How Kress Robots are revolutionizing golf course management
T faces mounting challenges including staff shortages,
SPECIALIST MOWERS
Redefining excellence
How Kress Robots are revolutionizing golf course management
he groundskeeping industry
T faces mounting challenges including staff shortages,
environmental regulations, rising costs, and increasing course presentation expectations. At Aspley Guise and Woburn Sands Golf Club, Course Manager Andy Copeland and General Manager Paul Lancaster have implemented Kress robotic mowers as a strategic solution.
Strategic Vision Beyond Automation
This implementation represents strategic thinking rather than simple equipment replacement. Lancaster explains that the collaboration between management focused on both agronomic and business benefits. Crucially, the goal isn’ t job displacement but strategic resource reallocation:“ We want to redeploy our manpower to utilise the skills and knowledge of our team in the best way we can.”
Elevating Human Expertise
The philosophy centers on freeing skilled greenkeepers for high-value work. Copeland notes that achieving their vision requires“ redeploying my team’ s hours into the more detailed work in and around the golf course.” Lancaster emphasizes that greenkeepers provide irreplaceable expertise:“ They can spot the first signs of turf disease and do the detailed work which makes a golf course stand out.”
The club estimates 20 hours per week will be freed for detail work like mowing around sprinkler heads and maintaining walk-off areas.
Agronomic and Environmental Benefits
Robotic mowing provides continuous care through frequent, light cutting
rather than intermittent heavy cutting, improving turf density. Daily operation naturally scatters worm casts, addressing a problem that can no longer be solved chemically due to EU regulations.
Lightweight robots reduce soil compaction, creating cascading improvements in soil profile quality. Sustainability benefits include reduced fuel consumption and emissions, supporting the club’ s pursuit of GEO certification. Continuous mowing also reduces the need for growth regulators and potentially herbicides.
Technical Excellence The GPS-based navigation system proved crucial for their heavily tree-lined, elevation-varied course. Previous trials with localized mast systems failed due to signal loss. Digitally controlled cutting heights transformed the robots from rough-area specialists into versatile maintenance equipment.
Financial Strategy The implementation extends existing equipment lifecycles. With reduced use, their fairway mower’ s replacement timeline extends from 2-3 years to much longer, freeing capital for drainage projects and bunker renovations.
Operational Advantages Robots operate in conditions too wet for traditional mowers, continuing winter maintenance when conventional equipment cannot. Operations are scheduled to minimize member impact— fairway mowing overnight, rough cutting during play.
Future Vision This implementation demonstrates how automation amplifies rather than replaces human expertise. As Lancaster concludes,“ The innovation of the robotic mowers is huge for the golf industry.” Success comes from creating synergies between human knowledge and technological capability, showing the groundskeeping industry’ s path forward.
www. kress. com
54 GroundskeepingJournal. co. uk | September / October 2025