Rough - Rotary Mowers For Sale

About Rotary Rough Mowers

Rotary rough mowers are ideal for the primary rough sections of a golf course, thanks to a more rugged cutting system than reel mowers and wide decks that can efficiently cover a lot of acres per hour. Their rotating horizontal blades cut grass with a sideways chopping motion, like a sword stroke, as opposed to the scissor-like action of a reel or cylinder mower.

Rotary mowers are more forgiving of rocks and other hard objects than reel models, and are easier to adjust as well. They may also be used to cut surrounds and intermediate rough (between the fairway and primary rough) if the deck can be lowered enough to provide contrast and definition. Commercial rotary mowers also see use in country clubs, driving ranges, resorts, property management, municipal areas, and parks, as well as playing fields and sports turf for a variety of games.

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Jacobsen HR700 Rotary Rough Mower

Pull-Behind Mowers

Most rotary rough mowers are of the pull-type/pull-behind type that get their power from a tractor’s power take-off (PTO) shaft. Most of these have drawbar or three-point hitch mounts, but there are also some front-mounted models on the market.

Pull-type rotary mowers are classified as either rigid decks with a single cutting unit for flat terrain, or articulated, contour models with multiple overlapping cutting units to hug undulating slopes. The latter—also known as “floating decks” or “flex decks”—help the mower maintain an even, manicured appearance without scalping the terrain.

A roller mower has full-length, cylindrical rollers and possibly caster wheels in the front and rear of each cutting unit to maintain the height of cut (HOC), such as from 0.5 to 4 inches (13 to 102 millimeters). Roller mowers are known for leaving a striped appearance in the finished turf, which looks even more pronounced as the mower makes its back-and-forth passes in opposite directions.

Rotary rough mowers have various overall cutting widths or deck widths such as 10.5 or 12 feet (3.2 or 3.7 meters). They typically come with hydraulic or mechanical lift systems to raise and lower the decks to bypass obstacles or fold them up in a batwing configuration for transport or storage.

Rotary mowers spin their blades via hydraulic motors or a mechanical belt or gear drive. Manufacturers advertise their blade tip speed, such as 15,000 or 18,600 ft (4,572 or 5,670 m) per minute, because higher numbers are associated with a better quality of cut, all else being equal. Rotary mowers generally have fixed blades or blades with replaceable swing tips or fling tips that give way when they encounter a stump or root.

Self-Propelled Models

There are various self-propelled rotary mowers for golf course usage. They’re typically powered by diesel fuel or gasoline, although there is a growing number of hybrid models, such as from John Deere.

Ride-on rotary rough mowers may have three or four wheels shod in tires designed for flotation and minimal surface damage. Many self-powered golf course mowers have four-wheel or all-wheel drive instead of two-wheel drive for better traction on wet grass. To climb hills and ride along inclines without tearing turf, some rough rotary mowers also have traction-control capabilities. Rollover protection systems (ROPS) generally come standard, whereas a sun canopy is a popular option.

The Jacobsen HR700 is a ride-on, rotary mower with a Tilt Sensor Technology (TST) feature that alerts the operator when a slope is too steep to navigate safely. It has three 60-in. (1,524-mm) decks with hydraulic deck drive motors and a total cutting width of 168 in. (4.27 m). Fingertip-operated joysticks lift and lower its wing units.

The HR700 offers a HOC from 1 to 4.5 in. (25 to 114 mm). It has a 65.2-horsepower (48.6-kilowatt) Kubota turbo-diesel engine, a hydrostatic drive system, and a mowing speed of up to 10 mph (16 km/h).

Find The Right Rotary Rough Mower

NeedTurfEquipment.com offers a selection of new and used rotary rough mowers for sale from popular brands including Jacobsen, John Deere, Toro, and others. Some related categories on the site include reel rough mowers and trim, surrounds, and slopes mowers.