Childress Hall, located in Northwest Texas, has quickly earned global recognition with its recent debut on the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World list. Though the property remains under development, its two 18-hole courses, designed by renowned architects Tom Doak and Gil Hanse, are already open for preview play and drawing widespread acclaim for the quality of the golfing experience. Complementing its inspired designs amidst a spectacular sand hill backdrop is a strategic investment in advanced course-management technology.
Chad Eldred, Director of Fleet Management at Childress Hall, oversees 85 acres of fairways and blended tee areas on Doak’s Upper Course using five AMP-L100 autonomous mowers from FireFly Automatix. Managed by a two-person team, the autonomous fleet completes all fairways in just five to six hours while remaining fully connected via Starlink.
The result has been a meaningful reduction in mowing time alongside noticeable improvements in turf consistency and visual presentation. Building on these results on its links-style course, Childress Hall plans to deploy an additional five units on the Lower Course later this spring.
As a fully connected platform, the AMP-L100 benefits from regular over-the-air software updates that introduce new features and performance enhancements. Starlink connectivity was one such upgrade, enabling reliable operation across the expansive property. Another key advancement was the introduction of permanent Exclusion Zones—defined keep-out areas within fairways that ensure autonomous mowers avoid bunkers, trees, and other sensitive features.
Keep-out zones give us the ability to maintain consistent mowing lines and angles while staying clear of bunkers and trees located within fairways.
“Keep-out zones give us the ability to maintain consistent mowing lines and angles while staying clear of bunkers and trees located within fairways,” said Eldred. “Because we mow frequently and many of these areas are quite large, it can be very difficult to see where you’re going when mowing manually, making it hard to keep lines consistent. With GPS-guided mowing, the FireFly machines know exactly where they need to mow. The result is cleaner fairways without skips, straighter lines, and a faster overall operation since there’s no need to stop and re-align.”
When evaluating autonomous solutions, Childress Hall identified flexibility in mowing patterns as a critical requirement. A standout feature for the team was the customizable shadow cut, or 50/50, mowing pattern—an enhancement introduced to the AMP-L100 platform last year.
“We’re not particularly fond of stripes, so when FireFly launched the 50/50 pattern, it was a significant milestone for them,” Eldred explained. “The 50/50 pattern, combined with the contour feature, allowed us to eliminate those stripes, as they are challenging to remove once burned in. Our standard practice involves mowing one day and then reversing the direction the next day to wash out the previous mow. The AMP mowers provide continuity throughout the golf course, preventing the pattern from becoming unbalanced or off-center. When creating a 50/50 contour cut pattern with QuickPlan, you can adjust the center line, resulting in a truly custom 50/50 pattern.”
The AMP mowers provide continuity throughout the golf course, preventing the pattern from becoming unbalanced or off-center. When creating a 50/50 contour cut pattern with QuickPlan, you can adjust the center line, resulting in a truly custom 50/50 pattern.
By pairing world-class course design with forward-thinking automation, Childress Hall is setting a new standard for efficiency, precision, and playability—demonstrating how technology can enhance both course presentation and operational performance at the highest level of golf.