The technology tackling turfcare’s biggest challenges

Toro is helping turf managers address labour shortages and environmental targets.

Autonomous and manual mowers working side by side at St Ives (Hunts).

The pressures facing turfcare professionals have changed significantly over the last decade. While maintaining high-quality playing surfaces remains the priority, today’s turf managers are increasingly balancing a much broader range of responsibilities. Recruiting and retaining skilled staff has become more difficult, sustainability targets are becoming more demanding and expectations around efficiency continue to rise.

Technology has become part of the answer. Innovations such as autonomous mowing, hybrid power systems and electric machinery are helping turf managers maintain standards while making better use of available resources and are being adopted not because they are new, but because they provide solutions to real operational issues.

Making the most of limited labour resources

Perhaps the biggest change facing the industry is the shift from managing labour costs to managing labour availability.

An ageing workforce, ongoing recruitment challenges and increased competition from other industries have made it harder for facilities to attract and retain skilled staff. At the same time, expectations around course conditioning and presentation have continued to increase.

Toro’s hybrid mowers met sustainability objectives for The Fife Golf Trust.

For many turf managers, the challenge is no longer finding ways to reduce labour costs but finding ways to maximise the effectiveness of the staff they already have, and this is where autonomous technology is starting to play an important role.

Rather than replacing people, autonomous mowing systems are allowing teams to redirect valuable time towards the skilled tasks that have the greatest impact on course quality, including turf health monitoring, irrigation management, presentation work and improvement projects.

Toro autonomous technology supports long-term maintenance

St Ives (Hunts) Golf Club in Cambridgeshire gives a clear example of how autonomous mowers can affect long-term maintenance. Five Toro Turf Pro 500 autonomous mowers have recently been introduced with a desire to increase mowing frequency while maintaining consistency and making better use of available labour, according to Course Manager Rob Duff.

“We wanted to increase our mowing frequency while maintaining consistent quality, but the reality is that routine tasks like fairway mowing can be costly and time-consuming to deliver,” he explains. “This technology gives us a smarter, more efficient way to maintain high standards while managing workloads and keeping costs under control for our members.”

Course Manager Rob Duff at St Ives (Hunts) with its new Toro Turf Pro mowers.

The robotic mowers now operate throughout the week, enabling fairways to be maintained continuously without requiring staff to spend hours undertaking repetitive mowing tasks.

“The robot mowers give us the ability to cut grass seven days a week, 365 days a year,” says Rob. “Now, when we arrive at work on Monday mornings, the fairways have already been cut. It gives us a head start, freeing up valuable staff time. But really the biggest benefit for golfers will be the extra attention we can now give to areas that previously had less focus, especially during peak growing periods.”

Now Rob is finding that hours that would previously have been spent cutting fairways can be used elsewhere on the course, whether that’s presentation work, detail maintenance or ongoing improvement projects.

Importantly, autonomous technology is also proving flexible. While initially introduced for fairway mowing, St Ives has already begun exploring wider applications.

“We’ve started using the mowers on clubhouse lawns during the day, and we’re looking at extending their use to first cuts of rough and larger surrounds,” says Rob. “It’s exciting to see how far we can push the capability of these machines.”

As labour challenges continue to affect the sector, autonomous solutions are increasingly being viewed as an extension of the maintenance team rather than a replacement for it.

David Gray, Golf Courses Manager for Fife Golf Trust, left, with John Rankin, Area Sales Manager for Reesink Scotland.

Sustainability moves up the agenda

Staffing isn’t the only issue shaping machinery purchases. Sustainability is now firmly on the agenda too.

Golf clubs, local authorities and trusts are increasingly expected to demonstrate measurable progress in reducing emissions and improving environmental performance. As a result, machinery procurement is evolving beyond traditional considerations such as productivity, reliability and cost.

Machinery supporting sustainability goals

Fife Golf Trust, who are responsible for seven public golf courses in the region, recently undertook a tender for a machinery replacement programme. There was a focus on carbon reduction involved for which five Toro Reelmaster 5010-H hybrid fairway mowers were selected, recognising the role hybrid technology could play in reducing fuel consumption and emissions while maintaining operational performance.

For many organisations, hybrid technology represents a practical pathway towards sustainability. By combining a conventional diesel engine with an advanced electric drive system, hybrid machines can significantly reduce fuel usage without requiring major infrastructure changes or operational adjustments.

This is particularly important for larger facilities where fully electric alternatives may not yet be practical across every application. The ability to achieve meaningful environmental gains while maintaining productivity is increasingly becoming a key factor in fleet replacement decisions.

Reesink’s GeoLink and Digital specialist Lee Rowbotham helps clubs integrate the technology in just a matter of days.

Building a more sustainable future

The drive towards sustainability is encouraging greater interest in electric machinery. Advances in battery technology have expanded the range of applications where electric equipment can be successfully deployed, offering organisations an opportunity to reduce emissions while maintaining professional standards of performance.

Sustainability formed part of the thinking behind the adoption of autonomous mowing technology at St Ives. The club’s robotic mowers are powered using electricity generated by on-site solar panels, helping to reduce both fuel use and emissions.

“We’ve had solar panels installed and the power from those charges the mowers, meaning we are effectively charging them at no cost while also reducing both fuel use and emissions,” says Rob.

This combination of automation and renewable energy demonstrates how technology can contribute to both operational efficiency and environmental objectives simultaneously.

The appeal of electric machinery, however, goes beyond emissions.

Reduced noise levels can be just as important, particularly at facilities located close to noise-sensitive locations, where quiet electric machines provide the option of early morning starts and empower greenkeeping teams with flexible schedules.

Supporting customers through changing challenges

The issues facing turf managers today are different from those of ten or even five years ago. Labour shortages, sustainability targets and rising expectations all place new demands on maintenance teams.

What hasn’t changed is the need for practical machinery that helps clubs achieve their objectives.

At St Ives, that objective was finding a way to increase mowing frequency and make better use of staff time. At Fife Golf Trust, it was supporting a wider carbon reduction strategy while maintaining productivity across seven golf courses.

Different challenges require different solutions, which is why Toro’s range has continued to evolve alongside the needs of its customers. Whether that means autonomous mowing, hybrid technology or electric equipment, the aim remains the same: helping turf managers do their jobs more effectively.

As the industry continues to change, machinery will continue to evolve with it. The priorities may be different, but supporting customers with the tools they need to maintain quality playing surfaces remains at the heart of the conversation.