Andy DevaneyHusqvarna CEORA robotic mowers spent British Masters week doing the sort of job that only becomes interesting when the weather turns vindictive.
At The Belfry, prolonged thunderstorms and heavy rain complicated preparations for the 2026 Husqvarna British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo. Sixteen autonomous units kept working across the Brabazon Course, giving the greenkeeping team another way to protect fairway presentation in conditions that made conventional mowing extremely difficult.
The Belfry’s rain problem became a machinery test
Tournament golf is unusually good at exposing small imperfections. A fairway may cover acres, but a badly marked stretch is precisely the sort of detail championship presentation is meant to avoid.
The Brabazon’s maintenance team therefore faced a plain problem with public consequences: how to keep cutting during a week when rainfall repeatedly narrowed the windows for work.
“Tournament week brings significant pressure on the greenkeeping team, particularly when the weather doesn’t go to plan. What stood out was the consistency of the fairways throughout the week and the way the team continued to prepare the course to such a high standard,” said Ben Groutage, DP World Tour Tournament Director.
“Husqvarna’s autonomous robotic technology provided an additional level of flexibility and support, enabling the team to keep mowing operations moving when conditions allowed and helping ensure the Brabazon remained in excellent condition for our players,” he added.
Six-time DP World Tour winner and Husqvarna Ambassador Marcel Siem added: “One thing that impressed me a lot, the fairways and greens held up brilliantly despite all that rain. Credit to the whole greenkeeping team and Husqvarna for that.”
Sixteen robots changed the overnight routine
The CEORA fleet formed part of The Belfry’s overnight maintenance operation, with mowing schedules adjusted around weather and tee times through Husqvarna Fleet Services. That mattered less as gadgetry than as a scheduling tool. In tournament preparation, flexibility is often more valuable than outright speed.
Angus MacLeod, Director of Golf Course and Estates at The Belfry, put the contrast plainly. “In the past, such a vast amount of rainfall would have meant we had to rethink our maintenance operation, but with Husqvarna’s robotic mowers, we could keep track of the whole cutting operation,” he said.
“The robotic mowers performed exceptionally well and left very little visible marking, allowing us to maintain the presentation of the fairways despite the weather,” he added.
That lack of visible marking is the telling detail. Autonomous mowing is easy to admire as an idea. Leaving a championship fairway looking as though nothing difficult happened is the more persuasive demonstration.
Why autonomous mowing suited tournament week
CEORA uses Husqvarna’s satellite-based EPOS navigation to work systematically within virtual boundaries. Work areas and schedules can be managed digitally, allowing course staff to alter where and when mowing takes place.
At The Belfry, cutting could be moved into suitable weather windows and completed before the greenkeeping team began its pre-play work. The machines handled a repetitive, time-sensitive task while staff retained control of the wider preparation operation.
The deployment also covered the driving range and short-game area, while battery-powered handheld equipment was used for detailed course preparation.
The commercial value was hiding in plain sight
For Husqvarna, the week offered something more useful than a tidy demonstration. Its machines were working on the Brabazon during an event carrying the Husqvarna name, in weather that gave the technology a proper examination.
Players and DP World Tour staff noticed the quality of the playing surfaces and showed interest in how the course was being maintained. That is the sort of attention a technology brand wants from an event. Here, the rain supplied the test conditions without being asked.
There is also a bridge to Husqvarna’s residential range, which uses the same EPOS technology. Its Backyard Dreams initiative links professionally managed turf with domestic lawns. The comparison has limits — a back garden is rarely troubled by tournament tee times — but the technology story is clear.
A quiet proof point for golf-course robotics
Robotic mowing is sold on flexibility, precision and consistency. The Belfry supplied a more concrete case: bad weather, limited working windows and presentation standards that could not simply be lowered because the forecast was inconvenient.
The machines did not win the tournament, save par or trouble the leaderboard. They did something less glamorous and rather more useful: they kept cutting.
