Jonathan Kitler - Effingham Golf Club, General Manager
From your view as general manager, why did it make sense for Effingham to put forward the idea of robotic mowers?
At first, I was sceptical as to the effectiveness of the units and what the quality of cut was going to be like in comparison to a traditional cylinder mower used on the fairways. I have to say that my scepticism was short-lived once I saw the unit on trial. The quality of cut, the ability to programme the units to cut specific areas and different heights without any manual input (once set up) was superb.
How are the members finding them? And how are staff adapting to them?
The members are enjoying the initial novelty of the new Robots on the course, there is even a fundraising "Name the Robots" competition ongoing to find the best names for our new additions.
Eric Olson - Effingham Golf Club, Course Manager
From your view as course manager, why did it make sense for Effingham to put forward the idea of robotic mowers?
When looking at the Robotic mowers, I was primarily looking at the financial savings in the investment. I see these savings in both labour (salary) and running cost (fuels and equipment maintenance). Beyond that, the benefits of improved mowing frequency and consistency (weekend and BHS) and better utilisation of the staff and concentrating on the more hands-on details work that makes a golf course stand out.
Could you give us an idea of what benefits you notice the most, when comparing them to the old way of operating?
Blowing for tidy up after traditional mowing has all but been eliminated
The time taken to clean mowers following use has been eliminated
Time saving in re-contouring the shapes of fairways and rough as they are always GPS accurate
Traditional mower daily set-up and pre-start checks has been eliminated
Cost of repair and maintenance for traditional mowers in oils, hydraulics, filter, blades, tires, etc...
Storage space for the larger equipment has been greatly reduced
Greenkeepers yard is cleaner without the larger mowers driving in with grass clippings falling off
Maintenance of the Waste-2-Water has been greatly reduced
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