The driving range will soon collect balls itself

We're investing around 150,000 Euro in the driving range over the winter months. In the coming weeks it's getting new technology: a robot collects the balls, a conveyor system washes them and returns them to a new ball dispenser. Payment will be by QR code in future. There's also a 6-metre-high fence around the range, new tee mats, 8,000 new balls and new distance signs. 

This brings the range up to the latest standard and gives our members and guests better ball availability and cleaning quality.

A robot collects the balls

We've ordered a ball-collecting robot, the Echo Robotics RP-1250. It drives across the range on its own, orients itself to within a few centimetres using GPS-RTK, and detects obstacles with four sensors. It works quietly around the clock, even while you're practising — and can collect up to 15,000 balls a day.

Washing and transport run fully automatically

The robot drops the collected balls into a ball trench. From there they're automatically cleaned and carried straight to the ball dispenser. The new machine — a Range Servant Ultima 8 — holds 8,000 balls. An empty dispenser will be a thing of the past.

A 6-metre-high fence around the range

The driving range gets a 6-metre-high fence all the way round, so the balls stay on site.

New mats, new balls, new signs

The tee mats are being renewed, and 8,000 new balls are being added. The damaged distance signs will be replaced.

QR code instead of tokens

Instead of tokens, you'll pay at the new machine with a QR code. You can get one individually at the office or online as a pack of 10; the codes then appear in Mein Bereich. At the machine, you show a code on your smartphone and scan it — each code is valid for one basket. So you can also just take a single basket and keep the rest for your next visits.

Your dongle still works

If you have a dongle, you keep it: it will still work on the new machine.