Husqvarna demonstrated a fleet of autonomous mowers at Four Seasons Tranquilo Golf Course during the Technology in Action Interactive Facility Tour on Monday during the 2026 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando. Photo by Andrew Hartsock
Autonomous mowers obviously can cut down on the amount of time spent by a human mowing a golf course.
The way Matt Fuchs sees it, characterizing that decrease in human hours is key.
“It’s not about reducing headcount,” Fuchs, sales manager, golf and sports turf for Husqvarna, said Monday. “It’s about doing the most you can with the staff you have.”
Fuchs spoke as part of the Interactive Facility Tour “Technology in Action at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club presented by Husqvarna” as part of the 2026 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando.
A huge group of nearly 150 attendees visited four stations at a chilly Four Seasons’ Tranquilo Golf Course. Though one station dealt with leveling reel mower cutting units, the autonomous mowers — robots — were the focus.
Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club uses a dozen autonomous mowers around the resort and on the golf course. They mowed a combined 18.5 acres, according to Brad Bailey, the facility’s equipment manager and a four-year GCSAA member. Their robotic contributions save about 20 hours a week, he says, and the time savings can be spent elsewhere on the course — or in the shop.
“They don’t require much once set up,” Bailey said. “If anything, they allow us more time to work on the rest (of the machinery).”
Husqvarna was among the first companies in the now-crowded robotic-mower space, with installations ranging from one to 70 units per facility worldwide.
Fuchs welcomes the company.
“Robotics is such a new thing,” he says, “it’s good to have the competition. Buying a robot is the easy part. It’s what happens after that that matters most.”
Interestingly, the IFT wasn’t immune from the nearly unprecedented cold that gripped Orlando for the early days of the Conference and Trade Show. Early in the presentation, many of the on-grounds units were stopped dead in their tracks. Turns out, the units are equipped with temperature sensors and will throw an error code if they sense a chance for frost.
Andrew Hartsock is GCM’s editor-in-chief.