July 2026 Cullasaja Club Currents Newsletter

Promising Results and Future Possibilities

Like any new technology, there is a learning curve in getting them to do exactly what we want, when we want it. Overall, there have only been a handful of adjustments we have made since the initial programming, and we are very impressed with the quality of the turf they maintain. In late May we had a stretch of 7 days that dropped 12” of rain on the course. During that time the robots were never parked and kept the turf mowed without causing any damage. If you take a minute to watch them, you wouldn’t think they were doing anything more that just roaming around the course when in fact they are just trimming the tops of the turf each day leading to very consistent conditions. We have been so impressed that we are working with the manufacturer to generate a plan on what it would take to have all the rough and tee boxes mowed autonomously. If implemented, this would lead to nearly perfectly mowed rough and tees daily regardless of weather conditions. The obvious benefit would be the improved quality of turf; the side benefit would be freeing up staff to tend to tasks that we never seem to have time for after completing the weekly mowing procedures.

See you on the Course! Tom Nelson Golf Course Superintendent 20 FROM THE GREEN // JULY 2026