No noise and a good environmental balance: E-mowers are trendy
The e-vehicle in the garage, the charging box on the wall, the costs, the benefits, the CO2 calculation – e-mobility is one of the big trend topics of the year. One that, by the way, can also be observed on German golf courses, because the installation of charging stations is also becoming more and more common here.
At second glance, however, the subject of e-mobility in golf is a topic of conversation, especially in the greenkeeping segment: Who uses e-mowers and, above all, in which area? “We’ve had electric mowers for the greens for years,” sums up Horst Schubert, CEO of G&CC Seddiner See AG. At the Öschberghof golf resort in Donaueschingen, course manager Heiko Hildebrandt has also been using electromobility for years, both for the small green mowers and for commercial vehicles and some fairway mowers. AtMunich GC, two electric hand mowers have now also been purchased for the nine-hole Thalkirchen course.
Mowing quality of the greens improves
The assessment of those responsible is very positive everywhere: “The quality of our greens has improved significantly,” summarizes Managing Director Michael Sälzler from the MGC . “Absolutely satisfied,” Hildebrandt agrees, “great range, no noise and a positive environmental balance.”
Which quickly clarifies the explanation for the purchase of the devices: “We decided to buy the electric mowers on greens for two reasons – noise and lower fuel consumption ,” Horst Schubert puts it in a nutshell. However, no system invests in electric mowers for environmental reasons alone. Rather, it is the noise aspect that is increasingly becoming the driving force behind purchases.
At the Öschberghof as a resort with hotel operations, nobody wants to scare off guests with the high noise level of the mowers. The Thalkirchen facility of the Munich GC is extremely close to the city, and noise pollution from green mowers is a permanent topic of discussion. The electric mower is the perfect solution here, especially since, according to Michael Mörder, general sales manager at Toro , fuel consumption can be reduced by around 30 percent. What is also positive is, that electric mowers do not cause any damage to the greens due to loss of fuel or oil. And: The technology of the mowers allows the individual control of spindles and wheels, which ultimately leads to better mowing quality.
“The response in the market is very positive overall,” says Mörder, also for Toro, at least for the green mowers. “We assume that in 2021 20 percent of our green mowers will be sold with an electric drive.” The use of lithium-ion batteries plays an important role here, also with regard to sustainability. Although they are comparatively expensive to buy, they last a very long time.”
E-mobility and power generation on the golf course
If you have an eye on the environmental balance of electric mowers, you have to talk about electricity. Ideally, there is a closed circuit – photovoltaic systems or small block power plants produce the electricity, which is then used again within the golf course. Both at the Öschberghof and at the G&CC Seddiner See, they are also active in the field of electricity production, but have found that the entire operation of the golf course cannot be covered by this. The electricity for the mowers only makes up a small proportion anyway.
Conclusion: The topic of e-mobility is also gaining momentum in the golf course sector. Unlike in the classic area of cars for everyone, the issues of sustainability and environmental balance are only one aspect of the purchase decision. However, it is foreseeable that electric mowers will be the first choice in the golf sector, especially on the greens, in the long run.
More information about saving fuel on the golf course can be found here
