, a redeployment of labor,” said Whelan. “If you asked every superintendent here, they all have that list of things they can’t get to. This mower often allows them to get to those other jobs.”

“I look at this as machine helping man,” said Andy Lindloff, superintendent at the Indian Wells Golf Resort’s Players Course. “Things are already moving that way in our industry with, say, GPS systems for sprayers and moisture meters.”

IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THE FIRST FOOTPRINTS OF THE DAY — WHICH, OF COURSE, CREATE INCONSISTENCIES — ARE USUALLY THOSE OF A WALKING MOWER. IT’S AN AVERAGE OF 1,600 FOOTSTEPS BEFORE THE FIRST PLAYER EVEN GETS THERE.”

A LONG WITH freeing up grounds staff to attend other tasks, autonomous tech offers additional benefits.

“Our existing customers have noted the improvements in putting surfaces, and they’re able to keep consistency of greens throughout the day,” Whelan said of the system, which rolls while it cuts. “If you think about it, the first footprints of the day — which, of course, create inconsistencies — are usually those of a walking mower. It’s an average of 1,600 footsteps before the first player even gets there.”

In concert with minimizing those foot-prints, the ability to diffuse noise ordinance encumbrances for residentially lined cours-es is viewed as a further autonomous asset.

“It’s an aspect maybe not talked about enough,” added Jensen. “Certain courses have ordinances where maybe they can’t mow before a certain hour; with these mowers, supers can potentially get an earlier start because the machines really don’t make much noise at all.”

“It may still be a few generations away from it being a fully realistic possibility for a lot of clubs, because I think most guys want to be able to be in the shop, hit ‘Start,’ and then the mowers will go out and do their thing,” Hanson said. “Right now, you still need to put a body on this machine. Once they can get to a point where the mower can head out from the shop on its own, at that point, you’ll see a lot of interested people.”

Trust in the end result seems to be a critical factor.

“With the technology still being newer, I think we have to see more demos, more hours before, at least for me, I could trust a machine with my greens,” said the Players Course superintendent, Lindloff. “Putting surfaces are what make or break us as superintendents, so trust in us is already subject to waver every day. But we need to start thinking this way. I think this is a tool in the tool box eventually.”

Previous Article

A Pleasure, Win or Lose

Next Article

Equipment: 2020 Vision

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Judd Spicer

Judd Spicer is an award-winning writer, radio host, columnist for The Desert Sun newspaper and an Associate Member of the Golf Writers Association of America.  A Minnesota native, he relocated to the Palm Springs region in 2011 to pursue his Champions Tour dream.  Sporting wayward accuracy off the tee, Judd refers to his 56-degree as his magic wand.  Visit www.juddspicer.com and @JuddSpicer for more.

Related articles More from author

  • TrendsWinter 2020

    Tee Time Tech

    January 25, 2020
    By Tod Leonard
  • Winter 2020

    Bunker Mentality: Time Flies… And So Do Wedges and Putters

    January 25, 2020
    By David Weiss
  • Winter 2020

    Spirits of the Game: A Decade’s Best

    January 25, 2020
    By George Fuller
  • Winter 2020

    A Pleasure, Win or Lose

    January 27, 2020
    By Judd Spicer
  • Winter 2020

    First Cut: What Are You Wearing?

    January 25, 2020
    By Tina Mickelson
  • ProfilesWinter 2020

    Mind Your Tees And Q

    February 3, 2020
    By Jonathan Coe

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • Fall 2022FeaturedKnow the Rules

    Cut! Rulings Hollywood Got Wrong

  • Fall 2022FeaturedProfiles

    Designed for a Champion: Q&A with Architect Gil Hanse

  • Fall 2022FeaturedProfiles

    Giving Back With Gusto: Joe Grohman Gains Joy in Helping Others

  • Fall 2022FeaturedSustainability

    10,000 Years in the Making: The Journey at Pechanga Views History Through a Very Long Lens

  • 19th HoleFall 2022Featured

    Feast for the Senses: Fairmont Grand Del Mar Clubhouse Grill

Fall 2022FeaturedHandicap Hints

Handicap Allowances

There is often anticipation in the air as the date for the next handicap competition at a club approaches. Participants want to know what handicap value will be used in ...
  • The Single Life: The Simple Pleasures of Being “That Guy”

    By John DeGomez
    October 25, 2022
  • Cut! Rulings Hollywood Got Wrong

    By Jeff Ninnemann
    October 25, 2022
  • From Crisis to Confidence: The Southern California Golf & Water Summit

    By Craig Kessler
    October 25, 2022
  • Direct to Golf Consumer: How Social Media is Changing the Way We Buy Equipment

    By Scott Kramer
    October 25, 2022
© 2016 FORE Magazine About Us | Contact Us | Advertise