Tag Archive for: Mowing

First club in UK invests in Toro robotic mowing

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First club in UK invests in Toro robotic mowing: Thonock Park in Lincolnshire is the first club in the UK to invest in Toro’s Turf Pro autonomous mowers.

Having made the decision to move to autonomous mowing at the beginning of the year, the club was introduced to Toro’s new Turf Pro mowers at the BTME launch and has subsequently purchased five from local Toro dealer, Russells Groundcare.

First club in UK invests in Toro robotic mowing

First club in UK invests in Toro robotic mowing

The five Turf Pro 500 mowers are being used to cut both fairways and rough of 18 of the club’s 36 holes. According to General Manager Benjamin Hatch: “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.”

Thonock Park and Russells have had two comprehensive training sessions post-install from Lee Rowbotham, GeoLink and Digital Specialist at Reesink UK.

Lee explains the process: “We were there at the point of delivery to install the chargers and base station. 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.”

Once set up, Course Manager Rob Acheson was shown how to control all five mowers through the Smart App. Operation is something Lee likens to how irrigation sprinklers are controlled.

“They are controlled individually, one at a time, and can be set up in advance,” he says. “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.”

This provides a big advantage in getting course maintenance ahead of play. All fairway mowing can be completed before the course opens, supported by “the almost non-existent noise levels” as confirmed by Benjamin.

Another added benefit of these mowers comes from how the club has been able to redefine the job requirements of the team and can guarantee all-year round value.

“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,” Benjamin says. “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.”

Just as Reesink sees the value in providing dedicated support for this new technology with the new digital specialist role created for Lee, so too do Russells who have recruited two dedicated employees to demonstrate and install Russells’ autonomous mowing offerings to customers, including private properties, estates, schools, golf courses and other sporting venues.

Mark Willerton, Groundcare Sales Manager at Russells, says: “Russells see autonomous mowers as an important part of our future business, it’s something we’re investing heavily in with dedicated specialist staff and demonstration machines.

“Working alongside Thonock Park and Reesink to understand this next generation of mowing and how to maximise the potential and efficiency of the mowers has been a great learning experience. We look forward to continuing working with the team at Thonock Park to ensure they always have the best turfcare options available.”

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STIGA Celebrates Clean Air Day With Battery Mowing

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STIGA Celebrates Clean Air Day With Battery Mowing: As the prose from our STIGA gardening poet fan above explains, mowing your lawn should be a pleasure not a chore, and this Clean Air Day which falls on 19th June offers the perfect chance to present to you STIGA’s battery mowers.

At STIGA, we’re all about greener gardens and cleaner air. That’s why our battery-powered lawn care range is at the heart of everything we do. Whether you’re snipping, clipping, or going full robo-mow, our cordless tools and mowers are designed to deliver powerful performance with a softer environmental footprint.

STIGA Celebrates Clean Air Day With Battery Mowing

STIGA Celebrates Clean Air Day With Battery Mowing

Why Go Battery?

Because clean air starts at home – or rather, in your garden. Our battery-powered mowers and tools are:

  • Quiet (in fact, our robot mowers are the only ones with a Quiet Mark!)
  • Clean – zero emissions, zero hassle
  • Efficient – smart tech that saves energy while you mow

From compact walk-behinds to futuristic autonomous mowers, STIGA’s battery range brings sustainable lawn care into the spotlight. Sustainable lawn care comes in many forms, but the one at the forefront for the STIGA team is that of their battery range of lawn and gardening products. The cleanliness, quietness and efficiency of all of their cordless mowers and gardening tools aim to bring a more sensible and sustainable approach to lawn and garden care.

Twinclip 950e VR Cordless Walk-Behind

Want stripes? Power? Brains? The Twinclip 950e VR delivers it all. With dual 7.5 Ah batteries and a beefy 2.2 kW motor, it’s self-propelled perfection. The double-layered blade boosts cut and collection, while the rear roller leaves behind a lawn to be proud of. RRP £1129: Twinclip 950e VR

Robot Mowers

Sit back, relax, and let the robots do the work. STIGA’s wire-guided and autonomous robot mowers deliver a pristine lawn without lifting a finger. With prices ranging from £999 to £6199, there’s a bot for every garden: Robot Mowers

Swift Ride-On Mower

Small but mighty, this 48V battery-powered ride-on is perfect for lawns up to 3000 m². Compact and agile with tight turning, Swift makes mowing feel like a breeze – all on a single charge. Sync it with the STIGA App for real-time tips and even smarter mowing. RRP £3249: Swift

Visit www.stiga.com/uk/ to learn more and enjoy a cleaner mow!

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Mowing steep slopes even more comfortably

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Mowing steep slopes even more comfortably: The remote-controlled AS 1000 Ovis RC is in use on steep slopes throughout Europe. The tracked flail mower with maximum mowing performance and extreme slope capability has become an integral part of the AS-Motor product portfolio.

Series production of the next development stage of the mower started at the beginning of February: the AS 1000 Ovis Evo RC offers extended RC functions and even more user comfort.

Mowing steep slopes even more comfortably

Mowing steep slopes even more comfortably

Electric cutting height adjustment from a distance

The cutting height of the AS 1000 Ovis Evo RC can be conveniently adjusted between 40 and 110 mm by remote control. Two electric servomotors move the mowing deck to the desired height.  The advantage of being able to raise the flail mower remotely is particularly useful for uneven ground or dense vegetation. This also makes it easier to drive over edges or cross roads and ditches. When approaching steep slopes directly from the front, the angle of the slope can also be better adjusted. The mechanical cutting height indicator is simple and robust. The set height can be read off in five stages via a scale on the device. The transport and service position is reached in the usual way via the hand spindle. The mowing deck continues to be mounted on a surfing bearing and thus adapts optimally to uneven ground in difficult terrain with its large pendulum path.

Remote-controlled blade clutch

The electromechanical blade clutch on the new AS 1000 Ovis Evo RC can also be operated remotely. An electric actuator switches the blade clutch. This allows the user to conveniently stop the blades with the remote control or restart the engine when crossing paths or obstacles. The developers at AS-Motor have deliberately opted for a mechanical function of the clutch itself. This is characterised by a significantly higher durability compared to purely electric variants.

Brake and hydrostatic bypass

On the new AS 1000 Ovis Evo RC, two easily accessible levers enable the mechanical unlocking of the hydrostats and the release of the brake. This makes it much easier to free the machine if it gets stuck. The mower can be towed slowly and with free-running chains. The bypass for the brake and hydrostats can be operated easily, quickly and without tools.

Technical simplicity is retained

The remote control of the new AS 1000 Ovis Evo RC differs from the basic model only by three additional toggle switches. This means that the machine can still be controlled intuitively. One of the most important objectives in the development of the basic model AS 1000 Ovis RC was technical simplicity right from the start. This also applies to the new AS 1000 Ovis Evo RC. It is also characterised by the particular simplicity of its design, easy handling and uncomplicated maintenance. Too many electrical components in a single machine can lead to complexity, which is also consistently dispensed with in the expansion model.

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Mowing Made Easy

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Mowing Made Easy: Maintaining the expansive grounds of Repton School requires precision, efficiency, and innovation.

For Andrew Butler, Head of Grounds and Gardens, and his team, the introduction of the Etesia Hydro 80 ride-on mower has not only streamlined operations but also revolutionised the way they manage the school’s green spaces.

Mowing Made Easy

Mowing Made Easy

Repton School, nestled in the serene surroundings of Derbyshire, boasts extensive grounds that demand meticulous care. From ornamental gardens to sprawling lawns surrounding boarding houses, every corner of the campus requires attention. However, with limited time and resources, the grounds and gardens team found themselves struggling to keep up with the demands of manual mowing using pedestrian mowers.

Andrew explains, “There is a lot of mowing carried out around the boarding house where the team were previously using pedestrian mowers. I felt it was just taking too long, and then other jobs were getting neglected because of it. It just felt like the gardening team were out mowing all the time, and less time was being spent on the actual gardening.”

Introducing the Etesia Hydro 80, a compact yet powerful ride-on mower designed to tackle both long and short grass with ease. Featuring a hydrostatic drive and a robust 15hp twin-cylinder Kawasaki engine, the Hydro 80 offers unparalleled efficiency and output. Its specially contoured deck ensures clippings are collected without clogging, even in wet conditions, while anti-scalp rollers maintain a pristine finish on uneven terrain.

Andrew recounts the transformation brought about by the Hydro 80, stating, “Now instead of spending all week mowing, it literally takes just a couple of days. This means that we can concentrate on the gardens instead such as getting more colour into various areas. The time management is significantly better.”

One of the Hydro 80’s most impressive features is its ability to navigate tight spaces with ease. Andrew notes, “The reason we were using pedestrian mowers is because there was always the problem of getting a ride-on mower in and out of gates, so we thought about taking various gates out to make the job easier, but then we came across the Etesia Hydro 80. It allows us to get into areas where previously we had to use pedestrian mowers. These areas, which previously would have taken an hour or two, are now taking just 15-20 minutes.

“Its ability to cut and collect in the rain is amazing,” continues Andrew. “Even in the heavy rain the Hydro 80 is going out and cutting, so again it improves our efficiency.”

Beyond its efficiency, the Hydro 80’s durability and manoeuvrability have earned high praise from Andrew and his team. “I like the durability of it, how quick it is, how easy it is to manoeuvre it, and how it can get through longer grass with no problem at all,” Andrew remarks.

As Repton School continues to uphold its reputation for excellence, the Etesia Hydro 80 stands as a testament to the power of innovation in grounds management, ensuring that the campus remains a source of pride and inspiration for all who visit.

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.etesia.co.uk.

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Etesia UK on Twitter @EtesiaUK and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/EtesiaUK. You can also view the latest Etesia videos by visiting www.youtube.com/EtesiaUK.

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Jacobsen® unveils fully electric mowing solution

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Jacobsen® unveils fully electric mowing solution: In 2024, Jacobsen will become one of the first manufacturers to offer a fully electric golf course mowing service solution. With the Eclipse 2 ELiTE™ walking greens mower, ELiTE lithium outfront and AR1 ELiTE articulated rotary mower joining the already successful Eclipse 360 ELiTE and SLF1 ELiTE models.

Jacobsen has scaled up the power requirements for fairway and rough machines using tried and tested Samsung® Lithium SDI technology. By partnering this technology with Jacobsen mowers, turf professionals can cut all day on greens, tees, fairways, or roughs, while always maintaining Jacobsen’s famous quality of cut.

Jacobsen® unveils fully electric mowing solution

Jacobsen® unveils fully electric mowing solution

Extending the benefits of lithium to the entire course enables golf organizations to reduce their carbon emissions further, but there are also significant user benefits. With noise and vibration greatly decreased, a day of cutting fairways or rough will have less stress on the operator, bringing increased comfort and productivity.

To enhance the efficiency and productivity of these machines, Jacobsen has added PACE Technology™, an equipment management and geofencing system that is a screenless web-based solution. PACE can be accessed from any device and features real-time tracking and task management to maximize the effectiveness of your operation. Users can track and measure the power output per hole of the machines to maximize their performance and develop a bespoke picture of how they work on the course.

Testing these innovations and their capabilities has been a big consideration. Jacobsen, Cushman®, and PACE have collaborated with 26 courses across three continents in 2023, including Sage Valley Golf Club, South Carolina, Loch Lomond Golf Club, Scotland, and Peninsula Kingswood in Australia.

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