At Long Sutton Golf Club, robots and Trimax trailed mowers are working side by side to improve productivity, free up valuable staff time and keep a demanding parkland course under control.

At Long Sutton Golf Club in Somerset, three robotic mowers work through the night cutting the fairways. By day, Trimax Pegasus and Snake trailed rotary mowers tackle the first cut, heavier growth and the leaf litter and debris that come with maintaining an extensive parkland course.

For course manager Jonathan Tulk (pictured), the combination is proving more productive than relying on either approach alone.

The right machine for the job

Set across approximately 142 acres, Long Sutton is maintained by a four-person greenkeeping team. With rising diesel costs and the increasing price of dedicated fairway machinery, the club introduced robotic mowers as a more cost-effective way of maintaining its fairways.

The robots have performed well, but their biggest benefit has been the time they have released for the team.

“The biggest benefit we have seen since installing the robots is our ability to prioritise our workload,” says Jonathan. “Our staff aren’t spending hours sat on fairway mowers and now have more time to manage other tasks, including aerating, fixing irrigation problems and other projects that wouldn’t have got prioritised.”

The robots take care of the repetitive fairway mowing, while the Trimax mowers handle areas and conditions where speed, capacity and robustness are more important.

Built for demanding parkland conditions

As a heavily wooded parkland course, Long Sutton faces a particular challenge: windy conditions can leave considerable quantities of leaves, twigs and small branches across the course – material that can damage the blades of robotic mowers.

This is where the Trimax Pegasus and Snake come into their own.

“We use the Trimax mowers for our first cut because of the leaf litter and debris, especially after storms. The robots wouldn’t be able to cope with small twigs or branches.”

The ability to deal with these conditions while covering large areas quickly is a key reason Long Sutton continues to rely on its Trimax mowers.

“We like using Trimax because the quality of cut is really high. The speed in which we can get the ground covered is very good, and the reliability of the machines is second to none.”

Productivity when it matters

For a four-person team responsible for maintaining 142 acres to a high standard, productivity is critical. Having the Trimax mowers available means large areas can be tackled rapidly when conditions demand it.

“We find it very valuable having a machine that can mow a large amount of space in a short period of time,” says Jonathan. “With the Trimax Pegasus and Snake working side by side, we can get our cutting done in a day if we have to.”

That capacity becomes particularly valuable after periods of rain, when grass growth can accelerate rapidly.

“When we do have rain, this place can grow like a grass factory. We can obviously cover the ground very quickly, especially when we have the two Trimax mowers running side by side.”

More versatility from the tractor

The trailed design also gives Long Sutton greater flexibility across its machinery fleet. Because the Trimax Pegasus and Snake are trailed mowers, once cutting is complete, the tractor can be put to work elsewhere on the course with implements such as an aerator or trailer. For a small team, that flexibility can make better use of existing machinery and reduce the need for dedicated equipment. The enclosed, air-conditioned cab also helps keep operators comfortable and protected from the elements, particularly during long periods of mowing.

This versatility is backed by a long track record of reliability. Long Sutton has used Trimax equipment for around 10 years, with its most recent Pegasus purchased approximately four years ago.

“Other than changing the blades once a year and replacing the roller bearings once, I haven’t touched it.”

A complementary approach

For Jonathan, the experience demonstrates that autonomous and traditional trailed mowing don’t need to compete. By assigning each machine to the work it is best equipped to handle, the club has increased productivity while creating more time for other essential course maintenance.

“The key benefits that we have found running the robots and Trimax together are the productivity, the reliability and the efficiency that we are achieving day in, day out.”

And despite the success of robotic mowing, Jonathan doesn’t see it replacing machines such as the Pegasus and Snake.

“There are so many benefits to machines like Trimax mowers for their speed, productivity, coping with leaf litter and debris, which a robot can’t do.”

For Long Sutton, the future of mowing isn’t about choosing between robotics and traditional machinery. It’s about using both intelligently – and putting the right machine to work in the right place.

To discover how Trimax equipment can help improve productivity across golf course roughs, semi-roughs and surrounds, visit trimaxmowers.co.uk