Trimax Merlin 320 Mower Trial
At the request of Trimax Mowing Systems NZ Ltd, NZ Sports Turf Institute have undertaken a trial to determine the mowing quality of its Merlin 320 fairway mower as it compares with a typical reel (cylinder) mower commonly used for mowing fairways on New Zealand golf courses.
The Trimax Merlin 320 is a rear mounted, tractor powered, rotary mower designed for use on golf fairways and rough areas (Figure 1). The Merlin can also be used on other larger turf areas typically where a reel mower is commonly used. The Merlin features three interconnected decks each housing three, twin bladed spindles. Each deck is able to move independently from the other and includes front and rear rollers. Anti-bounce skids can be mounted on each deck to help prevent scalping of more challenging terrain. Cut height can be varied from 10 to 100mm.
Mowing quality was assessed on the basis of cut quality (no shredding, rough cut edges, no turf die back), the overall condition of the turf and whether there are any changes in the degree of thatch build-up. The trial was run for a period of just over three half months from the last week in October 2010 to end of January 2011.
See Trimax PDF for the full report ( click on PDF Image )