General Manager Ben Hatch explains the impact of adopting autonomous mowing at Thonock Park.
The adoption of autonomous mowing technology at Thonock Park is helping to deliver meaningful results at the Lincolnshire venue.
For General Manager Ben Hatch, the investment in Toro’s new fleet of Turf Pro autonomous mowers reflects both a willingness to innovate and a determination to deliver the best offering to members.
The club has committed five machines to maintain the fairways and rough across 18 of its 36 holes. By integrating them into daily operations, Hatch and his team have already been able to adjust how work is prioritised and delivered across the course.
“Our robot mowers are now cutting the fairways and rough for 18 holes on the Thonock Park course, and we are exceptionally pleased with their quality of cut and the definition between fairway and rough grasses,” said Hatch.
“Very importantly, these mowers have enabled us to reassign some of our skilled greenkeeping team to other tasks on the course that require more specialist work.
“During the wetter months, we expect to keep using these mowers, when ordinarily we would struggle to use the much heavier diesel machines.
“All in all, it has been a very positive investment for us and one that we believe we will continue to benefit from year after year.”
Hatch also pointed to noise and timing as important advantages, with “the almost non-existent noise levels” allowing the machines to run at all hours, completing mowing work before golfers arrive, while reducing disruption to play.
After Hatch and his team committed to the move, training and installation followed. Two comprehensive sessions were delivered by industry specialists to ensure staff understood how to programme, operate and manage the mowers effectively.
“We were there at the point of delivery to install the chargers and base station,” said Lee Rowbotham, GeoLink and Digital Specialist at Reesink UK. “The mowers are blind out of the box, so training involves telling them everything they need to know, like where the charging station is, the route to the fairways, what the safe areas, and not safe areas are. And of course, for the team to understand the operation and the terminology involved.”
Course Manager Rob Acheson has taken on day-to-day oversight, using the Smart App to control the machines.
“They are controlled individually, one at a time, and can be set up in advance,” he said. “Just like you can set a sprinkler to come on at 5am, you can set the Turf Pros to start mowing at 10pm once everyone has gone home if you wish.”
By embedding technology in this way, Hatch and his staff have been able to free up valuable time, focus on specialist work, and deliver course standards that benefit members all year round.
Key takeaways
- Embracing new technology can free up skilled staff for specialist tasks that improve the quality of the course.
- Flexible scheduling, including overnight mowing, helps maintenance stay ahead of play while reducing disruption to members.
- Early training and buy-in from staff are essential to integrate new systems smoothly and maximise long-term benefits.
