Before the sun is fully up, the greens swarm with a summer crew edging, raking, weeding and mowing the greens.

The club, founded in 1893, is the oldest 18-hole golf course in Canada in its original location but it utilizes leading-edge technology to keep the greens, well, green.

In the office off Beach Drive a GreenSiteAG prototype recharges.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a handy tool,B次元官网网址� says Paul Robertson, links superintendent. B次元官网网址淚t can see things about a week before we can see them.B次元官网网址�

The drone, armed with cameras and infrared, scans the grounds for turf damage, dryness and impending ailments. In one example a highlighted area shows where footfalls continuously damage the grass. That might be an area to look at a different ground cover Robertson says. Currently, staff at Western CanadaB次元官网网址檚 oldest golf club launch it and monitor the drone on occasion. The longstanding method is weather stations that cover several small areas gauging evapotranspiration B次元官网网址� the amount of water lost per day by the plant and surrounding soil B次元官网网址� which tells greens techs how much to water per night. The weather station gives us just one reading of a small area to represent the entire course.

B次元官网网址淲hen the drone flies over it covers the whole course,B次元官网网址� Robertson said.

B次元官网网址淲e eventually want to have this do it on its own,B次元官网网址� Robertson said, noting they would pay $6,000 a pop for a flyover previously. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really not about reducing labour. ItB次元官网网址檚 about leveraging time.B次元官网网址�

For that same reason Jamie Shillington works alongside the Cub Cadet RG3, both grooming the picturesque eighth hole.

B次元官网网址淭his gets you off the mower and allows you to do other important things.B次元官网网址�

That frees up a staffer to multi-task B次元官网网址� change a hole, soil moisture probing or raking bunkers for example. The robot mowers are electric offering no noise or emissions. The return on investment is three years for a course using riding greens mowers, like VGC, Robertson said. RG3 have a life expectancy of four to five years then traded in for new units.

The robots cost $65,000 per unit. Victoria Golf Club plans to use four or five as they shift this year to a B次元官网网址渟ectional maintenanceB次元官网网址� regimen with each operator responsible for four or five green sites.