One of several Husqvarna autonomous mowers that cut the rough at Shelter Harbor Golf Club in Charlestown, R.I. Photo courtesy of Chris Owens
Editor's note: The following article was created in partnership with Husqvarna. All product claims, research cited and other information are directly from the company.
It’s been rainy in Connecticut lately, but Jason Meersman, GCSAA Class A director of grounds at The Patterson Club in Fairfield, isn’t too worried about getting the grass mowed.
“We got 11 inches of rain the last few days,” Meersman, a 21-year GCSAA member, says. “But right now our rough is all caught up.”
Meersman’s assurance comes courtesy of his fleet of Husqvarna robotic mowers, which includes CEORA and 580 models. “They’re outrageously helpful,” he says. “Right now, 90% of our rough is mowed automatically.”
Meersman refers to himself as an “early adopter,” immediately impressed after seeing a demonstration of the equipment at an event in Stockholm. “I was blown away and instantly saw the possibilities,” he says.
Meersman was eager to try out the machines on his course. Fortunately, Husqvarna was just as eager to give him the help he needed.
“The customer service has been spectacular,” Meersman says. “They came in, gave us a detailed tutorial on how to operate the machines, including what to do if the mower loses satellite coverage.”
After the initial instruction and setup from Husqvarna, Meersman started training younger members of his crew on the mowers’ maintenance and repair. “I have a 15-year-old on my crew who takes care of maintenance, little stuff like changing blades,” he says. “That’s really about it. You wouldn’t believe the minimal issues these machines have. If we have any problems, we can get help right away.”
Superintendents say that Husqvarna's autonomous mowers are easy to set up thanks to support from dealerships and the company. Photos courtesy of Husqvarna
At Point Judith Country Club in South Kingstown, R.I., Brett Johnson, CGCS, has been using Husqvarna autonomous mowers for the last two years. He’s not cutting 90% of his rough with them like Meersman is, but he says it’s only a matter of time before he gets there. The machines have already saved the club a bundle on labor and fuel.
“It’s saved us about $6,000 a year on diesel and around $9,600 on labor costs,” Johnson, a 34-year GCSAA member, says. “We’re thinking of adding another dozen next year to cover the whole course. We didn’t need to buy another rough mower last year because these are so efficient.”
Johnson says he initially considered other autonomous mower options, but ended up going with Husqvarna, because of his existing relationship with the distributor and the company’s reputation. “They’ve been great, they’re one of the leaders in the industry,” he says. “They’re very easy to work with.”
Like many superintendents, Johnson started with a smaller fleet of mowers as a trial run, and the results spoke for themselves. “We tried one out a few years ago on the clubhouse areas, and we noticed the quality of turf was a lot better,” he says.
Initially, Johnson says he was unsure about the machines’ GPS mapping capabilities, but reassurance from Husqvarna and time using the machines out on the course quickly put those concerns to rest.
“They’re great with the setup process. They help you with all the mapping, and they support the local distributors really well,” Johnson says. “It’s pretty seamless when their team comes out. The mowers are up and running that same day.”
The ease and precision of the machines, quality of the customer service at every stage and overall savings have made scaling up a no-brainer.
“There are additional labor savings when you scale up, plus there’s the ability to cut overnight and lower noise,” Johnson says.
At Shelter Harbor Golf Club in Charlestown, R.I., Michael Dachowski, the club’s GCSAA Class A superintendent, has had Husqvarna mowers on the course for about five years. “There was an increase in density, better playability and less disease,” the 26-year GCSAA member says. “Definitely less disease, especially with dollar spot — we’re dollar spot central out here on the coast.”
In addition to customer service excellence, Husqvarna's mowers are known for their toughness.
Overall, Dachowski says, the machines are easy to learn and maintain, especially when the relationship with the distributor allows for quick troubleshooting. “There’s a learning curve, but once you figure it out, it’s easy,” he says. “If I call them, they answer right away. It’s never hard to get an answer or help.”
How well do the mowers work? According to Dachowski, his fleet — which includes CEORA, 550, 580 and 535 models — is fine even after the mowers have taken a beating. “Things happen. We’ve had a few that were run over by carts,” he says. “But I think we’ve only had one that was absolutely destroyed. Everything else we were able to easily fix.”
Based on their experiences, Meersman, Johnson and Dachowski have all become evangelists for Husqvarna autonomous mowers, from the machines themselves to the quality of customer service they’ve received.
“In this business, we’re always looking to make a better product, and these machines give us more time to take care of the details we couldn’t get to as frequently before,” Meersman says. “The membership sees perfectly maintained rough all the time, instead of it being longer than they’d like because we couldn’t get to it in time.”
Meersman says he’s already talking to other courses in his area about incorporating the machines.
“We have a nine-hole course and two public courses here in our town. Their people have reached out about robots, and I say, ‘Absolutely,’” Meersman says. “You don’t need a skilled mechanic to repair these, and they won’t eat up your repair and maintenance budget.”
If you’d like to learn more about bringing Husqvarna autonomous mowers to your course, explore Husqvarna’s golf course mowing solutions here: https://www.husqvarna.com/us/industries-and-solutions/golf-courses
Abby Olcese is GCM's online editor.