Gallery Golf Course has added a hybrid lawnmower to the collection of capable sod-snippers used in its day-to-day greens maintenance. Hybrid mowers are relatively new technology, and Gallery is one of the first courses in the area to invest in one.

When researching the purchase, Gallery’s Superintendent, Jim Smith, weighed the advantages of a hybrid versus a traditional mower and determined that a hybrid was the obvious best choice in support of less waste, reduced maintenance and costs savings. 

“The cutting units and drive train are electric, versus hydraulic, so there are no costly leaks or hydraulic flushes. It saves us in time, money, and hazmat,” Smith explains. The mower, which is designed to trim tee boxes and greens, has several additional advantages over traditional diesel-powered mowers. It has the same expected lifespan as Gallery’s other high-horsepower trimmers, but the hybrid uses reduced amounts of radiator fluid; its two cylinder diesel engine uses half the fuel of traditional mowers.

Between savings on fuel and fluids and reduced costs for hazardous material disposal, the hybrid workhorse should dramatically cut costs, both for the course, which purchases the fuel and provides maintenance, and the air station, which handles the cost of hazardous material disposal.

Smith views this mower as the first in a revolution toward a golf greenscape that uses less fuel. “Not a lot of golf courses have these yet, specifically this model. It’s the wave of the future, and this mower is just the first piece.”