Technology in the golf turf business is changing rapidly, and nowhere is that more evident than in the world of autonomous mowing.
As grass-mowing robots continue to make inroads into the professional turf market, the differences go well below the surface.
More than two years ago, Kress debuted its line of battery-operated autonomous mowers on the North American turf market when the company displayed its units at the 2022 Equip Expo in Louisville, Kentucky. The company has since upped its game as it focuses more on the golf market.
Kress mowers are guided by Real Time Kinetics antennas that communicate with the units via 4G satellite-guided technology, have a range of 10 miles, extend over and around obstacles, and eliminate the need for underground wiring and beacons to keep units on track within 2-3 cm of accuracy.
The technology is improving faster than many could have imagined.
Former golf course superintendent Tim Barrier, CGCS, is such a believer he came aboard at Kress last year as the company's golf business manager.
"If you had asked me four years ago, I would have said we were 10 years away," Barrier said during the GCSAA Conference and Show in San Diego. "The technology just wasn't there. The adoption is coming a lot faster now."
A recent conference highlighting robotic technology, Barrier said, was attended by about 150 golf course superintendents.
The 10-mile range means that using the RTK technology does not require an on-site antenna as long as there is another nearby. It also does not require licensing or subscription fees.
The RTK technology was developed for use by the U.S. Department of Defense and later was used by the agriculture industry before being adopted for use in turf, Barrier said.
A network of antennas working together extends the range and strength. Barrier says a network of five antennas within range of each other cover the distance between Los Angeles and San Diego. A single antenna strategically placed in La Quinta is able to reach 70 golf courses in California's Coachella Valley.
If you had asked me four years ago, I would have said we were 10 years away. he technology just wasn't there. The adoption is coming a lot faster now.
Height of cut can be adjusted for fairways or rough areas, and can be programmed to change automatically as the unit moves from one zone to another.
Kress was founded in 1928 in Germany and has been a leader in the manufacturing of electric batteries for nearly a century. The company joined the Positec Group, a manufacturing company based in Suzhou, China that specializes in the production of power tools and lawn and garden equipment.
There are many benefits to using autonomous mowers, Barrier said. They eliminate fossil fuel emissions, and at 46 pounds per unit, the mowers minimize the impact on turf and can be used in rain or wet conditions.
As labor continues to be a challenge for superintendents, autonomous mowers can help free up human resources to focus time on more detailed work around the golf course.
"Covid created more interest in the game, but it also created a labor shortage," Barrier said. "When employees don't show up, we can't get our work done.
"That doesn't work for superintendents. We are control freaks. It's the way we're wired."
