A couple of interesting news pieces have caught my eye recently, regarding our sports turf industry adopting new technologies - namely robotics - to help free up workers from labour-intensive tasks.
The first article from Carr Golf Services spoke of the challenges facing golf courses in terms of management regimes, environmental issues, spiraling costs and customer expectations.
They state that according to Met Office figures, the UK has just come out of the sixth wettest spring on record, and the wettest since 1986.
They said, “Following an already wet winter, it’s put course managers up and down the country on the backfoot, especially when customers are lining up to tee off with high expectations of perfect fairways and greens rolling true.”
The article argued that golf courses are coming under increasing pressure from environmentalists and sections of the wider public for their use of water, occupation of land and perceived lack of benefit to nature.
They said, “This year and beyond, the onus on golf course businesses to put sustainability high on their agenda will continue, with a need to be more sparing with inputs, water use and look for new ways to encourage nature and biodiversity."
Carrs make the point that while course managers around the UK are already engaged in these efforts, there’s a growing need to communicate the positive steps being taken, and the amazing value golf offers in protecting and enhancing biodiversity.
Interestingly they are also keen to point out that massive leaps in technology are happening in our sector and we’re seeing increasing numbers of courses and resorts invest in highly capable machinery, such as robotic mowers.
They point out how usage of this technology frees up vital time for greenkeeping teams to focus on the finer aspects of course maintenance and preparation.
The second piece of news I found interesting was the announcement we’re running today that Husqvarna and Liverpool FC have formed a new global partnership.
You can read the story here and watch the promotional video that Husqvarna has put out announcing their new team-up, that features many of Liverpool’s skilled turf professionals.
Having heard this news and watched the video, I was interested to hear what Dave Roberts, former HG of Liverpool, thoughts were on this partnership. David now resides in Portugal and runs his own training and pitch consultancy service (Training Unlimited).
After a nice catch-up telephone call, I learnt that Dave was pleased with the outcome having first being involved with some initial discussions back in 2021. The ability to have robotic machinery to help reduce the burden of some tasks can only be a good thing. The robotic technologies have improved immensely in recent years, especially around their reliability and cutting qualities.
Having watched the video a number of times, I personally enjoyed the sentiments of it, and I feel it is important to mention that I, along with David and many other turf professionals, wholeheartedly endorse the use of modern developments in turf technologies, including the use of robotics, to help improve efficiencies.
However, we must not allow people to think that they can be used to replace employed turf professionals. Robots have their place and are becoming increasing popular with many estates, Premiership football clubs, contractors, schools and golf courses.
No doubt we will see more and more investment in these robotic aids in the coming years. However, I and many other turf professionals, do not see them as a threat to replacing skilled trained turf professionals.
