Summary
With three all-electric, self-driving AMP mowers from FireFly Automatix™, The Santaluz Club now mows its fairways in near silence 6X/week, up from 3X/week. And because AMPs mow autonomously, Director of Agronomy Jeff Miller says he’s not only doubled productivity, but he expects the AMPs will save his club close to $115,000/year on labor and fuel.
At a glance
With the all-electric AMP, The Santaluz Club now mows all fairways autonomously and quietly in 4 – 4.5 hours, saving close to 2,000 hours annually, leading to financial gains of upwards of $115,000/year and doubled productivity.
Introduction
Nestled 20 minutes north of downtown San Diego, California, The Santaluz Club is a 20-year-old, member-owned, high-end community centered around its 300-acre championship golf course designed by renowned architect Rees Jones.
Under the guidance of its innovative Director of Agronomy/ Superintendent, Santaluz strives to lead the way in the early integration and adoption of new technologies and solutions designed to deliver the high-end, on-course experiences its members and visiting golfers have come to expect.
Challenges
Nevertheless, like many industry professionals, Miller has found himself and the club challenged by such divergent yet interconnected issues as:
The Solution
Enter the AMP “Autonomous Mowing Platform” from FireFly Automatix, autonomy leaders in turfgrass since 2010. According to Miller, this 100-inch-wide, all-electric, self-driving professional mower was clearly designed for innovative leaders like him and The Santaluz Club.
The design team at FireFly Automatix envisioned the AMP™ as an all-electric, autonomous professional mower from the ground-up and not an attempt at remodeling internal combustion engine mowers as EVs — an approach they deem destined for failure.
As a result, not only are AMPs quiet as a whisper, but
- Each wheel is independently powered and controlled by its own motor,
- Virtually eliminating the possibility of slipping tires or gouged turf, in wet or dry conditions, and
- AMPs can be deployed in the dark and almost any weather.
As Miller discovered, after each Santaluz fairway was mapped by his AMPs, fast, safe, and precision mowing became as simple as selecting the desired cutting pattern and tapping a button on FireFly’s computer tablet.
“Previously, we were mowing 2 – 3 times a week. But the AMPs give us the flexibility and ability to mow 6X/week. Our crew starts at 5am so we stay ahead of play and finish-up around 9 – 9:30am.
“We primarily use a Skip Mow pattern, so instead of mowing a 100-inch-wide strip, we mow 200-inch-wide strips. Only the robotic technology of the AMP mowers can do that.”
Jeff Miller, Director of Agronomy/Superintendent
The Santaluz Club
Results
Not only do the whisper-quiet AMPs allow Santaluz to mow early each morning without disturbing sleeping residents, but Miller also knows that using AMPs means he’ll never have to worry about possible mower leaks from fuel or hydraulic fluids. In addition to these environmental benefits, the club is seeing a big impact on fuel costs.
And because the AMP’s autonomous functionality allows The Santaluz Club to redeploy personnel while the AMPs are mowing, Miller needs fewer employees and expects to see a massive cost savings too.
“With our three AMPs we’ll save about 2,000 hours/year, which works out to ~$50,000 in actual labor costs annually. However, now that we’re mowing 6X/week, if you take the value we’re gaining (the OpEx costs), we’ll actually double that amount value-wise.”
Jeff Miller
The Santaluz Club