Drone Flights Drive Innovation at Golf Courses

Golf balls raining from above is not normally par for the course at the annual Rotary Golf Tournament in Littleton, Colo. – until now.

Last week, drone company Multicopter Warehouse deployed a DJI Matrice 600 Hexacopter to drop 150 golf balls at the start of the charity event.

The numbered balls were used in a drawing for prizes.

“We were very excited by the offer to use a drone to drop golf balls at this year’s tournament” said Kerry Garrison, COO of Multicopter Warehouse. “It was a fun design challenge to figure out how to carry, and then completely release that many golf balls reliably.”

“We chose the DJI Matrice 600 for its heavy lifting abilities”, explained Josh Gilson, CEO of Multicopter Warehouse. “The power, strength, and reliability of the DJI systems was the key decision factor for choosing the Matrice 600 for this project.”

Multicopter Warehouse is an authorized dealer for several major drone manufacturers including DJI.

Many UAV experts see more drone flights across American golf courses as a “driving” force going forward.

Starting today, autonomous drones at King’s Walk Golf Course in Grand Forks, N.D. will deliver refreshments to golfers while they play.

After a golfer places an order using an app, the multi-rotor drone lowers the snack via rope at any hole after about 10 minutes.

“The young golfers think it’s great. We’ve had people already call and ask — when’s the drone flying?” Bill Palmiscno told CNNMoney. “The old members kind of think, ‘oh you’re wasting your money.’”

Palmiscno serves as executive director of the Grand Forks Park District, which operates the Palmer-designed course. He added that drones may someday replace beverage carts and are cheaper overall.

Israeli drone logistics startup FlyTrex installed the Mule-model quadcopter system which weighs about 33 pounds and flies up to 30 mph.

The Mule is based on the DJI Matrice 600 Pro and is equipped with a special carbon delivery box for easy loading/unloading of packages.