How to Mow Golf Grass
Mowing golf course grass incorporates a wide range of practices. These techniques allow the grass to be mowed at a height lower than the average person could achieve with standard equipment. In order for players to be able hit a golf ball off of grass, it must be at a height conducive to that area on the golf course. When mowing a golf course, these grades of cut must be met in order to please the players. Only certain types of grass can sustain such low mowing heights. Mowing normal grasses at this height could cause a significant amount of stress that leaves the grass more susceptible to disease, wilting and invasion of weeds. In order to obtain the best results, these measures must be taken when mowing a golf course.
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Things You'll Need
- Reel Mower
- Dew Drag
- Golf Cart
- One of these three grasses:
- Bermuda Grass (1 to 2 inches high)
- Zoysia Grass (3/4 to 2 inches high)
- Creeping Bentgrass (3/4 to 2 inches high)
Instructions
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Mowing a Golf Course
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1
Measure the height of your reel mower's current cut. Different parts of the golf course need to be cut at different heights. Be sure to adjust the height of the blades accordingly to prevent scalping. Some grasses can handle lower mowing heights that others can not.
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2
If mowing in the morning, like most golf courses do, clear the dew off of the fairways by pulling the dew drag across them with a cart. This allows for less clumping when mowing fairways that haven't been mowed in awhile. Remember, grasses that allow for such low mowing heights grow at a faster pace than the average home lawn grass.
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3
Mow a couple of rings around the outside of the area that you wish to cut. This will create a buffer zone, and give you time to lift the reels up at the end of each pass.
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4
Begin mowing the course in the pattern that you wish. Go back and forth to define stripes. The stripes are formed by the light reflecting differently off the leaf blades due to the difference in the direction that the leaf blades are laid down with the mower. Mow in the pattern multiple times to achieve a higher level of color difference between lines. You also have the option of mowing the fairway half and half by beginning in the middle and going outward with each pass in the opposite direction. This can help give you that old Scottish-style links course look.
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5
Run the dew drag over the fairways again to break up any clumps of grass that might have been made while mowing. This will make your fairways look crisp and clean.
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6
Clean your mower after every use, use water to wash the grass and dirt off it. This will increase the quality of cut for the next time that you use it. It will also increase the overall life of your mower.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Use the option to use a basket when mowing small areas. A mower basket catches all of the cut grass so it won't be left on the fairway to clump up, thus eliminating the need for the dew drag a second time.
Never have your mower blades engaged while on a concrete floor or other hard surface. Reels hitting this material could ruin them permanently.
