Founder Feature | Wesley Pitts is cutting costs and grass in the golf course industry
Most recently, Pitts announced that he had developed a new software company called TerraSYNC. It is a grounds maintenance automation software for in-house grounds maintenance crews.
Golf has seen a resurgence in popularity since the pandemic, when it became a socially distanced way to get outside and connect. In fact, by 2024, more than 47 million Americans aged six and above were playing the game.
But despite the sport’s growing momentum, nearly half of all golf courses—particularly public ones—operate at a loss. This is largely due to the overhead costs for maintaining the courses, landscaping, and mowing.
For Wesley Pitts, the answer was clear. The golf industry needed robots.
The founding of KnoxBots
Growing up in Budapest, Hungary, in a missionary family, he had the opportunity to witness some innovations in Eastern and Western Europe that hadn’t quite made their way to the United States. One of those technologies was robotic mowing.
At a typical golf course, the fairways get mowed a couple of times a week, and the greens get mowed almost daily. This takes hours, a team of people, and recurring costs that then get passed down to the players.
Pitts founded KnoxBots to simplify grounds maintenance and bring automation and robotic mowing solutions to the United States.
“I started my business while I was still a student at the University of Tennessee (UTK). I got so many amazing opportunities through the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation,” he said.
In 2023, Pitts won money from both the Graves Business Plan competition and the Boyd Venture Challenge, totaling $25,000 in funding. He also secured the Emerging Entrepreneur Award at the 2024 Startup Day pitch contest in Knoxville.
And, in his first operational year, Knox Bots made over $100,000 in revenue. Some of those initial customers included UTK, McGhee Tyson Airport, and a handful of golf courses.
“There are four key pillars we focus on when we’re working with customers,” Pitts said. “We look at cost savings, efficiency, safety, and environmental friendliness. A lot of people don’t realize that traditional mowers emit the same amount of carbon emissions as eight cars in one hour. So we’re able to significantly reduce that.”
Another added benefit that Pitts shared about his mowers is the quieter operation. He said a regular mower runs at about a hundred decibels. KnoxBots brings the sound down to about 50 decibels.
“It’s the sound of a whisper,” he said. He noted his mowers are a good choice for courses that back up to neighborhoods, or for teams who need to mow during operational hours (when people are playing).
TerraSYNC sets the national stage
Most recently, Pitts announced the development of a new software company called TerraSYNC. It is a grounds maintenance automation software for in-house grounds maintenance crews.
TerraSYNC is an evolution of KnoxBots that extends beyond Knoxville as a nationwide entity. His goal is to slowly roll out the software in cities across the country.
TerraSYNC integrates with all golf course and athletic field maintenance technology, whether it be a robotic mower, a range picker, a line painter, drone analysis, or even irrigation systems, and puts it into one management platform. It works alongside all his current robotic solutions with KnoxBots.
“We have been working hard to integrate all of it, so superintendents can more effectively manage their technology and their crew,” Pitts said.
TerraSYNC is already in beta at a few courses; however, Pitts is looking at a full deployment toward the end of the year.
Since graduating from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in May 2024, he joined the 121 Tech Hub in the Old City of Knoxville.
“It has been a great environment for both investment and meeting people who are so supportive of the entrepreneurial community,” he said. “I really do think that Knoxville is one of the best places for entrepreneurs to grow a business in the southeast.”
Like what you've read?
Forward to a friend!