CLUB TURNS TO AUTONOMOUS MOWERS

PICTURED ABOVE: St Ives (Hunts) Golf Club course manager Rob Duff, centre, with Julian Copping, left, and Lee Rowbotham both from Reesink Turfcare

St Ives (Hunts) Golf Club in Cambridgeshire say they have introduced five Toro Turf Pro 500 autonomous mowers as part of a wider strategy to improve efficiency, increase mowing frequency and support long-term sustainability goals.

The investment marks a shift in fairway maintenance for the club, enabling continuous mowing throughout the week without the same reliance on daily staff-led operations.

Course manager Rob Duff said the technology allows the team to maintain consistent playing surfaces while easing pressure on routine workloads.

“We wanted to increase mowing frequency while maintaining consistent quality, but routine fairway mowing can be costly and time-consuming,” he said. “This gives us a smarter, more efficient way to maintain standards while managing workloads and keeping costs under control for members.”

The autonomous units operate seven days a week, including overnight, meaning fairways are already cut by the time staff arrive on site each morning. This has freed up time for the greenkeeping team to focus on other priority areas, particularly during peak growth periods. 

Alongside fairways, the club is also exploring wider applications for the technology, including clubhouse lawns and early-stage rough maintenance. The installation was completed in three days with support from Toro distributor Reesink Turfcare. Rob Duff said setup and programming were straightforward, with staff quickly adapting to the system.

Sustainability is also a key driver behind the move say the club, with solar panels on site used to charge the mowers, reducing both energy costs and emissions.