How a Robot Mower Changed the Way I Manage Our Grounds – Andy Bate, Fleetwood Hesketh Sports Club, Southport. Andy Bates writes about how robot mowers have freed up his time, and what do automated robotic mowers do differently in this well balanced and thought out read.
I didn’t jump straight into the idea of a robot mower. Like most groundsmen, I’ve always believed good surfaces come from experience, timing, and being hands-on. Mowing is part of how you control growth and wear, not just a box to tick. Handing that over to a machine felt like a compromise.
What I didn’t expect was how much it would change the way I manage the whole site.
The Site
The site is a mixed-use one and in near-constant use:
- One bowling green
- Just over a hectare of continuous grass coverage
- Two football pitches in winter
- Those pitches becoming a cricket outfield in summer
- One cricket square
- Grass banks and perimeter areas with trees, benches, and awkward edge
- Keeping on top of mowing alone used to dominate the week, especially when I’m only on 20 hours per week.
What the Robot Does Differently
The robot cuts little and often, and crucially, it cuts around activity. Using the app, I set schedules, so it works around matches, training, and maintenance — not through them. Sometimes that’s overnight, sometimes during quiet daytime windows. Either way, the grass stays at a consistent height without getting in the way of play or prep.
That consistency has made a big difference:
- Uniform height across the site
- Less stress on the turf
- No heavy passes or clumps of clippings
- One of the biggest wins has been the perimeter. Before the robot, the banks, trees, benches, and tight edges took around five hours a week to mow by hand. Now it just happens quietly in the background.
Time Back for Proper Turf Management
The biggest benefit isn’t the cut — it’s the time and headspace it’s given me.
Instead of chasing mowing windows, I can focus on:
- Planning spray windows properly
- Regular bowling green aeration
- Timing rolling and brushing on the cricket square
- Football line markings lasting longer thanks to consistent HOC
- Less compaction, because big machines are out far less
The job feels less reactive and more controlled.
Where Traditional Kit Fits In
The robot hasn’t replaced experience — especially my 77 year old dad’s.
He helps out on the ground by cutting the outfield with our ride on and still enjoys being involved. During cooler months however he prefers to stay warm, and the robot keeps things ticking over. In summer, he will return to his trusty JD 2653B, but now just for a Friday presentation stripe.
That single cut gives the visual impact without the wear and tear of using it all week, meaning reels should last longer and the turf sees less stress.
We also have a tractor and deck mower, but conditions have to be spot on. In the past, if it was even slightly soft, you’d be left with tractor marks and messy turning points. Now those machines only come out when conditions are genuinely right.
Lessons Learned After a Couple of Months
A few things have become clear quickly:
- Little and often beats infrequent and heavy every time
- Uniform height helps everything else fall into place
- Perimeter work is where the real time savings add up
- Big machines become specialist tools again, not blunt instruments
- You start thinking differently — including ideas like using the robot to brush dew off the cricket square at a minimum HOC of 20 mm, without cutting
The Budget Reality
This matters for clubs like ours.
We’re not cash rich — my total annual budget across all sports is under £3,000. The robot costs less per month than the top Sky TV subscription, yet saves labour, reduces fuel use, and protects expensive machinery.
For us, it wasn’t a luxury. It was a practical decision.
Andy bates-Groundsman
A Final Thought
This isn’t about saying a robot mower is the answer for everyone.
Every site is different, every club has its own pressures, and most of us are working with limited time, limited budgets, and high expectations. What this experience has shown me, though, is that small changes in how we work can sometimes unlock bigger improvements than throwing more hours or more machinery at the problem.
For us, the robot hasn’t replaced skill or experience — it’s supported it. It’s taken care of the repetitive, time-consuming jobs quietly in the background and allowed more focus on decisions, timing, and surface quality.
If this helps another groundsman look at their own site and think differently — even if that leads to a completely different solution — then it’s worth sharing. We all learn from what works, what doesn’t, and what’s possible when we stop doing things just because “that’s how they’ve always been done.” That, more than the machine itself, has probably been the biggest gain.
Andy Bates
PS- Want to know more about the pro/cons of automated robotic mowers, why not then Read this Blog
