Trimax Mowing Systems has revealed its first major new product release in almost ten years with the impending launch of its tri-deck rotary mower Merlin.

Originally designed for golf roughs and high quality sports turf, the tractor powered Merlin has performed beyond expectation and is now being dubbed as the world’s first rotary mower for golf roughs and fairways.

Marketing manager for Trimax, Tim Fanning is excited about the new mower’s potential: “Merlin is unique to anything else on the market in terms of cut finish and therefore offers golf courses the opportunity to substantially reduce the money they spend on equipment. That’s because it’s very capable not only on roughs but also fairways, where we are seeing it outperform the cylinder mowers that are traditionally used. There are a number of design features that give us a high degree of accuracy and precision, so we can cut at 12mm without scalping, even on undulating surfaces. Consequently, the financial incentives for courses are huge because you don’t need to go out and buy a couple of expensive dedicated units to do each job. Instead, there is one mower that can go on the back of a tractor that is usually underused, and the running costs per year are a fraction of what you pay to keep a cylinder mower going.”

Fanning believes the greatest challenge for Trimax will be breaking the mindset that only cylinders can be used on fairways. “This perception is very well embedded, because up until now there has never been a rotary mower that can cut like a cylinder. We are focusing on the roughs market initially, but we think over time there will be many courses using Merlin on fairways, and they will be top courses, not just the ones that have funding constraints.”

With production due to commence in early September, Trimax has already taken the mower on a demo programme around its home market of New Zealand and has received a significant number of pre-orders. The official UK launch will be at IOG Saltex, held at the Royal Windsor Racecourse from the 7- 9 September.