Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club has selected Husqvarna autonomous mowing technology, marking a significant endorsement of robotic turf management at one of golf’s most historic championship venues.
The famous Lancashire club, which will play host to this year’s AIG Women’s Open (July 30-August 2), has purchased four Husqvarna CEORA 546 EPOS units and one Automower 580L EPOS, supplied by authorised Pro Partner dealer Balmers GM Ltd.
Husqvarna is providing a further two CEORA units to support preparations ahead of the championship. The installation reflects a broader shift in how elite venues are approaching the demands of major championship preparation, with consistent surface quality and operational efficiency increasingly central to how head greenkeepers plan their programmes.
The deployment follows Husqvarna’s significant involvement at Royal Porthcawl for last year’s AIG Women’s Open, where CEORA robotic mowers cut all 18 fairways throughout the championship: the first time The R&A had entrusted autonomous machines with that responsibility at a major.
Jonathan Snowball, Head of Business Unit for Professional division UK, Husqvarna, said: “Royal Lytham is one of the most recognisable venues in the sport. When a club of that calibre commits to autonomous mowing – particularly in the context of hosting such a prestigious event, it says something meaningful about where the technology stands and a clear signal of where autonomous turf management is heading.”
The CEORA 546 EPOS is Husqvarna’s commercial-scale robotic mower, built for large surface areas and designed to deliver consistent results without continuous operator input. The Automower 580L EPOS brings the same autonomous capability to more varied terrain, with GPS-assisted precision guiding both units across their designated zones.
Andrew Meeks, Group Sales Manager, Balmers GM Ltd, said: “Royal Lytham adopting autonomous mowing is a significant moment for the industry. It’s the kind of decision that reflects just how much confidence there now is in this technology at the very highest level of the sport.”
Paul Smith, Course Manager at Royal Lytham & St Annes, said: “Investment in Husqvarna robotic mowers has helped the club to deliver optimum mowing year round, elevating turf health, easing workshop pressures and is having a real benefit in re deploying our resources in other areas of course maintenance. We have developed a hybrid maintenance programme that enables us to have the benefits of both conventional cylinder and robotic mowing.”