Product spotlight: Where does the Toro Turf Pro 500 fit in your existing fleet?

That’s exactly where the Toro Turf Pro 500 fits – not as a fleet enhancer that can take on responsibility for specific, repeatable mowing jobs and free up your people and your other mowers for the work that needs them most.

How Toro’s robot mowers can support your team with autonomous mowing

The Turf Pro 500 is designed for professional turf; it’s all-electric, self-charging, and built to mow turf on large, open areas like fairways, semi-roughs, and roughs with ultra precise navigation via GPS RTK technology (no boundary wires required).

The simple way to think about its role

If you’ve already got a strong fleet, the Turf Pro 500 enhances it. That’s because robotic mowers provide a reliable workhorse for the areas that benefit most from consistency: the same mowing area, the same route, the same finish, day after day, with minimal input from your team.

At a glance: what the Toro Turf Pro 500 is built to do

Here are the specs and features that matter when you’re deciding whether it belongs in your operation:

• Cutting heads: five cutting heads, multiple floating cutting heads
• Cutting height range: 20–100mm (low height option available: 15–90mm)
• Mowing area/maximum working area: up to 18.5 acres (75,000m²)
• Self charging: automatically returns to its charging station when required
• Obstacle detection: includes sonars for obstacle detection
• Wireless monitoring and control: computer or mobile phone oversight, including the ability to receive alerts

Considering the Turf Pro 300?

If the Turf Pro 500 feels like more coverage than you need, the Toro Turf Pro 300 offers the same professional, autonomous approach, but with three cutting heads and a maximum working area of 11 acres (45,000m²). 

For some venues, that makes the 300 a practical entry point into robotic mowers, while the Turf Pro 500 (or 500S for steeper ground) is better suited to larger, open mowing areas where the efficiency gains add up fastest.

Where it fits best: repeatable areas that benefit from consistency

The Turf Pro 500 adds the most value where the job is consistent and the area is clearly defined. That includes selected fairways, wider semi-roughs, repeatable rough corridors, or other large, open mowing areas like lawns, where you want tidy, well-maintained turf without tying up an operator.

Because it’s designed to mow a consistent pattern, you can use it to maintain set-piece areas while your team focuses on high-effort areas such as greens, tees, presentation work, maintenance and repairs, or larger strategic project work that require hands-on skill and decision-making.

How the Toro Turf Pro 500 supports fleet management and your existing mowers

Most golf courses and sports sites need a varied fleet for different tasks, seasons, and conditions. The Turf Pro 500 supports this, taking on the kind of routine mowing that can quickly take up hours across a week:

• Reduce pressure on ride-on and pedestrian mowers by working through routine windows
• Help you manage labour shortages or peak-season rotation more comfortably
• Keep key turf areas maintained even when schedules and workloads are tight
• Improve fleet management by turning one repeatable job into a planned, supervised process

The Turf Pro 500 is designed to deliver a consistent pattern with minimal overlap. That means fewer unnecessary passes, more efficient coverage, and a reliable finish on large areas, which is where the time value really shows up. You can also make an adjustable mowing pattern choice depending on the area and your presentation goals, rather than being locked into one route.

The benefits of set perimeters, no-go zones, and transport paths

One of the biggest practical benefits is how you set it up. With RTK technology there is no requirement for boundary wires in the ground. You simply customise the mower’s settings using digital tools: working perimeters, mapping out no-go zones, setting mowing patterns, cutting height, and transport paths (so it knows where to travel safely between areas).

That makes it easier to integrate the Turf Pro into a live site without disruptive infrastructure changes – and it helps you keep autonomous operation controlled and predictable. However, it’s worth mentioning that in the same way that the smart robotic mowers must adapt to your course, your course must also adapt to the Turf Pro robotic mowers.

Adapting the course to the Turf Pro 500 robotic mower

For instance, Turf Pro robotic mowers typically operate on a cycle of about 200 minutes, consisting of roughly 110 minutes of mowing followed by 90 minutes spent recharging. As such, power stations need to be positioned thoughtfully across the course.

While installing charging stations may seem like an added upfront cost, it represents a long-term investment that will support both current equipment and future advancements. At Reesink, we also conduct comprehensive site assessments, using a combination of satellite data and on-the-ground inspections to evaluate suitability and assist with any planning and adjustments required.

Fleet management made easy: monitoring, alerts, and controls

Autonomy works best when you’ve got visibility. With wireless monitoring and control, you can check status, manage schedules, and stop/start multiple units if needed, and remotely control your robot from a computer or mobile phone.

This is also an underrated part of performance and total cost of ownership (TCO) cost savings. You’re not just saving mowing time, you’re reducing uncertainty. Knowing where the mower is, what it’s doing, and being able to respond quickly helps keep operations smooth, especially during busy periods and when the team is rotating.

Case study: Thonock Park Golf Club  – see the Turf Pro 500 in action

Discover how Thonock Park is embracing advanced technology, using the Toro Turf Pro 500 to support more sustainable mowing operations, allowing its greenkeepers to take on jobs that require more specialised skills.

What about slopes? Meet the Toro Turf Pro 500S

If your site includes more challenging gradients, the Toro Turf Pro 500S is your best option. The 500S tackles 45% (24º) slopes, which is an extra 15% (7º) capability over the standard model, while adding only one extra kilogram to the mower’s weight.

That makes it a practical option for venues with steeper banks, undulating ground or more demanding terrain where you still want autonomous consistency. Here’s a quick comparison between the 500 and 500s:

How does the Toro Turf Pro 500 fit in with my course?

The Turf Pro 500’s advanced technology puts innovation and efficiency first. Adopting robotic mowers makes the most sense when you:

• Want to automate a repeatable mowing area (or several)
• Need consistent results without tying up an operator every time
• Want predictable, supervised autonomous operation (with alerts and remote control)
• Are targeting efficiency improvements and cost savings through smarter deployment of staff and equipment

If you’re considering how the Toro Turf Pro 500 could complement your existing mowers, the best next step is a practical conversation about your layout, priorities, and the areas best suited to autonomous mowing.

Explore the Turf Pro 500 product page, or contact Reesink Turfcare to discuss the right set-up for your site, visiting www.reesinkturfcare.co.uk or calling us on 01480 226 800.